What are the Maple Leafs getting in their 2025 NHL Draft picks?

New York Times

a day ago

The Maple Leafs entered Day 2 of the NHL Draft with six picks and did not end up trading away a single one of their picks. Instead, new director of amateur scouting Mark Leach and general manager Brad Treliving had a plan for their draft class: add size and competitiveness to an organization they believe needs just that.
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'There's a role for everybody. And as you saw in the playoffs, size matters, toughness matters, competitiveness matters,' Leach said. 'We hoped we filled some of those roles with some of these kids.'
The Leafs also addressed positional needs in their prospect pool as well, going heavy on centres and forwards while not selecting a goalie. They came away with a draft class that looks drastically different from past draft hauls. None of the six players they selected were under six feet tall. And as all of their coaches told The Athletic, physicality and nastiness are often front and centre in most of their games.
'We want guys who competed, we want players who battled and have great work ethic. And with those elements, if you have those things in your game, you have a chance to get better at certain things,' Leach said.
Here's our breakdown of who the Leafs drafted in 2025, with insight from the people who know them best.
Drafted: Second round, No. 64 | Position: C
Age: 17 | Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 190 pounds
2024-25 stats: 43 GP, 8 G, 13 A, 21 pts (Leksands Under-20, Sweden)
With their first pick, the Leafs went after a player with a blend of size, strength and playmaking skill they hope can be a playoff performer down the line. The Leafs like Koblar's nose for the net and how accomplished he already is at finding offence in ugly areas of the ice.
'He competes all the time,' said Jesper Ollas, general manager of Leksands' Under-20 team. 'He's the one who gets so mad and so pissed off when we lose games. He's hard to handle sometimes with that, but it also means he hates to lose games and battles. He never gives up, actually.'
Koblar was born in Slovenia, raised in Norway and now plays in Sweden. He showed the ability to drive play with Leksands' Under-20 team through his puck-handling ability, his vision and how strong he became on the puck. He's growing into a more prominent power-play role and will likely make his SHL debut at some point for Leksands next season.
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Drafted: Third round, No. 86 | Position: C
Age: 18 | Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 183 pounds
2024-25 stats: 67 GP, 20 G, 31 A, 51 pts (Kingston Frontenacs, OHL)
Hopkins' hockey IQ might be the highest of any player in the Leafs' draft class. He is a detail-oriented centre with plenty of pro attributes in his game already.
'When I got to coach him last year for the first time, the first thing that stood out was his ability to really just see the ice,' Troy Mann, Frontenacs head coach, said. 'He is real coachable in terms of where you want him on the ice.'
That IQ doesn't just manifest in playmaking or typical offensive skill. Hopkins uses his smarts to stifle the opposition in different ways.
'I had multiple scouts tell me he was one of the best defensive centres in the whole draft,' Mann said.
Leach called Hopkins 'a 200-foot player.'
'(Hopkins) plays in the hard areas, he's smart, reads, anticipates the game. (He) has to get stronger, has to get a little quicker. That's just part of when you pick guys in those certain areas — they have some issues that they've got to work on and improve upon,' Leach said.
Still, finding another level of offence will be a requirement in Hopkins' game next season. Expect Hopkins to move from Kingston's second power-play unit up to the first unit. He can bring the puck with speed and smarts through the neutral zone, but Mann wants to see Hopkins employ more creativity in his game in the offensive zone. In doing so, there could be another level for Hopkins to hit. Whether that means trying to do different things behind the net or attack the blue paint more, Mann believes his intelligence can be used to add to his offensive production.
Hopkins professed to being a Leafs fan. He has fond memories of watching the Leafs' first-round series win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023.
Tyler Hopkins certainly has the passion. 🍁
📺: 2025 Upper Deck #NHLDraft on @ESPNPlus, @NHLNetwork and @Sportsnet
(🎥: IG/hopkins.glen) pic.twitter.com/Qm3tHupV8D
— NHL (@NHL) June 28, 2025
Drafted: Fifth round, No. 137 | Position: F
Age: 18 | Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 225 pounds
2024-25 stats: 28 GP, 2 G, 8 A, 10 pts (USNTDP Juniors, USHL)
If we're looking for an early fan favourite of the Leafs' 2025 draft class, Belle is the easy pick. The heavy forward oozes confidence in a way you don't often hear from late-round NHL picks.
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'My game is simple. It's north-south, fast, 200-foot hockey, forechecking, back-checking, playing physical. A player right now that I play a lot like would be Miles Wood. But somebody I think I could turn into would be a Tom Wilson type of player,' Belle said.
Tom Wilson, you say?
'The power-forward hockey that he plays, the simplicity of it and just the physicality and that edge he has to have, the meanness, I feel like I can bring that,' Belle said, again with genuine confidence.
Belle feels like a role player just waiting to happen.
'He was a penalty-killer, a guy who we put out to get out of the defensive zone and offensive zone time to wait for the line change,' said Ryan Hayes, assistant coach at the USNTDP. 'And he did a really good job towards the end of his two years doing that and accepting that role of shutting down teams and pinning down teams in our offensive zone to help wear them down. He loved to block shots. And his physicality? In the USHL, in our age, guys don't want to get hit, right? But he brought that element to it.'
Still, for all the physicality Belle brings, don't sleep on his smarts, either.
'When you get to know him, his answers are very well-thought-out. He's very smart the way he talks to people and the respect that he has just shows his growth as a kid,' Hayes said. 'His parents did a really good job raising him. He excelled in school — he was taking college classes while he was here.'
Born in China, Belle learned to skate in shopping malls with skates that he confessed were too small for him. He would eventually have to take trains and fly to Beijing and Hong Kong to continue playing hockey. He moved to Boston when he was seven years old.
Belle is headed to the University of Notre Dame next season.
'He's a big body with a unique background, unique situation where he came from. He can skate extremely well and he's got a passion for the game. He knows what he is, and I think he's willing to do what it takes. He just wants to get at it,' Leach said.
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Drafted: Fifth round, No. 153 | Position: C
Age: 17 | Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 185 pounds
2024-25 stats: 67 GP, 7 G, 16 A, 23 pts (Owen Sound Attack, OHL)
The Leafs clearly have a type in their 2025 class, and Nansi is further evidence of that. Leach and Treliving have combined to try and find size, edge and hopefully some skill. In Nansi, they might have all of the above if everything breaks just right.
'He goes into the fight and comes out with the puck all the time. He's one of those kids who you think has no chance of coming out with the puck but he surprises everybody,' said Scott Wray, Owen Sound Attack coach.
Still, Nansi is one of the youngest players in the draft. Born in September 2007, the forward has a long road ahead of him.
'He's young and he's raw. But God-given talent is bar none,' Wray said. 'When he fills out, he's going to be a phenomenal player.'
The Leafs like his range and competitiveness but understand to get down that road, there's major work to be done on Nansi's foot speed and edgework.
'He works and competes and gets to the hard areas,' Leach said.
Known for an infectious smile and being a great teammate, Nansi could end up becoming a popular Leafs prospect if he continues to improve. Wray said he plans to rely on Nansi more on the power play next season. Getting more touches around the net could bring more offence out of Nansi's game.
Drafted: Sixth round, No. 185 | Position: RHD
Age: 18 | Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 196 pounds
2024-25 stats: 64 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 pts (Flint Firebirds, OHL)
Competitiveness and energy, as they were for every Leafs pick, were part of what attracted the Leafs to Fellinger.
'I just love his work ethic and his character,' said Paul Flache, Flint Firebirds head coach. 'He works his butt off on the ice and off the ice, so that's another huge attribute. He's just a very competitive kid, probably one of our best skaters. He's got straight-line speed.'
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While Fellinger is working on his lateral and backwards skating, he does well to use his stride to close on opposition players. Combined with strong stick work and an evolving physical game, there's an intelligence in Fellinger's north-south game that could help him develop within the Leafs organization.
'He's strong, he can win battles and get the puck moving quickly down the ice. And we've seen, in today's game, you have to make plays,' Flache said.
Flache said he sees flashes of longtime NHL blueliner Niklas Hjalmarsson in Fellinger's game.
'He takes so much pride in winning small battles and blocking shots,' Flache said. 'He's not easy to play against. When the Blackhawks won those Stanley Cups, guys like Hjalmarsson flew under the radar. But they were always tough to play against.'
Flache said he's proud of how much work Fellinger has put in the past two summers into adding more size and muscle to his 6-foot-4 frame. Should he continue to bulk up and add more physicality and puck-moving attributes to his game, a pro future could beckon.
'He's a guy who can move, has a big body, moves really well,' Leach said of Fellinger. 'His game is simple, he moves it well, he closes fast, he likes to defend, box people out, but he's just a pretty big strong kid for his age. I think as time goes on with him, he's going to have to work on his game a little bit. And again, these young men, most of them know what their element is to get to the next step. And they just have to improve on those elements.'
Drafted: Seventh round, No. 217 | Position: LW
Age: 19 | Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 201 pounds
2024-25 stats: 43 GP, 7 G, 1 A, 8 pts (Kitchener Rangers, OHL)
Hlacar went undrafted in the OHL priority selection, was invited to multiple Rangers rookie camps and main camps and spent his NHL draft year playing in the OJHL before he finally joined the Rangers as an 18-year-old for his first OHL season. It's that sort of grit and determination that the Leafs undoubtedly appreciate in the brawling winger.
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'It's been a long road for him. But he's a self-made man. Those guys have a bit more of an appreciation for the journey,' said Mike McKenzie, Rangers general manager. 'He'll do whatever it takes off the ice.'
Hlacar is often first, and heaviest, on the forecheck and doesn't shy away from dropping the gloves either. Through 14 OHL playoff games this season, Hlacar tallied 38 penalty minutes. While McKenzie sees undercover good hands in Hlacar's game, it's going to be the physicality that could eventually make Hlacar a pro player.
'Hard-nosed, competitive, big man,' Leach said of Hlacar. 'He likes to play in your face.'
In years past, the Leafs might have taken a flyer on a smallish, uber-skilled player with their last pick in the draft (Ryan Tverberg being an example) but going forward, it feels more and more likely the Leafs try for future pugilists instead.
(Top photo of Tyler Hopkins: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)