Maple Leafs Prospect Roundup: Danford doing it all, Koblar stepping up

Danford’s game is often understated because the things he does well don’t always show up on the scoresheet, but he was a difference-maker in Sunday’s win, and that’s the type of impact the Leafs are hoping he can make at the NHL level in the coming years.

Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:

• Easton Cowan was thrown into the fire this past week, making his NHL debut and lining up alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies for four games in six days. He showed flashes of his high-end offensive skill and tenacious style of play, earning his first NHL point with a secondary assist on a Matthews goal against Nashville on Tuesday. He started off strong the next time out against the New York Rangers, but as should be expected with any rookie getting their feet wet in the NHL, he hit a couple of bumps in the road as the game wore on. Cowan was eventually relegated to the bench in the third period against New York after being tagged with five giveaways earlier in the game, but to his and the coaching staff’s credit, he was back on the top line for Saturday’s contest against Seattle. Through four games, Cowan has one point and an xGF% of 59.2% while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time. Every day is a new tryout for Cowan at this stage, and it seems likely that he’ll spend time with the Marlies at some point, but for now, he is looking to take advantage of the opportunity in front of him to stick in the NHL.

• With Joseph Woll still away from the Leafs for personal reasons, they have leaned heavily on Anthony Stolarz, who has started five of the club’s first six games. Cayden Primeau earned the win in his lone start against Nashville, but it was far from a picture-perfect performance, and it begs the question: When might the Leafs turn to Dennis Hildeby? It’s clear that the Leafs want their top goaltending prospect playing as much as he can rather than watching Stolarz from the bench, but he put together an impressive preseason, and he has carried that strong play into the AHL season. Hildeby made his second start of the season on Saturday, stopping 19 shots to lead the Marlies to a 2-1 overtime victory. Through two AHL appearances, Hildeby has surrendered just two goals on 53 shots for a .962 SV%. Primeau will be given a bit more run as the team awaits the return of Woll, but if Woll’s absence continues for much longer and Primeau struggles, Hildeby should be given another look at the NHL level.

• Hildeby was a big story in that 2-1 win, but the bigger story might be Borya Valis . Signed last spring as an undrafted free agent, Valis has wasted little time making his presence known in the AHL. After scoring twice in his season debut, he scored both goals, including the overtime winner, in Saturday’s contest, bringing him to four goals in four games to start his first full season of pro hockey. Noah Chadwick also picked up his first AHL point with an assist on Valis’ winner.

• Jacob Quillan hung around until the final days of Leafs camp, and he is doing what he can to prove himself as a worthy call-up option in the early going of the AHL season. He assisted on Valis’ first goal in Saturday’s win, and now has four assists through the first four games of the Marlies’ season. The Leafs have plenty of bodies up front at the moment, but Quillan might be next in line should injuries begin to mount.

• Tinus Luc Koblar spent the entirety of his draft year toiling in Sweden’s J20 Nationell and J18 circuits, but he has already suited up for 10 games with Leksands’ SHL club so far this season. The Leafs’ second-rounder from the 2025 draft had the best game of his young pro career on Thursday, scoring a goal and adding an assist in a losing effort to Brynas. Koblar has hovered around 12-13 minutes of ice time per game in the SHL, but played a season-high 18:55 in his first game following his two-point outing. It is typically quite difficult for young players to produce in the SHL, but Koblar has notched three points through his first 10 games.

• Artur Akhtyamov had a rough first start with the Marlies this season, allowing four goals on 26 shots in a 4-3 loss to Rochester. He bounced back in his second start on Sunday, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced in a 3-2 victory over the Utica Comets. Akhtyamov has shown flashes of NHL potential but he will need to be more consistent than he was as a rookie in the AHL if he is going to force his way up the depth chart.

• The 2024-25 season served as a breakout for William Villeneuve, who set career-highs in goals, assists, and points while taking over as the Marlies’ top power play option on the point. He has continued his strong production so far this season, notching a pair of assists on Sunday to give him three points through four games. There is no clear path to NHL minutes for Villeneuve, but if he continues to produce, he could see his first taste of NHL action at some point this season, particularly if one of the Leafs’ more offensively inclined blueliners like Morgan Rielly or Oliver Ekman-Larsson is forced to miss time.

• It was a big week for 2024 seventh-rounder Sam McCue. First, McCue announced his commitment to Bowling Green of the NCAA for the 2026-27 season. He followed that up with back-to-back multi-point outings, scoring two goals in Friday’s 7-3 win over Brampton before scoring twice more and adding a helper in Saturday’s rematch. For the season, McCue has six goals and three assists through nine games, and if he continues to produce like that, an entry-level contract with the Leafs could nullify his NCAA commitment.

• 2024 fifth-rounder Alexander Plesovskikh has been tearing up Russia’s junior league through the early part of the season. With 10 goals and nine assists in just 15 games, the production is extremely encouraging. The problem is that the MHL is not a strong league, and prospects with legitimate NHL upside have typically been elevated to the next level by this stage. There isn’t much more for Plesovskikh to prove at the junior level, but until he earns a look in the VHL or KHL, he will remain a longshot.

• Toronto used their final pick of the 2025 draft to select Kitchener Rangers tough guy Matthew Hlacar, despite his extremely limited prodction at the junior level. Hlacar was handed a six-game suspension by the OHL last week for a late hit on Soo Greyhound Jakub Winkelhofer. While the hit was deemed dangerous on it’s own, Hlacar’s status as a repeat-offender likely added a couple of games onto the suspension.

Statistics from EliteProspects.com, Evolving-Hockey.com, & NHL.com