Maple Leafs sign free agent NCAA defenceman John Prokop

Prokop will be joining the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for the remainder of the 2024-25 season on an amateur tryout.

The 23-year-old recently finished his junior season at Union College, where he led all Garnet Chargers defencemen in scoring with 27 points (eight goals and 19 assists) in 36 games, and finished two points back of the team lead in scoring overall. Prokop is a season removed from leading his team in points, finishing with eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points during his sophomore campaign.

He was recently named the 20th-ranked NCAA free agent by EliteProspects as well as the fourth-highest-ranked defenceman overall. Prokop got invited to the Vegas Golden Knights development camp last summer, indicating that he was on the radar of several NHL teams who were thinking of signing him to an ELC.

Despite his numbers taking a dip this season, Prokop remained one of the more sought-after college free-agent defencemen prior to him being locked up by the Leafs. This is because of his strong two-way game, skating abilities, and size as he stands at 6’3″ and weighs 190 pounds.

While he certainly enjoys being a factor offensively, Prokop takes a lot of pride in being responsible defensively and also doing whatever it takes to help his team win.

“Everybody believes in the locker room, I believe in playing the right way, our coaches believe in playing the right way and our team believes that,” he said to Times Union’s Sean Martin in January 2024. “With every shift, whether it is offence or defence, doing the little things and bringing that to the table. Every time you step on the ice, practice, the workout room, you name it and I think that is a big part of how I carry myself.”

Prokop joins a growing list of college players who join the Leafs system and make an impact. Matthew Knies is by far the most successful of the recent crop, but Toronto has been able to add intriguing players in Cade Webber and Jacob Quillan as prospects worth paying attention to. The former has established himself as the steady defensive defenceman while the latter has taken advantage of the void left behind by Fraser Minten as the Marlies’ second-line centre.

Given that his contract won’t kick in until next season, Prokop won’t be an option to help out the Leafs for this year. At the very least, he gives them another option to improve their defensive prospect crop and could be knocking at the door for a shot in the NHL soon enough.