Nansi’s stats from his rookie season don’t stand out, with just seven goals and 23 points in 67 games. So you can imagine that heads have been turning towards him with his performances in 2025/26 so far, already equaling his goal tally in half the number of games and surpassing his points tally in the same number of games. At the time of filing, he has 34 points in 26 games. To put things in perspective here, Ryan Roobroeck, a forward for the Niagara IceDogs who is projected to be a first-round pick in 2026, has 22 points in 22 games so far.. That’s not to say Nansi would have been a top 10 pick in this draft if he had been born a week later, but the fact that he’s hanging around and, in some cases, surpassing the draft-eligible players around him is a very good sign for the Maple Leafs.
“Harry Nansi is also a big player, and a guy some people see as a potential second- or third-rounder. Good pick for Toronto. He never stops moving. A guy with a lot of energy. At this point we need to work on the roster. We’ll see if his skating catches up, but I like him as a playmaker.”
Nansi knows it’s a long road to the NHL, so he made sure he soaked up everything he could at the Maple Leafs Development Camp in July. He said he wanted to improve his balance and pointed to advice he received from coaches to improve in that area.
“Puck battles,” Nansi told reporters in July when asked if there was a specific area he was working on. “I tend to fall a lot, so I learned from one of the coaches to shift my body a little so I can embrace the impact more.”
The development camp has clearly helped Nansi prepare for the 2025-26 OHL season given his performance thus far, and he spoke about his gratitude for the experience and how it will help him on his journey to the NHL.
“Truly life-changing,” he said when asked about his experience at the camp. “It was initially a dream to make it to the big leagues, and I am one step closer to making it a reality.”
Watching the Maple Leafs over the past few years has shown that Leafs fans also love skilled players and goal scorers, but the real way to win them over is to simply do your best and bring the same energy every night. Even if Nansi isn’t a point-per-game player once he reaches the NHL level, he’ll do himself a huge favor by prioritizing his energy and work ethic when he gets there. The fact that he has taken such a big step forward in his second season shows that there is indeed more to his game than other scouts may have seen when the Leafs drafted him in the fifth round, and if he wins over his head coaches at every level and continues to earn opportunities to showcase his talent, the rest of his game will follow.
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