They always say that if you’re a junior hockey player that doesn’t get drafted to the NHL, your story isn’t necessarily over. Plenty of undrafted CHL players have made it out of the league and made a name for themselves, just look at Mark Giordano, who finished his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and currently works with the Toronto Marlies. Each year, there are a couple of overagers who take a late step forward and catch the attention of a few NHL teams. Borya Valis was one of these players in 2024-25, earning a contract with the Leafs in March of last year.

Valis, who hails from Los Angeles, grinded through five years in the WHL before taking a significant step forward in his overage season. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Regina Pats before heading to the Prince George Cougars for his final two. While his offensive totals were impressive from his second year on, a combination of defensive concerns and a lack of meaningful growth between his second and fourth seasons led to his name not being called at the draft. His fifth season, however, saw a gigantic boost from a production standpoint, finishing the year with 34 goals and 47 assists for 81 points in 66 games, compared to 37 points in 32 games the year before. You could also argue that he started catching the attention of NHL teams in the 2023-24 playoffs, when he scored nine goals for 13 points in 15 playoff games.

In his first season of professional hockey, the consistency has once again reared its ugly head. He has ten goals and 16 points in 41 games, which isn’t necessarily a bad statline for someone of his age in his rookie season, but the production has come in waves. He scored two goals in the season opener and followed that up with another two-goal performance in the third game, eventually finishing the first ten games of the season with seven points in ten games. What followed that was a 20-game stretch with only one goal and three points in that span. He has six points in his last 11 games as he begins to find his form from early in the year.

Valis is in a unique position where he likely won’t be called upon for an important role with the Leafs anytime soon, but he’s a high-floor type of player who has improved his defensive game and could be used in a bottom-six energy forward role, making his call-up probability more likely than if he was the type of player who needed meaningful minutes to contribute. He probably won’t see any time in the NHL this season, but if he finishes this year and starts next year strong, he could be a contender for some NHL minutes in 2026-27.

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