The Toronto Maple Leafs may have finally found their diamond in the rough, as one of their late-round prospects is making waves this summer at the World Junior Summer Showcase.
Defenseman Victor Johansson wasn’t highly regarded as one of the better Swedish prospects when the Leafs took him in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, but now he is looking like an absolute steal, and especially after what he has been able to do representing his country at the pre-camp tournament for the top junior hockey tournament in the world.
I didn’t know very much about Victor Johansson🇸🇪 before this event, but it’s safe to say he turned a lot of heads.
— WJCrankings (@WJCrankings) August 3, 2025
Toronto fans should be excited👀#WJSS https://t.co/4cyimGgLpP pic.twitter.com/OA0zXSF4B8
The 19-year-old blueliner was not on Sweden’s World Juniors team last year and wasn’t even invited to the Summer Showcase roster, either. He was a complete outcast from this group of the top young national players and now he’s dangling through opponents, walking the blue line with ease, and getting heralded as one of the best defensemen that was at the summer tournament in Minnesota last week.
All of this is coming off a season where Johansson truly popped off. During his draft year, the 2023-24 season, the young Swede scored just two goals and eight points for Leksands in the J20 Nationell, the Swedish junior league. Toronto saw enough of a toolset there to draft him in the fourth round and that really set off for a great post-draft season.
This past season, Johansson improved from eight points, all the way to seven goals and 39 points in 47 games. That placed him third among all defensemen in that league in scoring. Plus, it earned him his SHL debut, as he played a total of five games in the top men’s division.
Why did Johansson not produce during his draft year if he potentially had this in him all along? Well, during Leafs development camp last month, he made it public that he was on medication for ADHD and that cut his appetite to almost nothing, keeping him at a scrawny 146 pounds last summer. Now, he has that figured out and through last season, gained almost 20 pounds all while putting up very good scoring numbers.
Johansson will most likely continue developing overseas for at least the next season, but it will be interesting to see his trajectory to potentially making his NHL debut. Next season, he will be aiming for a full-time spot on Leksand’s SHL roster, playing against the top players in Sweden for an entire season.
Representing his country at the 2026 World Juniors would go a long way in his development. Let’s hope he made enough of an impression to be considered.