The Toronto Maple Leafs‘ prospect cupboard has seen better days. We all know that. The reality is, if you’re in the position the Maple Leafs are and find yourself in the thick of the playoff hunt whenever the trade deadline rolls around, watching all of your rivals upgrade their rosters, you’re going to have to be a buyer more often than not.

The Leafs won’t be adding any A-list prospects to their pool anytime soon, given that the team is without a first round pick until 2028, but the draft isn’t just one round long. Capitalizing on later-round picks and finding diamonds in the rough is just as important as hitting on your first-round pick. And that includes signing undrafted players from the OHL and/or NCAA.

With that being said, here are three Leafs prospects who were drafted outside of the first round (or not at all) who have surprised for the Leafs so far in 2025-26.

Fun fact, Harry Nansi was born one week away from potentially being a high draft pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. It’s hard to say for sure that would have been the case had Nansi been born a week later than September 10th, but he’s taken a gigantic step forward in his sophomore OHL season and his production at the moment reflects that of a high draft pick.

Nansi is a 6-foot-3 forward who can play any of the three forward positions. He has a quietly elite release despite being known as more of a playmaker, and while his game is still pretty raw and could use some improvements on the speed and physical side of things, his performance so far in 2025-26 has seen a gigantic step forward. After finishing last season with seven goals and 23 points in 67 games, he currently has nine goals and 34 points in 25 games for the Owen Sound Attack.

The fact that Nansi was born so close to the cutoff for 2025 NHL Draft eligibility makes his production so far that much more impressive. Had he been born a week later and putting up numbers like this, it’s almost certain that he wouldn’t have fallen to the fifth round. The Leafs may have a hidden gem on their hands here.

The Leafs signed Borya Valis to a three-year entry-level contract after he had a breakout year in 2024-25 for the Prince George Cougars, scoring 34 goals and recording 80 points in 66 games. Standing at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Valis brings a strong mix of goal-scoring touch in tight and good physicality as well, and with the Toronto Marlies losing a number of top-end players heading into this season, the Leafs brought him on board with an opportunity to seize, and so far he’s done that.

In 15 games with the Marlies so far, Valis has six goals and eight points in 17 games. They aren’t mind-numbing stats, but the fact that he seemingly hasn’t missed a beat in terms of transferring his goal-scoring ability from the WHL to the AHL is a good sign. He needs to keep this up for a full season to really get Maple Leafs’ brass turning their heads, and while his performance in preseason indicated that he needed time to develop in the AHL, his physicality and energy could see him in line for a promotion to the NHL sooner rather than later.

You can never have too many goalie options, and the Leafs are known to embrace this philosophy at the draft. They’ve drafted a goalie in four of the past six drafts, and while some (Dennis Hildeby) have developed much quicker than others, you never know when you’re going to find the next Igor Shesterkin or Ilya Sorokin. Timofei Obvintsev is a long way away from being either one of these goalies, but he’s impressed in his first exposure to pro hockey.

After spending the past two seasons with CSKA Red Army Jr, Russia’s junior team for CSKA, he’s now serving as a backup goaltender for Verkhnyaya Pyshma Gornyak of the VHL, which is Russia’s equivalent of the AHL. Although his record is 0-2, it hasn’t been due to his play. He has a save percentage of .926 and a goals-against average of 2.26 in his three games so far.

Three games is about as small of a sample size as you can get, but it’s worth a reminder that European pro teams are trying to win at all costs the same way NHL teams are, rather than focusing on getting young players ice time so they can eventually leave for the NHL. Obvintsev could chase a starter’s job in the KHL next season with the way he’s playing now, so he’s worth keeping an eye on.

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