Maple Leafs Prospect Heading to the NCAA

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Cooper Williams has committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2027-28 season. The Maple Leafs drafted him in the fifth round (158th overall) of the 2026 NHL Draft in June.

Williams is an 18-year-old two-way centre. He is 6’1 and very light at 163 pounds. The Calgary-born native is coming off two seasons with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He put up 57 points in each of his first two years in Saskatoon. Williams finished second on the team in scoring last season and added six points in 11 playoff games before the Blades were eliminated in the second round.

He is part of the first real wave of major-junior players using a new rule change that has quietly rewritten how NHL teams think about late-round picks. His commitment to the NCAA means he will return to Saskatoon for one more WHL season (2026-27) before heading to Grand Forks. Joining him at UND will be fellow 2026 Maple Leafs pick Ethan MacKenzie. MacKenzie played for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. He will be starting in the NCAA this season.

Maple Leafs Prospect Making Use of NCAA Rule Change

Until the NCAA’s Division I Council voted in November 2024 to make Canadian Hockey League players eligible (a change that took effect August 1, 2025), playing a single WHL, OHL, or QMJHL game ended a player’s college eligibility. CHL players were classified as professionals under the NCAA’s amateurism rules. Players had to make a choice between the two paths. A decision that was permanent and made at the age of 16.

That is gone. A player can now spend his draft years in major junior and then go to school. This has three consequences that NHL teams like the Maple Leafs are still adjusting to.

First, the development runway got longer. A team drafting a raw 18-year-old in the fifth round used to face a hard signing decision on a compressed timeline. Now that prospect can play another year of junior, then go play at college, and arrive at main camp as a 21-22-year-old with an extra two years of physical development. Most importantly, they can do so without the NHL club burning an entry-level contract slot.

Second, the new rule changes what “late-round upside” means. Smart, undersized two-way players who need more time, like Cooper Williams, used to be poor bets in the fifth round. Mainly because there was no good place to put them; now there is.

Third, it interacts with the new CBA’s change, which allows 19-year-old CHL graduates into the AHL. It allows organizations to have three viable development lanes for young players instead of one.

Williams Timeline with Maple Leafs

Williams will play the 2026-27 season in Saskatoon. He arrives at North Dakota in the fall of 2027. Even a college “fast track” means two or three seasons there. He will be 21 or 22 before he signs anything. A Toronto Marlies debut in 2029 or 2030 is the expectation. Depending on how well he does in the AHL, he could play an NHL game after that.

The Maple Leafs retain his rights on the NCAA timeline, which is longer than the standard CHL signing window. Another advantage of the college route for a team that is not in a hurry with their late-round draft selections.