<p>The Toronto Maple Leafs have made the playoffs eight years in a row (if you consider the play-in round from 2020 a playoff round), and as such have had to chip away at both their draft stock and their prospect pool over the course of those eight years. This is the case with most contending teams, and it&#8217;s no different for the Leafs, who were ranked 23rd in the NHL in Steven Ellis&#8217; DailyFaceoff&#8217;s pre-season team prospect pool rankings. They&#8217;re up one spot from this time last year when they were ranked 24th.</p>
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<p>Highlighting the Leafs&#8217; prospect pool are Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, and Topi Niemela. Cowan was the team&#8217;s first-round pick in 2023 and has firmly established himself as their top prospect after an exceptional season that saw him set the London Knights&#8217; franchise record for the most games in a row with a point (36). Minten was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft and, like Cowan, will push for a roster spot this season, but in all likelihood will start the season in the AHL. Niemela was a third-round pick of the Leafs in 2020 and had 39 points in 68 games for his first full AHL season in 2023-24. Rounding out Ellis&#8217; top five are 2022 second-round pick Nikita Grebyonkin, a Russian forward who&#8217;s skyrocketed on the rankings since his draft year, and their most recent first-round pick, defenceman Ben Danford.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s what Ellis has to say about the Leafs&#8217; prospect system. You can read the full rankings <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/ranking-every-nhl-teams-2024-25-prospect-pool-from-1-32">here</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<h2 class="mt-4 mb-2 border-b border-b-secondary text-2xl font-bold text-secondary">23. Toronto Maple Leafs (2023: 24th)</h2>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg"><em class="text-lg italic"><a class="text-secondary underline underline-offset-2" href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-25-nhl-prospect-pool-breakdown-toronto-maple-leafs-top-10" hreflang="en">Notable prospects: Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, Topi Niemelä</a></em></p>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg">&#8220;The Leafs have struggled to land a big-name prospect for quite some time – which makes sense, given they’re always at least in the hunt near the top of their division. Getting Matthew Knies at No. 57 in 2021 was a big win, but the team has struggled to get full-time NHLers over the past few years. Easton Cowan was one of the best prospects in hockey last year, though, and Fraser Minten already has a bit of NHL experience after a surprise start with the big club last year. Topi Niemelä is the team’s top blueliner right now, and Ben Danford is a legitimate NHL prospect, too. In net, the Leafs will hope Dennis Hildby ends up becoming something after taking him as a triple overager back in 2022. Beyond that, they’ve mostly got depth pieces at best.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As Ellis alluded to, their reasoning for where they&#8217;re slotted isn&#8217;t so much to do with a lack of depth, but rather, the lack of a top-end prospect. Losing Knies to the NHL was a big blow, and unless he really struggles in training camp and gets sent back to junior, it would appear Cowan is headed down that road too.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s where the other Atlantic Division teams ranked on Ellis&#8217; list.</p>
<ul>
<li>Montreal Canadiens, 2nd</li>
<li>Detroit Red Wings, 5th</li>
<li>Buffalo Sabres, 8th</li>
<li>Florida Panthers, 26th</li>
<li>Ottawa Senators, 30th</li>
<li>Boston Bruins, 31st</li>
<li>Tampa Bay Lightning, 32nd</li>
</ul>


The Toronto Maple Leafs have made the playoffs eight years in a row (if you consider the play-in round from 2020 a playoff round), and as such have had to chip away at both their draft stock and their prospect pool over the course of those eight years. This is the case with most contending teams, and it's no different for the Leafs, who were ranked 23rd in the NHL in Steven Ellis' DailyFaceoff's pre-season team prospect pool rankings. They're up one spot from this time last year when they were ranked 24th.
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Highlighting the Leafs' prospect pool are Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, and Topi Niemela. Cowan was the team's first-round pick in 2023 and has firmly established himself as their top prospect after an exceptional season that saw him set the London Knights' franchise record for the most games in a row with a point (36). Minten was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft and, like Cowan, will push for a roster spot this season, but in all likelihood will start the season in the AHL. Niemela was a third-round pick of the Leafs in 2020 and had 39 points in 68 games for his first full AHL season in 2023-24. Rounding out Ellis' top five are 2022 second-round pick Nikita Grebyonkin, a Russian forward who's skyrocketed on the rankings since his draft year, and their most recent first-round pick, defenceman Ben Danford.

Here's what Ellis has to say about the Leafs' prospect system. You can read the full rankings <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/ranking-every-nhl-teams-2024-25-prospect-pool-from-1-32">here</a>.
<blockquote>
<h2 class="mt-4 mb-2 border-b border-b-secondary text-2xl font-bold text-secondary">23. Toronto Maple Leafs (2023: 24th)</h2>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg"><em class="text-lg italic"><a class="text-secondary underline underline-offset-2" href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-25-nhl-prospect-pool-breakdown-toronto-maple-leafs-top-10" hreflang="en">Notable prospects: Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, Topi Niemelä</a></em></p>
<p class="mb-4 text-lg">"The Leafs have struggled to land a big-name prospect for quite some time – which makes sense, given they’re always at least in the hunt near the top of their division. Getting Matthew Knies at No. 57 in 2021 was a big win, but the team has struggled to get full-time NHLers over the past few years. Easton Cowan was one of the best prospects in hockey last year, though, and Fraser Minten already has a bit of NHL experience after a surprise start with the big club last year. Topi Niemelä is the team’s top blueliner right now, and Ben Danford is a legitimate NHL prospect, too. In net, the Leafs will hope Dennis Hildby ends up becoming something after taking him as a triple overager back in 2022. Beyond that, they’ve mostly got depth pieces at best."</p>
</blockquote>
As Ellis alluded to, their reasoning for where they're slotted isn't so much to do with a lack of depth, but rather, the lack of a top-end prospect. Losing Knies to the NHL was a big blow, and unless he really struggles in training camp and gets sent back to junior, it would appear Cowan is headed down that road too.

Here's where the other Atlantic Division teams ranked on Ellis' list.
<ul>
 	<li>Montreal Canadiens, 2nd</li>
 	<li>Detroit Red Wings, 5th</li>
 	<li>Buffalo Sabres, 8th</li>
 	<li>Florida Panthers, 26th</li>
 	<li>Ottawa Senators, 30th</li>
 	<li>Boston Bruins, 31st</li>
 	<li>Tampa Bay Lightning, 32nd</li>
</ul>

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