Maple Leafs Prospect Roundup: Mid-Season Prospect Pool Update (Part 2)

Welcome back to another edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Roundup. Last week we took a look at the top names in Toronto’s prospect pool, so this week we’re going to catch up with some of the lesser-known youngsters in the Leafs pipeline. Let’s get started.

Haymes joined the Leafs organization last spring with some fanfare, signing with the club as perhaps the best available undrafted free agent out of college. His professional career also got off to a solid start, with Haymes recording a pair of goals and four assists in nine games after joining the Marlies to close out the regular season. He also earned a long look in his first NHL training camp last fall, matching up with some legitimate NHL talent throughout the preseason and staying until the final days of camp before being sent back to the AHL. Production hasn’t come as easy for him this year, but he’s picked it up a bit lately. Over the past five games, Haymes has scored twice and added a pair of assists, taking him to five goals and nine assists in 36 games. The Leafs have no shortage of depth up front, and Jacob Quillan remains ahead of Haymes on the depth chart, but the 22-year-old pivot is a responsible player who has shown some translatable skills at the AHL level, and he could serve as viable NHL depth over the next two years.

When the Leafs drafted Johansson in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, he was extremely undersized at just 143 pounds, and the understanding was that he would be a long-term project. The young blueliner, who now stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 165 pounds, has worked hard to add muscle to his wiry frame in a short period of time, and it has helped him endure the rigors of professional hockey in Sweden. Johansson started the year with Leksands’ junior team in the J20 Nationell, scoring twice in his second match, and has not played at that level since. He has spent most of the season on loan at Oskarshamn in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second professional league, where he scored a goal and four assists in fifteen games. After playing a minimal role in Sweden’s gold medal-winning team at the World Juniors, Johansson returned for a pair of matches with Oskarshamn before being recalled to the SHL this past week for a match with Leksands, where he played just over 16 minutes in a 4–0 loss. Johansson is under contract in Sweden for another season and will continue to work on adding size and strength to help him play with the edge that has made him successful at lower levels before potentially making the jump to North America in 2027-2028.

McCue has bounced around the OHL since the Leafs took him in the seventh round of the 2024 draft, but he has shown he can play physically and score in the dirty areas at the junior level. A trade with the Ottawa 67s earlier this season marked McCue’s fifth stop in the last three seasons, and he will look to help one of the OHL’s top teams on a long playoff run before turning pro next season. After scoring 36 goals in 55 games between Owen Sound and Flint last season, McCue has 10 goals and nine assists in 29 games between Brantford and Ottawa so far this season, so overall production is certainly down in his overmatched season, but a lot of that has to do with him being given a smaller role than he had a season ago in Owen Sound and Flint. No one should think of McCue as a surefire NHLer, but his size and skills still give him a chance to develop into an energetic fourth-line forward.

Tverberg’s first full season in the AHL came in 2023-24, and he established himself with a respectable stat line of nine goals and 23 assists in 46 games, but he has been unable to reach that level of production again. His numbers dropped to just four goals and seven assists in 46 games last season, and while he has nearly repeated that total in just 32 games so far this season, Tverberg has been surpassed by others on the organizational depth chart. There is a lot to like about the way he plays the game with his speed, effort level and finishing ability around the net, but he has not been able to drive consistent offense at the AHL level. Now in the final year of his entry-level contract, Tverberg is playing for a new contract, but as a draft pick from the previous regime, he will need to step up his play down the stretch to secure a qualifying bid in the offseason.

Founded in 2022, Moldenhauer is now in his third year at the University of Michigan. He was productive as a freshman with eight goals and 13 assists in 41 games, but his production took a big hit in his sophomore year, dropping to just three goals and seven assists in 29 games. Moldenhauer has bounced back this season and has been particularly good in recent weeks. In his last four games he has scored three goals and added a pair of helpers. If you extend that to his last nine games, he has three goals to go along with seven assists. For the season, Moldenhauer has six goals and 12 assists in 24 games, and the way he has rebounded in his third year of college hockey could be enough to earn him an entry-level contract with the Leafs this spring.

Valis, another free agent, was signed by the Leafs last spring after four seasons in the WHL between Regina and Prince George. The 6-foot-4 winger has played well in his first year of professional hockey with the Marlies, and a two-goal game against Iowa on Saturday gave him nine goals and six assists in 36 games. Still just 21 years old and in his first AHL season, Valis has shown his scoring instincts and the ability to play in tight spaces around the opponent’s goal. He has decent speed in the straight and with his size and strength he can effectively fight for pucks along the wall. Right now, Valis represents solid organizational depth, and he could become a viable depth option with more experience at the AHL level.

Nansi was selected by the Leafs in the fifth round of the 2025 draft, and his post-draft season had many ups and downs. He burst out of the gate to start the season with the Owen Sound Attack, scoring nine goals and 25 assists in his first 23 games, but has since gone completely cold, with just one goal and three assists in his last 19 games. Nansi’s raw offensive ability is evident: he has great hands and very good vision, and he can finish scoring plays around the net, but his foot speed and overall mobility will limit him significantly as he moves up the ranks. He’s far from a safe bet to make it in the NHL, but if he can improve his skating skills, there’s a lot to work with in terms of his offensive toolbox.

Introducing Off The Roster: Toronto Sports, Unfiltered! Toronto sports fans, your new favorite conversation has arrived. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn and Dan Riccio, Off The Roster delves into the legendary plays, brazen trades, OG jerseys, celebrity tweets and everything in between. Raw, fun and completely unfiltered, this is Toronto sports like you’ve never heard it before. Watch live every weekday morning on the Nation Network YouTube channelor watch episodes wherever you stream podcasts. Proudly brought to you by our founder, PROLINE. Off The Roster: the new sound in the 6ix.