How Acquired: Selected with No. 38 pick in 2022 NHL Draft
2023-24 season: Toronto (NHL): 4 GP, 0-0-0; Saskatoon (WHL): 36 GP, 19-19-38; Kamloops (WHL): 7 GP, 3-7-10
The 20-year-old's skill set is encouraging. He’s known for his effective shot and using his size (6-2, 192) and physicality effectively. Add in the on-ice intangible of leadership, which he exhibited by captaining Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, and there are plenty of reasons for the Maple Leafs to foresee a bright future for him.
Last fall he became the first teenage second-round pick to earn a spot out of training camp with the Maple Leafs since Matt Stajan, a forward chosen No. 57 in the 2002 NHL Draft, made it as a 19-year-old in 2003-04. After his four-game stint with Toronto last season, he could find himself battling Cowan for a full-time gig with the Maple Leafs.
"He's a very mature kid," Dr. Wickenheiser said. "He's a leader everywhere he goes and he's really like a sponge."
Projected NHL arrival: This season