<p>The Leafs have pushed their chips in over the last few years, cashing in valuable draft capital to round out their NHL roster in an effort to go on a long playoff run. They&#8217;ve made just four selections in the first three rounds of the last three drafts, and their prospect pool has taken a hit as a result.</p>
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<p>We&#8217;ve examined the depth of the Leafs&#8217; prospect pipeline over the last week, and today, we conclude our countdown with the top five up-and-comers in the organization.</p>
<p><a href="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/2025/02/14/february-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-20-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 20-16</a></p>
<p><a href="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/2025/02/18/tln-february-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-15-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 15-11</a></p>
<p><a href="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/2025/02/20/tln-february-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-10-6/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 10-6</a></p>
<p>Despite a lack of blue-chip talent, there are a number of potential depth contributors in the Leafs&#8217; system, but the players listed below are the ones with the highest likelihood of carving out long NHL careers, and one of them, in particular, could become a legitimate impact player for the Leafs in the near future.</p>
<h2><strong>5 | Dennis Hildeby | G | Toronto (NHL/AHL) | Drafted: 2022, 4th round, 122nd overall</strong></h2>
<p>Hildeby has followed a unique path and has become quite a story for the Leafs over the last few years. After being passed over in the draft multiple times, he underwent double hip surgery and put together an impressive season in 2021-22, spurring the Leafs to trade up into the fourth round of that year&#8217;s draft to select him. They followed that up by signing Hildeby to an entry-level contract just days later, further signifying their belief in his potential, as well as his NHL timeline.</p>
<p>Hildeby spent the following season playing for Färjestad in the SHL on loan from the Leafs, putting up a .918 save percentage over 21 games. Last season was his first full campaign in the AHL with the Marlies, and he had stretches where he was among the best netminders in the league, finishing with a .913 save percentage in 41 appearances as a rookie. He carried that momentum into training camp this past fall, where he continued to gain the trust of the Leafs&#8217; coaching staff, and they have turned to him this season with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz on the shelf at various points.</p>
<p>Going undrafted a couple of times meant that Hildeby was further along his developmental path when he joined the Leafs organization than most prospects are, and he has continued to polish his game since then. At 6&#8217;7&#8243; and nearly 225 pounds, Hildeby&#8217;s size is a distinct advantage in the crease. He covers a lot of net with that frame, but he combines that with sound positioning and the ability to read the play as it unfolds around him. Hildeby can afford to play a bit deeper in his net because of how big he is, helping him get from post to post very quickly, and he has solid rebound control when he&#8217;s at his best. He isn&#8217;t the quickest netminder out there, but his size and athleticism help to mitigate that weakness in his game. His first few NHL appearances have made it clear that he isn&#8217;t quite ready for full-time duty just yet, but there are a lot of tools for Hildeby to work with, and he should become a viable number two option at the NHL, at minimum.</p>
<h2><strong>4 | Nikita Grebenkin | W | Toronto (NHL/AHL) | Drafted: 2022, 5th round, 135th overall</strong></h2>
<p>Another player who was passed over in the NHL draft in his first year of eligibility, Grebenkin has progressed quickly since the Leafs scooped him up in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. First, he won the KHL&#8217;s Rookie of the Year award after being loaned to Amur Khabarovsk, and then returned to Magnitogorsk the following season, where he was one of the top players for the Gagarin Cup winners.</p>
<p>Grebenkin signed his entry-level deal with the Leafs last spring and made a strong impression in his first NHL camp this past fall, including a fight in a preseason game against the Ottawa Senators. He got off to a fantastic start to the season with the Marlies, earning a run of games with the Leafs as they dealt with multiple injuries up front, but his pace has slowed a bit as he continues adjusting to North American pro hockey.</p>
<p>Despite having just seven NHL games and no points on his resume at this point, Grebenkin has already become a fan favourite in Toronto with his infectious personality and rambunctious style of play. He&#8217;s a big kid, standing at 6&#8217;2&#8243; and weighing 210 pounds, and he is more than happy to throw his weight around on the forecheck. Grebenkin does a lot of his best work along the boards, disrupting possessions for the opposition, protecting pucks with his body, and making plays into the middle of the offensive zone off the wall. He has slick hands in traffic, sneaky good vision as a passer, and he can finish plays around the net as well. The most obvious concern in Grebenkin&#8217;s game is his skating, but it&#8217;s more a question of aesthetics than effectiveness; his janky stride certainly doesn&#8217;t look pretty, but he still manages to cover ground and get around the rink well enough. Grebenkin is unlikely to develop into the kind of impact offensive player that he was in the KHL, but he can already handle NHL minutes and could become a fixture in the Leafs&#8217; bottom six as early as next season.</p>
<h2><strong>3 | Ben Danford | RHD | Oshawa (OHL) | Drafted: 2024, 1st round, 31st overall</strong></h2>
<p>For the second straight year, the Leafs turned a few heads with the name they called at the end of the first round, and while Danford might not have a superstar ceiling, the pick helped fill an organizational need with a player who looks like a safe bet to play in the NHL in some capacity.</p>
<p>Danford has been praised by OHL observers as one of the most competitive and intelligent players in the league, and those intangibles likely played a big part in the Oshawa Generals making him their captain for the 2024-25 season. His production over the last two years is a bit concerning, even for a defence-first player, but he shuts down the opposition with a defensive mindset that is beyond his years. The details in Danford&#8217;s game are well-refined already, whether that be his gap control, positioning in his own end, or his ability to identify threats around his net and eliminate them in a timely fashion. Beyond the subtleties in his game, he makes plenty of noise with his physical play and has put together quite the hit-reel in the OHL this season &#8211; a few of which have led to Danford dropping the gloves, which he has also handled quite well. He doesn&#8217;t get much power play time for the Generals, and that&#8217;s a big reason for his lack of production, but he is a smooth skater who can beat forecheckers on his own before hitting a teammate with a clean breakout pass. Danford shows flashes of puck skills and vision in the offensive zone, but he hasn&#8217;t put those skills together on a consistent basis yet, and maybe he never will, but he isn&#8217;t a liability with the puck on his stick by any means.</p>
<p>There were other players on the board with more upside than Danford when the Leafs made him the 31st overall pick, but the strengths of his game are highly translatable to the pro level. He probably isn&#8217;t going to anchor the first pair on an NHL team, but he has a relatively high floor as a third pair defenceman who could play bigger minutes with the right partner as he progresses.</p>
<h2><strong>2 | Fraser Minten | C | Toronto (NHL/AHL) | Drafted: 2022, 2nd round, 38th overall</strong></h2>
<p>Despite his middling production in the WHL since being drafted, Minten turned heads in training camp a season ago, earning a spot on the Leafs&#8217; roster for four games before heading back to junior. He went on to captain Team Canada at the World Juniors before leading the Saskatoon Blades on a deep playoff run before beginning his professional career this season.</p>
<p>Minten was injured prior to training camp in September, but a late start to the season didn&#8217;t stop him from catching the eye of Leafs brass with his mature style of play. With a rash of injuries to the Leafs&#8217; forward group, he was called up after just five games with the Marlies, notching four points in his first five games with the big club. The flashes of offence he has shown in the AHL and, to a lesser extent, the NHL this season have been encouraging, but it is the well-rounded nature of his game that should help him carve out a long career. Minten has good size, skates well, and is a supremely intelligent player who takes care of things in his own zone above all else. He finishes checks, attacks puck carriers with good stick placement and is almost always on the right side of the puck. Minten is never going to be an offensive driver, but he supports play extremely well with the smarts and enough skill to be effective alongside more offensively inclined players, and he can do the dirty work to free up pucks along the wall. He also has a knack for finding open pockets of space around the opposing net, and while he isn&#8217;t the kind of player who is going to consistently create his own looks, he&#8217;s got a good catch-and-release wrister that can beat goaltenders cleanly.</p>
<p>Maybe Minten tops out as a good fourth-line centre who can handle tough matchups, but developing into a reliable 3C who can chip in with a bit of secondary scoring seems more likely than it did a year ago.</p>
<h2><strong>1 | Easton Cowan | C/W | London (OHL) | Drafted: 2023, 1st round, 28th overall</strong></h2>
<p>There was some belief that Cowan might crack the Leafs&#8217; roster this past fall after a massive season in the OHL that saw him earn both regular season and playoff MVP honours, but he didn&#8217;t assert himself in quite the same way he did in his first training camp, and he was sent back to London. He hasn&#8217;t torched the league to the same extent that he did a year ago, and he didn&#8217;t elevate his play at the World Juniors, but he is fresh off of one of the longest point streaks in CHL history while contributing in all phases for one of the best teams in junior hockey.</p>
<p>Cowan is a quick and tenacious player with great vision and the processing speed to make use of his raw skills in tight spaces. He relentlessly hunts pucks and finishes his checks, gets off the wall into the middle of the offensive zone effectively, and can act as both a finisher and facilitator. He gets into the middle of the offensive zone with the puck on his stick and keeps his feet moving to hunt open space after dishing to a teammate. His pace of play can waver at times, but Cowan also has a knack for dictating that pace with the puck on his stick, changing gears and altering angles of attack to open up space in the offensive zone. He is a highly creative player, not just in the way he tries to make plays for his teammates but in the way he solves problems and adapts to broken plays under pressure. Cowan isn&#8217;t the biggest player, but he takes the physicality to his opponents more than they take it to him. There are still some junior-esque habits that he will have to work out of his game, such as extended shifts and low-percentage plays with the puck, but he is a determined player who can make an impact at both ends of the ice.</p>
<p>At a minimum, Cowan is tracking to be a high-end third-liner who can play any position and contribute on both special teams units, but he also has all the tools to become an impactful top-six winger at the NHL level. There might not be much in the way of high-end talent in the Leafs&#8217; system, but Cowan stands alone as a prospect with a projectable floor and the upside to become a difference-maker in the NHL.</p>
<p><em>Statistics from EliteProspects.com</em></p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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The Leafs have pushed their chips in over the last few years, cashing in valuable draft capital to round out their NHL roster in an effort to go on a long playoff run. They've made just four selections in the first three rounds of the last three drafts, and their prospect pool has taken a hit as a result.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
We've examined the depth of the Leafs' prospect pipeline over the last week, and today, we conclude our countdown with the top five up-and-comers in the organization.

<a href="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/2025/02/14/february-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-20-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 20-16</a>

<a href="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/2025/02/18/tln-february-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-15-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 15-11</a>

<a href="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/2025/02/20/tln-february-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-10-6/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 10-6</a>

Despite a lack of blue-chip talent, there are a number of potential depth contributors in the Leafs' system, but the players listed below are the ones with the highest likelihood of carving out long NHL careers, and one of them, in particular, could become a legitimate impact player for the Leafs in the near future.
<h2><strong>5 | Dennis Hildeby | G | Toronto (NHL/AHL) | Drafted: 2022, 4th round, 122nd overall</strong></h2>
Hildeby has followed a unique path and has become quite a story for the Leafs over the last few years. After being passed over in the draft multiple times, he underwent double hip surgery and put together an impressive season in 2021-22, spurring the Leafs to trade up into the fourth round of that year's draft to select him. They followed that up by signing Hildeby to an entry-level contract just days later, further signifying their belief in his potential, as well as his NHL timeline.

Hildeby spent the following season playing for Färjestad in the SHL on loan from the Leafs, putting up a .918 save percentage over 21 games. Last season was his first full campaign in the AHL with the Marlies, and he had stretches where he was among the best netminders in the league, finishing with a .913 save percentage in 41 appearances as a rookie. He carried that momentum into training camp this past fall, where he continued to gain the trust of the Leafs' coaching staff, and they have turned to him this season with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz on the shelf at various points.

Going undrafted a couple of times meant that Hildeby was further along his developmental path when he joined the Leafs organization than most prospects are, and he has continued to polish his game since then. At 6'7" and nearly 225 pounds, Hildeby's size is a distinct advantage in the crease. He covers a lot of net with that frame, but he combines that with sound positioning and the ability to read the play as it unfolds around him. Hildeby can afford to play a bit deeper in his net because of how big he is, helping him get from post to post very quickly, and he has solid rebound control when he's at his best. He isn't the quickest netminder out there, but his size and athleticism help to mitigate that weakness in his game. His first few NHL appearances have made it clear that he isn't quite ready for full-time duty just yet, but there are a lot of tools for Hildeby to work with, and he should become a viable number two option at the NHL, at minimum.
<h2><strong>4 | Nikita Grebenkin | W | Toronto (NHL/AHL) | Drafted: 2022, 5th round, 135th overall</strong></h2>
Another player who was passed over in the NHL draft in his first year of eligibility, Grebenkin has progressed quickly since the Leafs scooped him up in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. First, he won the KHL's Rookie of the Year award after being loaned to Amur Khabarovsk, and then returned to Magnitogorsk the following season, where he was one of the top players for the Gagarin Cup winners.

Grebenkin signed his entry-level deal with the Leafs last spring and made a strong impression in his first NHL camp this past fall, including a fight in a preseason game against the Ottawa Senators. He got off to a fantastic start to the season with the Marlies, earning a run of games with the Leafs as they dealt with multiple injuries up front, but his pace has slowed a bit as he continues adjusting to North American pro hockey.

Despite having just seven NHL games and no points on his resume at this point, Grebenkin has already become a fan favourite in Toronto with his infectious personality and rambunctious style of play. He's a big kid, standing at 6'2" and weighing 210 pounds, and he is more than happy to throw his weight around on the forecheck. Grebenkin does a lot of his best work along the boards, disrupting possessions for the opposition, protecting pucks with his body, and making plays into the middle of the offensive zone off the wall. He has slick hands in traffic, sneaky good vision as a passer, and he can finish plays around the net as well. The most obvious concern in Grebenkin's game is his skating, but it's more a question of aesthetics than effectiveness; his janky stride certainly doesn't look pretty, but he still manages to cover ground and get around the rink well enough. Grebenkin is unlikely to develop into the kind of impact offensive player that he was in the KHL, but he can already handle NHL minutes and could become a fixture in the Leafs' bottom six as early as next season.
<h2><strong>3 | Ben Danford | RHD | Oshawa (OHL) | Drafted: 2024, 1st round, 31st overall</strong></h2>
For the second straight year, the Leafs turned a few heads with the name they called at the end of the first round, and while Danford might not have a superstar ceiling, the pick helped fill an organizational need with a player who looks like a safe bet to play in the NHL in some capacity.

Danford has been praised by OHL observers as one of the most competitive and intelligent players in the league, and those intangibles likely played a big part in the Oshawa Generals making him their captain for the 2024-25 season. His production over the last two years is a bit concerning, even for a defence-first player, but he shuts down the opposition with a defensive mindset that is beyond his years. The details in Danford's game are well-refined already, whether that be his gap control, positioning in his own end, or his ability to identify threats around his net and eliminate them in a timely fashion. Beyond the subtleties in his game, he makes plenty of noise with his physical play and has put together quite the hit-reel in the OHL this season - a few of which have led to Danford dropping the gloves, which he has also handled quite well. He doesn't get much power play time for the Generals, and that's a big reason for his lack of production, but he is a smooth skater who can beat forecheckers on his own before hitting a teammate with a clean breakout pass. Danford shows flashes of puck skills and vision in the offensive zone, but he hasn't put those skills together on a consistent basis yet, and maybe he never will, but he isn't a liability with the puck on his stick by any means.

There were other players on the board with more upside than Danford when the Leafs made him the 31st overall pick, but the strengths of his game are highly translatable to the pro level. He probably isn't going to anchor the first pair on an NHL team, but he has a relatively high floor as a third pair defenceman who could play bigger minutes with the right partner as he progresses.
<h2><strong>2 | Fraser Minten | C | Toronto (NHL/AHL) | Drafted: 2022, 2nd round, 38th overall</strong></h2>
Despite his middling production in the WHL since being drafted, Minten turned heads in training camp a season ago, earning a spot on the Leafs' roster for four games before heading back to junior. He went on to captain Team Canada at the World Juniors before leading the Saskatoon Blades on a deep playoff run before beginning his professional career this season.

Minten was injured prior to training camp in September, but a late start to the season didn't stop him from catching the eye of Leafs brass with his mature style of play. With a rash of injuries to the Leafs' forward group, he was called up after just five games with the Marlies, notching four points in his first five games with the big club. The flashes of offence he has shown in the AHL and, to a lesser extent, the NHL this season have been encouraging, but it is the well-rounded nature of his game that should help him carve out a long career. Minten has good size, skates well, and is a supremely intelligent player who takes care of things in his own zone above all else. He finishes checks, attacks puck carriers with good stick placement and is almost always on the right side of the puck. Minten is never going to be an offensive driver, but he supports play extremely well with the smarts and enough skill to be effective alongside more offensively inclined players, and he can do the dirty work to free up pucks along the wall. He also has a knack for finding open pockets of space around the opposing net, and while he isn't the kind of player who is going to consistently create his own looks, he's got a good catch-and-release wrister that can beat goaltenders cleanly.

Maybe Minten tops out as a good fourth-line centre who can handle tough matchups, but developing into a reliable 3C who can chip in with a bit of secondary scoring seems more likely than it did a year ago.
<h2><strong>1 | Easton Cowan | C/W | London (OHL) | Drafted: 2023, 1st round, 28th overall</strong></h2>
There was some belief that Cowan might crack the Leafs' roster this past fall after a massive season in the OHL that saw him earn both regular season and playoff MVP honours, but he didn't assert himself in quite the same way he did in his first training camp, and he was sent back to London. He hasn't torched the league to the same extent that he did a year ago, and he didn't elevate his play at the World Juniors, but he is fresh off of one of the longest point streaks in CHL history while contributing in all phases for one of the best teams in junior hockey.

Cowan is a quick and tenacious player with great vision and the processing speed to make use of his raw skills in tight spaces. He relentlessly hunts pucks and finishes his checks, gets off the wall into the middle of the offensive zone effectively, and can act as both a finisher and facilitator. He gets into the middle of the offensive zone with the puck on his stick and keeps his feet moving to hunt open space after dishing to a teammate. His pace of play can waver at times, but Cowan also has a knack for dictating that pace with the puck on his stick, changing gears and altering angles of attack to open up space in the offensive zone. He is a highly creative player, not just in the way he tries to make plays for his teammates but in the way he solves problems and adapts to broken plays under pressure. Cowan isn't the biggest player, but he takes the physicality to his opponents more than they take it to him. There are still some junior-esque habits that he will have to work out of his game, such as extended shifts and low-percentage plays with the puck, but he is a determined player who can make an impact at both ends of the ice.

At a minimum, Cowan is tracking to be a high-end third-liner who can play any position and contribute on both special teams units, but he also has all the tools to become an impactful top-six winger at the NHL level. There might not be much in the way of high-end talent in the Leafs' system, but Cowan stands alone as a prospect with a projectable floor and the upside to become a difference-maker in the NHL.

<em>Statistics from EliteProspects.com</em>

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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