"The team currently doesn't have a first round pick until 2028, after trading first round picks in both 2026 and 2027 to acquire Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo at last season's trade deadline. This means that the amateur scout's job becomes that much more important, as hitting on later round picks here and there is imperative if you're not picking in the first round regularly."
"Nansi's stats from his rookie season don't jump off the page at you, with only seven goals and 23 points in 67 games. So, you can imagine heads have turned in his direction with his performance in 2025-26 so far, already matching his goal total in half the amount of games as well as surpassing his point total in the same amount of games. At the time of filing, he has 34 points in 26 games."
"To put things into perspective here, Ryan Roobroeck, a forward for the Niagara IceDogs who is expected to be a first-round pick in 2026, has 22 points in 22 games so far. That's not to say that Nansi would have been a top-10 pick in this draft had he been born a week later, but the fact that he's hanging, and in some cases, outpacing the draft-eligible players around him is"
The Toronto Maple Leafs have limited prospect resources after trading away first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, leaving no first-round selection until 2028. That lack of high picks elevates the importance of finding impact players in later rounds through scouting. Harry Nansi, selected 135th overall in 2025 from Owen Sound of the OHL, was among the youngest draft-eligible players due to a September 10 birthday just before the cutoff. Nansi posted modest rookie numbers but surged in 2025-26 with 34 points in 26 games, already matching and exceeding prior totals and outpacing several draft-eligible peers.
Read at TheLeafsNation
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