2026 TLN Maple Leafs Prospect Rankings: #17 Cooper Williams

The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of six TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking. We have tightened up the criteria for said rankings this year, implementing a U23 rule for skaters and a U25 rule for goaltenders. We are also using the NHL’s criteria to determine rookie status, which is a hard cap at 25 games in a single season or six or more games in any two seasons, which make players like Easton Cowan ineligible for this year’s rankings.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect pool improved arguably more than any other team following the 2026 NHL Draft. Of course, drafting Gavin McKenna helps with that, but even with the understanding that McKenna’s got just under two months left as a ‘prospect’, it was the players they drafted in the second round and beyond that made such a big difference. The Leafs have struggled to draft and develop players in the later rounds that can help the NHL team in recent years, but it looks like those days might be nearing an end. Now that we’ve gotten that mandatory ramble out of the way, it’s time to zero in on one of these late-round picks from this year in Cooper Williams, who falls on this list at #17.

Williams, 18, is a 6-foot-1 centre who hails from Calgary, Alberta and spent his draft year with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL, where he was teammates with fellow Maple Leafs draft pick Zac Olsen. Drafted in the fifth round by the Maple Leafs, he recorded 57 points in each of his last two (or first two) seasons with the Blades, with 23 goals and 34 assists in 66 games in 2025-26. Despite the near point-per-game rate, Williams earns his metaphorical paycheques on the defensive side of the puck. He’s been widely described as a strong two-way forward who puts pressure on opponents and tends to force them to give up the puck in the process. I actually had the Maple Leafs selecting him in the fourth round in our site mock draft, so there’s an argument to be made that the Leafs walked away from this pick with surplus value.