The 2025 NHL Draft has come and gone and I am here to recap all of the picks the Toronto Maple Leafs made. In total, the Leafs made six draft picks, all between rounds 2 and 7.
The draft itself was an interesting spectacle as the NHL decided to fully lean into the 'decentralized' format that they did during covid. Instead of the usual format where all 32 teams and their management/scouting staff congregate in a host city for Friday and Saturday in an arena together. There were many awkward moments, especially with every team doing virtual meetings with the players they just selected.
Alongside the six draft picks that were made, the team was also reportedly hard at work trying to figure out a sign-and-trade for free agent winger Mitch Marner with the Vegas Golden Knights. Although nothing has come of that yet, it is a storyline that still has days to play out.
Onto the picks, the Maple Leafs drafted five forwards and only one defenseman, the club took no goaltenders this year. It is quite different from last year where the team took four defensemen, three forwards, and one goaltender with eight selections. Similar to last year, Treliving seemed to have little regard for the consensus rankings and chose players he liked. The teams draft shook out as follows:
Second round
64th Overall - Tinus Luc Koblar, C Leksands IF (J20)
Using their first selection at the draft, the Leafs took Norweigan forward, Tinus Luc Koblar. He spent this past year playing with fellow Leafs draftee, Victor Johansson with Leksands IF in the Swedish J20 Nationall league. Koblar is a July 2007 birthday, meaning he will not turn 18 untl next month. He is a player that flew under the radar but has shown very well with the club, as well as with Norway at the U18s in May.
Luc Koblar is a two-way forward who uses his size intelligently. Overpowering opposing players and using his long reach to protect the puck. He also has some quick feet and good mobility. He is a bit of a work in progress with his young age relative to this fellow draftees and should be given a long runway to develop in Sweden. His game has a lot of translatability to it and I think it’s likely he could play some bottom-six and penalty kill minutes in his NHL career.
His selection helps the Leafs to stock up their forward pipeline, especially down the middle where the Leafs are most in need.