Daily Faceoff gives Maple Leafs B-minus in draft class grades

The Toronto Maple Leafs wrapped up Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft with six new prospects in the system.

Kicking things off with the 64th overall pick, they selected Slovenian-born Norwiegean centre Tinus Luc Koblar, a 6-foot-4 centre who models his game after Anze Kopitar. It was a bit of a reach for where they got him, but they made up for it by selecting projected second-rounder Tyler Hopkins of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs in the third round, a strong two-way forward with an edge who plays similarly to former prospect Fraser Minten.

In his draft grades for all 32 teams following the event, Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis gave the Maple Leafs a ‘B-‘  for their draft class as the festivities came to a close.

“While the Koblar pick at No. 64 confused me a bit, I generally liked Toronto’s draft. He could end up becoming a hidden gem – he hits hard, plays hard and is generally smart. Hopkins is a reliable two-way forward, while Belle and Henry Nansi love to knock guys down. Toronto has had a reputation under GM Brad Treliving of taking tough dudes, and that was definitely the case today. Toronto might not be high on this list, but it feels like a decent selection overall. They did well with what they had.” -Steven Ellis

Along with Koblar and Hopkins, the Maple Leafs selected two forwards in the fifth round. China-born American winger William Belle, a tough power forward who models his game after Tom Wilson, and Harry Nassi, another big forward who came into the draft as one of the youngest eligible players. They closed it out by drafting hulking right-handed defenceman Rylan Fellinger out of the OHL’s Flint Firebirds in the sixth round, and enforcer Matthew Hlacar, a winger with 62 penalty minutes for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers this past season.

It was evident that the Maple Leafs tried to start their process of revamping the DNA in a quote from Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Leach.

“Some of these kids are going to have to find their role or their niche in the game and do what they have to do,” Leach said. “When you find those kids with that work ethic, that compete, they know who they are, and what type of game they have to play, they work on those elements, they’ll find a role. There’s a role for everybody. As you saw in the playoffs, size matters, toughness matters, competitiveness matters. We hope to fill some of those roles in some of those kids.”

The Maple Leafs’ biggest pull in the headlines today was a report from Elliotte Friedman involving a potential sign-and-trade with Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights, so that naturally got the majority of the attention. But, all things considered, the Maple Leafs had a plan out for what they wanted out of their draft class, and while it will take years before we know if it was the right plan, they accomplished what they set out to do.