2026 TLN Maple Leafs Prospect Rankings: #18 Juuso Ainasto

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. Rather than hard and fast limits on age or NHL games played to determine “prospect” eligibility, our group decided on a more nuanced approach to include any reasonably young player who is either under contract with the Leafs or on the club’s reserve list, who has not yet established himself as a full-time NHLer.

Our Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Rankings series continues today with goaltender Juuso Ainasto at #18.

Ainasto is a new addition to the Maple Leafs prospect pool, after the team selected him in the third round of the 2026 NHL Draft. Entering the draft as the 14th-highest ranked international goaltender, he was the ninth netminder taken, going 85th overall.

The 18-year-old Finnish netminder spent the last season playing junior hockey in his home country, starting the year playing with Jokerit U18 before moving to Jokerit U20. With the U18 team, Ainasto posted a strong 8-3 record in 12 appearances, with a .938 SV% and three shutouts. However, he’s still finding his footing in U20, where he had a 6-7 record in 14 games, with a .892 SV%. This likely hurt his draft stock, but the potential is clearly there. Ainasto is expected to return with Jokerit U20 in the fall, and could receive an opportunity to play with the big club at some point in Finland’s Liiga.

Toronto has shown that they love their big goaltenders, and Ainasto fits the bill. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 198 lbs., he boasts good size for a teenager in the crease, without sacrificing mobility. After he was drafted by the Maple Leafs, Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted the following thoughts on Ainasto.