The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of seven TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking.
Rather than hard and fast limits on age or NHL games played to determine “prospect” eligibility, our group decided on a more nuanced approach to include any reasonably young player who is either under contract with the Leafs or on the club’s reserve list, who has not yet established himself as a full-time NHLer.
There have been a handful of players over the years who have played junior hockey and managed to carve out an NHL career despite not being drafted. Some of the more notable names include Dino Ciccarelli and Adam Oates, and in more recent years, players such as Alex Burrows, Dan Boyle, and former Toronto Maple Leafs defender Mark Giordano. If the Maple Leafs can get even a fraction of the careers these players had out of new prospect Borya Valis, they’ll be thrilled. But, let’s keep the expectations tempered and learn a little more about Valis to kick off our 2025 edition of our personal Maple Leafs’ prospect rankings.
Despite what I said in the last paragraph, Valis isn’t really a ‘new’ prospect. He was signed to a three-year entry-level contract back in March, about a week before the trade deadline, and earned the deal after truly breaking out as a goal scorer for the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. Despite producing a near-point-per-game clip every year going back to his second season in the WHL, he was never drafted and earned his first NHL contract after scoring 34 goals and adding 81 points in 66 games for the Cougars. He followed up his strong regular season with a short albeit productive playoff run, scoring three goals and contributing seven points in seven games.
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Season
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Team
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League
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GP
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G
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A
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TP
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PIM
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| 2022-23 |  Regina Pats |
WHL | 55 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 14 | -4 | |||||||
| 2023-24 | Regina Pats |
WHL | 35 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 12 | -3 | |||||||
| Prince George Cougars |
WHL | 32 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 12 | 21 | Playoffs | 15 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2024-25 | Prince George Cougars“A” |
WHL | 66 | 34 | 46 | 80 | 48 | 36 | Playoffs | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| Toronto Marlies |
AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Playoffs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
With the Toronto Marlies losing a couple of their top players from last season, including prospects Alex Steeves and Nick Abruzzese to the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, respectively, and veterans such as Joseph Blandisi, there will be a good opportunity for Valis to jump in and show Maple Leafs’ brass that he can be more than just a project prospect. What gives Valis a potential edge over some of his counterparts is the fact that his style of game suits that of a high-floor prospect, even if there’s not a huge ceiling. He already has the coveted size that the Maple Leafs appear to be after under general manager Brad Treliving, standing at 6-foot-2 and 192 pounds, and his bang-and-crash style of game makes him a call-up candidate for the Leafs should they run into any injury issues. It’s the same reason we’ve seen players like Bobby McMann earn their call-up and eventual NHL residency over smaller, all-offence players who wouldn’t necessarily work in a fourth line role.
Here’s an excerpt from one of our resident prospect gurus, Nick Richard, on what Maple Leafs fans can expect from Valis in terms of style of play and where some of his strengths and weaknesses are.
“Valis is a strong skater who likes to power his way to the opposing net, where he has proven more than capable of converting on the quality scoring chances that he creates. He shows some playmaking creativity and problem-solving skills, but he can still try to make too much happen on his own at times, and that will be an area of focus as he continues to develop. Valis doesn’t shy away physically, but he could be more consistent in that regard, and he will have to continue improving his defensive reads at the pro level.” -Nick Richard
Valis’ ceiling offensively is yet to be determined, but for the time being, it seems appropriate to rank him in the back half of the top-20 given his age and what level of production he’s reached in his career to date. That said, it’s virtually impossible to judge who has a future in the NHL and who doesn’t. Bobby McMann didn’t join the Maple Leafs organization until he was 24 and was playing in the ECHL in his mid-20s, and now he’s a 20-goal scorer at the NHL level. He was never on any of our prospect rankings, but he caught fire at the right time and made the most of his opportunity, which is sometimes all that prospects like this need to get the wheels turning.
The best thing Valis can do for himself in the AHL this season is to be open to working on all aspects of his game, as all prospects should be. Take some shifts on the penalty kill, go out to defend a lead with an extra attacker, go to the net and work on rebounds, practice your one-timers, etc. The Maple Leafs have shown in the past that they’re quicker to grant opportunities to prospects who are at least capable in their own zone, and given that the defensive game is an area he needs work on, he’ll likely need to prove that he’s capable of being trusted away from the puck before he gets a call-up to the NHL.
Either way, with all of the aforementioned players like Blandisi, Steeves, and Abruzzese along with NHL-hopefuls Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin moving on to greener pastures, Valis will have a strong opportunity to make his mark on the organization and move his name a little higher up on next year’s rankings.
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