‘Size was a big factor’: Meet the 2025 Maple Leafs draft class

TORONTO — Size. Toughness. And competitiveness.

The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly prioritized playoff traits in their first draft led by new director of amateur scouting Mark Leach.

This year’s crop of prospects isn’t big in numbers but is formidable in frame.

“We just felt size was a big factor involved, because there wasn’t much difference in their skill set. And that’s one of the elements that I like,” Leach explained Saturday at the club’s east end headquarters. “Yes, I’ve drafted smaller players, but those smaller guys have to be so highly skilled, so highly intelligent, and probably have a knack for scoring. 

“That’s what I defer to size. It’s just, the game of hockey is hard. Two months of playoff grind — it’s a battle.”

The well-respected Leach — who was plucked from the Dallas Stars and three-time GM of the Year Jim Nill after the 2024 draft — estimated a significant drop in the 2025 draft crop following the 15th-overall pick.

The objective, then, is to find diamonds in the rough.

Especially when you don’t make your first selection until the final pick of Day 2, Round 2.

“You take the best available player talent-wise at that pick. When you get down to No. 64 and that area, these players take a little longer to develop. Or it is maybe not a straight line to get where they want to go from A to B,” Leach explains. 

“You just be patient with them. Be patient with the development and see where they end up in a few years. These kids, most of them, are three to five years away.”

Therefore, it is with both patience and promise that we introduce the six members of the Toronto Maple Leafs ’25 draft class…

Tinus Luc Koblar, C, Sweden Junior League, No. 64 overall

When Tinus Luc Koblar found out he’d been drafted to his favourite NHL team, his mother got excited and he FaceTimed his father, who was busy coaching. 

“He just started screaming to the camera and became super happy for me,” the 17-year-old explained Saturday, via Zoom.

“It was an unreal experience. I became so happy. Just true pleasure.”

The six-foot-four, 189-pound Koblar signals the first prospect of the Leach era, and Toronto’s new draft czar is preaching patience with the lanky centre, a raw talent who needs years of development.

Koblar was born in Slovenia to Olympic athletes. Mom was a biathlete, Dad an alpine skier. The family moved to Norway when Koblar’s father got a gig coaching for the national alpine team, and Koblar now skates for Leksand of the Swedish Junior League.

He posted eight goals, 13 assists, and a plus-7 rating in 43 games this past season and has set a goal of graduating to the SHL in 2025-26.

“I have been born with competitiveness because both my mom and dad have played at a high level,” Koblar said. “There’s nothing I like to lose.”

As s Slovenian, naturally Koblar looked up to L.A. superstar Anze Kopitar growing up. 

And while Elite Prospects describes the kid as “deceivingly fast” and skilled, Koblar himself is trying to develop the physical side of his game.

Leach loves his “knack for the net” and deft wall play.

Koblar is teammates with fellow Leafs prospect Victor Johansson, the Leafs’ 2024 fourth-rounder, and he’s heard nothing but good reviews of Toronto from his friend.

Tyler Hopkins, C, Ontario Hockey League, No. 86

Growing up in nearby Campbellville, Ont., Hopkins is a Leafs diehard who has attended many a game at Scotiabank Arena and looks up to fellow centremen Auston Matthews and John Tavares.

No wonder he was counting down the third-round picks and crossing his fingers he wouldn’t get 86’d before No. 86.

“To get drafted is every kid’s dream, and to be drafted by your hometown team is one level even better than that,” said Hopkins, who attended the draft in L.A. 

“So, I kinda hit the jackpot.”

The six-foot-one, 179-pound Kingston Frontenacs pivot broke out with 20 goals and 51 points as an OHL sophomore this past season but vows to improve his stat line.

“I have the ability to contribute a little more offensively to my team,” he said. “Getting into the middle of the ice a little bit more, creating more scoring chances, and then just working on finishing those opportunities more consistently.”

In the meantime, “Hoppy” will continue to push the pace and fine-tune a 200-foot game he models after Selke candidate Anthony Cirelli.

Hopkins, who is close friends with No. 1-overall pick Matthew Schaefer, projects to be a reliable, coachable middle-six forward at the pro level.

Leach wants Hopkins to get stronger and quicker, but loves his anticipation.

Best case? He one day helps the franchise improve on his current favourite Leafs memory.

“When they’ve got out of the first round in their recent years,” Hopkins said. “I was at one of the (Lightning) playoff games. The excitement inside of the arena when they got out of that first round… that was probably the coolest moment that I’ve been actually been at the rink and see firsthand.”

William Belle, RW, United States Hockey League, No. 137

The six-foot-four, 225-pound U.S. National Development Team winger was too stressed out to watch the draft. Belle and his buddies at Notre Dame were assembling a couch when his phone blew up Saturday afternoon.

“When I heard it was the Maple Leafs, I was pumped,” said Belle, who grew up in China. “It’s a great organization and can’t wait to get started.”

The way Belle describes his game should be music to coach Craig Berube’s ears: simple, fast, north-south hockey, forechecking, backchecking, physical.

Belle wants to develop his game from Miles Wood to Tom Wilson.

“Just the power-forward hockey that he plays, the simplicity of it, and the physicality and that edge he has to him. The meanness — I feel like I can bring that,” said Belle, wearing a black Sopranos T-shirt on his Zoom call.

“You know, I’m here to win, and I’m here to help my team. And I don’t care who you are — I’m going to be in your face. That’s just how I’m wired. That’s just how I play.”

That thump you just heard was Leafs Nation falling in love.

Harry Nansi, RW, Ontario Hockey League, No. 153

The Owen Sound Attack forward is billed as a worker who can drive through checks and pressure his opponents into turnovers.

The six-foot-three, 186-pound Brossard, Que., native scored seven goals and 23 points in 67 games for the Owen Sound Attack this past season and struggled to find his place in the lineup.

The 17-year-old is one of the youngest players drafted this weekend. A raw talent. Leach is taking a flyer.

Leach’s take: “Big, raw, rangy. Skating has to get quicker. Feet have to get better. But he’s a kid who really works and competes.”

Rylan Fellinger, D, Ontario Hockey League, No. 185

Fellinger was unavailable to speak to reporters immediately after he got drafted because the 18-year-old was at prom.

“You could hear the music going on in the background,” GM Brad Trelving said of his welcome call to Fellinger. “That’s the best part of it. You talk to the kids after they’re drafted, and they’re excited.”

Another big body, the six-foot-four, 200-pound, right-shot defenceman posted seven points in 64 games for the Flint Firebirds in 2024-25.

The Wawa, Ont., native is best known for his physical presence.

Leach won’t hide his affinity for size on the blueline: “Well, look at the playoffs. Florida has a big team. You have two months of grind. Size is a factor. But, also, a big heart and a complete level can do something. But I do like size. No question about it.”

Matthew Hlacar, LW, Ontario Hockey League, No. 217

Rounding out the themes of late-round OHLers and big-framed forwards, Leach went with the six-foot-three, 201-pound Kitchener Rangers winger in the seventh round.

The 19-year-old Hlacar hails from Brinbrook, Ont., and tucked seven goals in his first major junior campaign.

A bit of a late bloomer, Hlacar joined the Rangers as a free agent and is a fighter.

He worked out with former IBF title holder Steve Molitor on off-days this season and got dealt a five-game suspension for a head shot in March.

“A really hard-nosed, competitive big man,” Leach said. “Skates well. Gets in there. Really a unique element. Likes to play in your face.”