TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings: Honourable Mentions

The annual summer project of counting down to the top prospect in the Maple Leafs system kicked off yesterday with the list of players not receiving any recognition from the voting panel. Some distinguished former prospects on that list would include Pierre Engvall, Pontus Holmberg, and Dakota Joshua. It isn’t damning as much as it is acknowledgement of the long road ahead and for some of them they are early in the “project” stage of their development.

Next week the countdown officially starts with the 20th ranked prospect, but today we’ll focus on the eight players that came close to the distinction of cracking the list.

It’s weird to think that I’ve been ranking prospects on this site for a quarter of my life, but I have to say that this is one of the widest open rankings I’ve ever participated in and as such these honourable mentions matter a bit more. The Leafs system is now all about finding the players that they think their Player Development system can work with and trusting in the post draft process to make up for the lack of high draft picks coming into the system and that creates a lot of chaos in the rankings.

Without further ado, here are some players that could just as easily crack the top ten of the Leafs top prospect list next season:

Roni Hirvonen

Hirvonen is a former top ten Maple Leafs prospect that has slide down to the Honourable Mentions for a few reasons.

Things started going bad for Hirvonen after coming over to North America almost instantly after suffering an eye injury that derailed his AHL rookie season. His 2024-25 season follow-up didn’t show enough forward progress and at 5’10, Hirvonen doesn’t really fit with the size that Brad Treliving wants in his forward group. As a result, Hirvonen will be on his way back to Finland to play for Karpat next season while the Maple Leafs retain his rights.

Hirvonen is a worker bee with some agitating tendencies. If you are looking at a former Leaf he compares to, it is likely fellow countryman Nic Hagman. The injury setback and potentially not finding a fit on the Marlies makes the return to Finland the right call but the Leafs obviously know there is still potential here otherwise his rights wouldn’t have been retained.

If Hirvonen finds some offence or even gets significant ice time with Karpat, it’s possible that the Leafs or other NHL teams will take note and Hirvonen could get another crack at the NHL, although the reality is that usually once a player returns to Europe that signifies the end of the NHL journey unless something exceptional takes place.

Harry Nansi

The Leafs’ 5th round pick this summer didn’t crack the top 20 Leafs prospects and that’s pretty standard for late round picks in their draft year. Nansi did get some consideration though, as a 6’3 forward is certainly going to get an opportunity to prove himself with the Leafs, and there was some encouraging progression from his rookie season in the OHL to his draft year, with the jump from nine to 23 points. The progress and size give the Leafs something to be excited about and with a late draft birthday comparing Nansi’s 2025-26 to those in the 2026 draft class will be important in knowing what the Leafs have here.

Playmaking is at the forefront of Nansi’s game and in the OHL his size is a definite advantage that he’ll likely get to exploit even more this season.

Vyacheslav Peksa

Giving up on a 6’3 goaltender at 22 is often ill-advised and when things come together, they can come together quickly and force a lot of people to admit they were wrong. That’s the standard disclaimer that comes with most goaltending prospects and with Peksa seemingly being okay with putting in time in the ECHL, the Leafs might as well see what happens in the remaining year of Peksa’s contract.

Peksa’s time in North America hasn’t gone great so far. His first ECHL season saw him end the year with a .890 save percentage in Newfoundland in 19 games. There was an improvement with his and the team’s move to Cincinnati, playing in 32 games and ending up with a .904 save percentage. The concern here is that goaltenders tend to standout a bit more at the ECHL level and even on a bad team like Cincinnati, a goaltender should find better numbers.

Peksa also got his first taste of AHL action with two games. They didn’t go great either, ending up with a .878 save percentage in those outings.

While the excitement for Peksa has fallen off and he has fallen out of the Top 20 prospect list, Slava will have some better opportunities this season. With Matt Murray gone, there is one less obstacle in reaching the AHL, and callups could be a more frequent thing. Getting a chance to show what he can do against tougher competition and with a better team in front of him might get Peksa back on track and maybe climb the Leafs’ goaltending depth chart.

Nathan Mayes

A physical 6’4 defenceman is definitely someone to take note of in the Leafs’ system and it seems pretty likely that Mayes will be offered a contract if his 2025-26 season in Spokane continues to show that he is improving.

Mayes’ wasn’t drafted for his offence, he had a one goal season with 16 points when Toronto selected him in the seventh round in 2024, and his improvement to six goals and 27 points is nice but really only serves to show the progress that the Leafs truly care about is occurring.

Spokane is trusting Mayes in more situations and is delivering on that utilization. His more frequent deployment is common with a post draft year but that Mayes did this on one of the better teams in the WHL last season is noteworthy.

Nothing about Mayes screams he’s a potential NHLer but everything about him screams the Leafs will put him in the AHL and by Toronto’s prospect pool standards, that’s not bad.

John Prokop

At 24, Prokop tests the limits of what would be considered a prospect for a skater, but as a 6’3 defenceman who has put in three years for Union College in the NCAA, he’s likely got a bit more NHL readiness to his name than the rest of this group and can be expected to play a regular role on the Toronto Marlies next season.

Prokop was highly touted back in 2024 when he led Union in points (35 points in 36 games) but his numbers declined to 27 points in 2024-25 (still with eight goals though) which goes against the progress you’d hope to see but still makes sense for a team like the Leafs to see what he can do for a season.

The mix of size and offence will help the Marlies blueline and fill a need with the departures of Mikko Kokkonen and Topi Niemela. And who knows, maybe Prokop will be a found wallet for the Leafs.

Joe Miller

Miller has always been a prospect worth keeping an eye on in the Leafs organization. There is a strong connection to Ryan Hardy on the Marlies as both are past members of the Chicago Steel organization and the Leafs have often seen their prospects run through the Harvard program as well.

Miller was pretty consistent with 28 and 27 points in his first couple of seasons in the NCAA, but last year he dropped to 23 points, with only five goals. That said, he’ll enter his final year at Harvard as the team’s captain and chance to make his case for the Marlies.

At 5’10, Miller doesn’t fit the size direction that the Leafs organization has been going in but the Leafs can’t ignore any offensive talent they have in their system, especially at the centre position. Even if he’s a longshot for the Leafs, there’s a need for him in the AHL.

Alexander Plesovskikh

Today (August 1st) is Alexander’s 19th birthday, so happy birthday to him. As a gift we’ll celebrate his impressive MHL season with 15 goals and 38 points in 50 games. The 5th round pick in 2024 has a strong forechecking presence that he uses to distribute the puck. This skillset seems like an asset to secondary scoring line and seems like a good reason to keep an eye on what happens next with Plesovskikh.

As of right now the plans for Alexander look like a continuation of time in the MHL, as opposed to making the jump to the KHL in 2025-26, but just because it’s not the immediate plans doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

It’s because of all the waiting to see what happens next that Plesovskikh probably isn’t on the Leafs’ radar for being brought over to North America just yet but with a strong history of Toronto finding valuable third line type players in Russia, Alexander is a player that could creep into the top 20 next season.

Blake Smith

A 6’5 physical defenceman is always going to have a place in the Leafs organization and at 20, Blake Smith is still on the younger side of the organization’s options for extended development towards a role in the NHL.

Smith is an undrafted free agent who was playing for Flint in the OHL last season. His 10 goals and 32 points are nice but really not what is going to be asked of Smith at the AHL level and will likely evaporate completely if he gets a look at the NHL in the distant future.

Smith’s spot on the Marlies likely can’t be treated as a lock because of his age and it is entirely possible that he starts the year in the ECHL or in a platooning capacity on the Marlies. All of that shouldn’t be taken as a criticism of Smith, just an acknowledgement that the OHL to AHL is a pretty big jump for an undrafted prospect.

With his family tree littered with professional hockey players including former Leaf Wayne Primeau (his uncle), don’t count out Smith making a case for the Leafs in the coming years.

The TLN Top 20 Prospect Rankings starts on Monday.