NHL Prospect Watch: Toronto Maple Leafs
Ahead of the 2025-26 hockey season, we’re diving into the WHL prospect pool for each of the NHL’s 32 teams. This series will highlight current and former WHLers who are signed to an NHL contract, have recently been drafted by an NHL team, or meet the NHL’s definition of a rookie.
Will these depth picks pay off for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Noah Chadwick
2025 WHL Defenceman of the Year finalist Noah Chadwick posted a second-straight 50-plus point season while captaining his Lethbridge Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Championship. The 6-foot-4, 203-pound blueliner netted 13 goals (including five powerplay tallies and three game-winners) and 40 assists for 53 points in 66 regular-season games. Chadwick finished eighth among all WHL defencemen in assists and 10th in points. The Saskatoon, Sask. product cracked the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team before ripping up the postseason with 14 points (7G-7A) in 16 games. He bagged the series-clinching goal in Game 5 of Lethbridge’s first-round series against Brandon and scored twice to force a pivotal Game 7 against Calgary, which Lethbridge went on to win, in Round Two. A sixth-round pick (185th overall) of the Maple Leafs in the 2023 NHL Draft, Chadwick signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team in December of 2023 and has emerged as one of the Buds’ top defensive prospects. He’ll suit up for Toronto at the 2025 Prospect Showdown in Montreal this weekend and is expected to join the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for 2025-26.
NOAH CHADWICK IS HAVING A GAME 🌪️🌪️🌪️@WHLHurricanes | @MapleLeafs | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/baMR2sQoOI
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) April 20, 2025
Miroslav Holinka
Quiet guy, plays loud. Six-foot-2, 185-pound forward Miroslav Holinka burst onto the scene with 19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points in 47 games in his first WHL season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. An upper-body injury sustained in November sidelined Holinka briefly, but he still managed to finish sixth on the Oil Kings in points and fifth in goals, while his .96 points-per-game were third-best on the team. The 19-year-old potted a goal and three helpers in seven games at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship to help Czechia claim a second consecutive bronze medal. Holinka appeared in seven postseason contests for the Oil Kings and signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Maple Leafs on July 15, 2025. Toronto called his name with the 151st overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft. Holinka is also slated to take part in the 2025 Prospect Showdown.
Psst…. @MapleLeafs
Miroslav Holinka has a goal and assist already this afternoon!@EdmOilKings | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/MgwgTB6L5L
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 16, 2025
Nathan Mayes
Towering defenceman Nathan Mayes saw his game grow leaps and bounds in 2024-24, burying six goals and 21 assists for 27 points and a +15 rating in 56 games with the Spokane Chiefs. Spokane was the fifth stingiest team in the regular season and made it all the way to the 2025 WHL Championship Series, where they fell to the powerhouse Medicine Hat Tigers. Mayes, 19, registered his first WHL Playoff point with an assist in Game 1 of the Chiefs’ first-round series against Vancouver and ended up with 12 points (2G-10A) in 20 post-season tilts. The Salmon Arm, B.C. product was selected with the 225th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and is working towards earning an ELC with Toronto. Like the other skaters on this list, Mayes is Montreal-bound for the 2025 Prospect Showdown.
A seeing eye shot from @MapleLeafs' prospect, Nathan Mayes, and the @SpokaneChiefs are back in front ‼️#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/U068x2STbc
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) May 1, 2025
Borya Valis
Hard work has paid off for undrafted winger Borya Valis! The Prince George Cougars alternate captain rode a career-best 81-point (34G-47A) season to sign a three-year, entry-level deal with the Maple Leafs on March 1, 2025. Valis, 21, finished third on the Cats in points while ranking second in goals and assists, second in plus/minus (+36) and third in game-winning goals (4). The Denver, Col. product was also third in team playoff scoring with three goals and four helpers for seven points in seven games. While Prince George bowed out after a hard-fought first round, Valis moved on to make his pro debut with the Toronto Marlies, suiting up for two regular-season contests and one postseason twirl. He graduates from the WHL with 91 goals and 133 assists for 224 points in 245 games over four seasons.
Never give up, never what?
Borya Valis has the @PGCougars on the board with his first of the #WHLPlayoffs!@MapleLeafs | #LeafsForever | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/ot4ls3Dckt
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 29, 2025
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