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Toronto Maple Leafs 2025 Prospect Showdown roster breakdown

Originally posted on 6IX ON ICE | By Anthony Fava | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 12:30 PM ET

The new season of NHL action is just over a month away, and in the lead-up to the 2025–26 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the middle of their rookie camp. They’re preparing for the 2025 Prospect Showdown in Montreal. During the Prospect Showdown, the team’s 26-man roster will take on the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

The roster, which consists of 15 forwards, nine defencemen and two goaltenders, is made up of players ranging from high picks in recent high draft picks, to players on NHL contracts, to guys signed on AHL deals.

We will break down the roster by position and analyze some of the top guys to look out for as the Prospect Showdown nears.

Let’s get to it.

Forwards

Players: Tyler Hopkins, Ryan Kirwan, Braeden Kressler, Sam McCue, Harry Nansi, Alex Pharand, Jacob Quillan, Landon Sim, Ryan Tverberg, Borya Valis, Matthew Barbolini, Easton Cowan, Luke Haymes, Matthew Hlacar, Miroslav Holinka

Easton Cowan headlines the forward group. Cowan will be the frontrunner among the Leafs’ prospect group to make the NHL squad this season after using his scoring touch to help lead the London Knights to a Memorial Cup victory in 2025, capturing tournament MVP honours in the process. He will also be joined by his London teammate, Landon Sim, who put up just over a point-per-game total with the Knights last season.

Also featured in the forward group are Tyler Hopkins, Matthew Hlacar and Harry Nansi, who were all selected by the Leafs in the 2025 NHL Draft. While these three aren’t at all likely to play any meaningful NHL minutes this season, the Prospect Showdown will be a good opportunity to see what they bring to the table against other young NHL-calibre talent.

Then, from the 2024 draft class, Miroslav Holinka and Sam McCue will be suiting up for the group. Both players are just under 20 years old, and both put up right around a point per game in the OHL last season. Look out for them, and the previously mentioned forwards, to make an impact come Saturday.

Defencemen

Players: Noah Chadwick, Owen Conrad, Ben Danford, Rylan Fellinger, Nathan Mayes, Rhett Parsons, John Prokop, Chas Sharpe, Blake Smith

Leading the Leafs’ young defensive group will be 2024 31st-overall pick Ben Danford. Danford is the crown jewel amongst the Leafs’ defence prospects, and while his offensive totals at the OHL level this past year weren’t anything otherworldly, he has shown a lot of promise as a potential core member for the future.

In addition to Danford, the Leafs will also be employing 2025 sixth-round pick Rylan Fellinger, 2024 seventh-round pick Nathan Mayes and 2023 sixth-round pick Noah Chadwick. Out of these three, Chadwick had by far the best numbers at the major-junior level, putting up 53 points in 63 games this past season in the WHL.

The defence corps may not be at the level that the forwards are, but perhaps the underdog status of this group can shine through this weekend.

Goaltenders

Players: Vyacheslav Peksa and Artur Akhtyamov

The Leafs lack top-tier talent in net for the upcoming games, but between the two available goalies, Artur Akhtyamov is likely to be the preferred starter. The 23-year-old Russian netminder had a solid season last year with the Toronto Marlies, putting up a .901 save percentage and a 2.81 goals-against average.

Vyacheslav Peksa had very limited time with the Marlies, playing most of his minutes at the ECHL, where he had very similar numbers to Akhtyamov. It will be interesting to see how he performs if he winds up seeing some ice time between the pipes.

This article first appeared on 6IX ON ICE and was syndicated with permission.

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