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Maple Leafs Prospect Roundup: Villeneuve knocking on the door, Akhtyamov stellar for Marlies
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Photo credit: (Photo by Steven Ellis/The Leafs Nation)
Nick Richard
Nov 25, 2025, 10:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 25, 2025, 09:18 EST
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It’s impossible to boil the Leafs’ struggles this season down to just one issue, but their inability to stop the cycle and clear their zone, never mind break out cleanly with possession, has been near the top of the list. It should say plenty about their shortcomings in those areas that the recently claimed journeyman Troy Stecher has felt like a breath of fresh air on the back end after bouncing around the league in recent years. It’s not that Stecher is necessarily a better overall player than what the Leafs already had in-house, but he offers a different skillset – one with mobility and puck-moving ability.
The Leafs’ system certainly isn’t loaded with high-end prospects, particularly on the blue line, but they do have a couple of players plying their trade with the Marlies who could eventually offer a bit of what Stecher has brought in his short time with the Leafs.
The name that keeps popping up amongst the fan base is that of 2020 fourth-round pick William Villeneuve. Drafted on the strength of his offensive game in junior, it took Villeneuve a couple of seasons with the Marlies before the rest of his game really started to round into form. He worked to clean up his stride and improve his four-way mobility, he became more composed under pressure, and started making better reads when it came to moving the puck up ice or jumping into the play. He also took over top billing as the team’s power play quarterback, and it culminated in a career year for Villeneuve with the Marlies in 2024-25 that saw him set new personal bests with four goals and 36 assists for 40 points in 56 games.
Villeneuve didn’t get much of a look in the preseason with all the veteran options ahead of him on the depth chart, but he is off to another strong start to begin the AHL season. He had a pair of assists in Saturday’s blowout win over the Iowa Wild, and scored his second goal of the season in Sunday’s rematch, bringing him up to 11 points in 17 games. There is plenty of runway remaining, but Villeneuve is on pace to set new career-highs across the board once again.
While Villeneuve is doing everything he can to break down the door to an NHL opportunity, Noah Chadwick is another offensively minded blueliner who is just getting his professional career started. The 6’4″ defender put up big numbers in the WHL over the last couple of seasons before joining the Marlies, and he had the biggest game of his young AHL career over the weekend. Chadwick scored his first AHL goal and added a pair of helpers in that 7-2 victory over Iowa, and he’s now got five points in his first 16 games.
Neither Villeneuve nor Chadwick is coming to rescue the Leafs and pull them out of their current slide, but it’s encouraging to see some positive development within a system that has struggled to graduate defenders to the NHL for far too long. Chadwick, in particular, needs significant time in the AHL before he’s in the conversation for NHL minutes, but Villeneuve might be a lot closer. Now 23 years of age with three full seasons of AHL experience under his belt, he has continued to elevate his level of play and it might become incumbent upon the Leafs to see what they have in him sooner rather than later, expecially if their season continues to unravel to the point where it becomes clear they need to retool or at least undergo a mini reset for the 2026-27 campaign.

Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:

  • With the way Easton Cowan has looked since being recalled to the Leafs, he might not be considered a ‘prospect’ for much longer. Sure, the Leafs are beat up, and that has afforded him a larger opportunity, but he has played around 20 minutes in each of his last two games, picking up an assist in each outing. Moreover, Cowan has looked like one of the Leafs’ best forwards nearly every time out, and head coach Craig Berube has started to lean on him more and more. He has skated on the top power play unit in the absence of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, and he has been elevated to a line with John Tavares and William Nylander, where he has generated plenty of chances for both himself and his linemates. The Leafs are hoping to have some prominent names back in the lineup at some point this week, but even then, Cowan has shown enough to remain in a prominent role with the big club for the time being.
  • Luke Haymes wasted little time making his presence felt with the Marlies last spring after signing with the Leafs as an undrafted free agent, posting two goals and four assists in his first nine AHL games. He was also given a long look in the preseason earlier this fall and seemed to make a strong impression on the coaching staff, but his first full season with the Marlies has started slowly. He scored his first goal of the season against Iowa over the weekend, adding an assist in the process to give him six points through 14 games.
  • Toronto’s third-round pick from the most recent draft, Tyler Hopkins, is riding a bit of a hot streak. He scored a pair of goals in a losing effort on Friday night and registered an assist in another loss on Saturday, giving him eight points over his last five games. For the season, Hopkins is up to 10 goals and 11 assists in 23 games.
  • With Dennis Hildeby still serving as the Leafs’ backup goaltender, Artur Akhtyamov has started three consecutive games for the Marlies, including back-to-back appearances against Iowa over the weekend, and he’s been very good in those outings. Akhtyamov stopped 35 of the 38 shots he faced in a loss to Belleville last Wednesday, he made 29 stops on 31 shots in Saturday’s 7-2 win, and followed that up with 36 saves on 37 shots in Sunday’s 2-1 victory. So far this season, Akhtyamov has appeared in nine games, and he has a 2.56 GAA to go along with a .914 SV%.
  • Nick Moldenhauer had his most productive game of the season this past weekend as the Michigan Wolverines took on the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was held off the scoresheet in Friday’s 5-2 win, but he notched three assists in Saturday’s rematch, bringing him to 11 points in 16 games for the season. Moldenhauer registered just 10 points in 29 games as a sophomore a year ago, and he is well on his way to a bounce-back season with one of the top teams in college hockey.
  • 2025 fifth-rounder Harry Nansi continues to pile up the points for Owen Sound in the OHL. A pair of scoreless outings over the weekend snapped his nine-game point streak, but he had two goals and an assist in Friday’s win prior to that. Over that nine-game streak, Nansi had compiled a staggering four goals and 17 assists. For the season, Nansi is currently sixth in OHL scoring with nine goals and 25 assists in just 25 games. He will have to continue to improve his skating ability in order for the offensive talent to translate to the next level, but the Leafs have to be thrilled with the early returns Nansi has provided on their fifth-round investment.
  • Chadwick wasn’t the only Marlies defenceman to score his first AHL goal over the weekend. Undrafted free agent signing Blake Smith also nabbed his first tally, and it stood as the winner against Iowa on Sunday. Smith certainly isn’t known for his offensive ability, and that won’t be his calling card should he ever break through to the NHL, but it always feels good to contribute on the scoresheet.
Statistics from EliteProspects.com
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