Into my second month of looking at potential draft picks that could be on Toronto's radar next summer, I'm finding this year's players to be more fun and interesting than the previous couple. So of course, Toronto doesn't pick until the third.... sigh. Still, I'm finding some interesting names come up on my radar.
At this point, I'm mainly looking at "glitter players" who I was not aware of but noticed make good plays in games I was watching for someone else. Other than that, there's been some names I've seen scouts I mostly agree with get ranked that no one else has (so far), who also seem like good targets for potential third rounders I'd actually be interested in.
FORWARDS
Casper Juustovaara Karlsson
Karlsson is a small guy (5'9" and 168 lbs), and an older player for the draft with an October 2007 birthday. He's been playing the whole season in the SHL, and I noticed him during one of Koblar's first games with Leksands' pro team. He was this small, zippy guy who was high effort and really annoying. He was one of their main penalty killers and got an empty net goal, because he was being used to defend the lead late in the game. That's how must trust he already has, and him averaging 11:48 per game means he's getting a real role at his age, and has 4 goals and 6 points in 18 games. His play has earned him an invite to Team Sweden's U20 Five Nations mini-tournament roster that is full of guys they're looking at for the World Juniors.
Casper Juustovaara Karlsson gör mål för Luleå, framspelad av Frédéric Allard. pic.twitter.com/GR00WGfwGb
— Anton (@bolaniii9) August 14, 2025
He reminds me a lot of Michal Svrcek who I wrote about last summer. He's a bit bigger, but Karlsson is a guy who knows how to use his speed and quickness to make up for his lack of size. He is a hyper-aggressive forechecker, he hounds puck carriers to try and steal it, he is a max effort dog of a forward. His size limitations are real, but at his age he could hopefully grow an inch or use that high effort to turn himself into a mini-hulk where he's too strong and quick to check. His offense comes from just making smart plays, even if he doesn't show a high level of skill, he doesn't necessarily need to. He has skill to make effective plays in the moment. He's an early favourite of mine, and considering the taller Svrcek wound up being a 4th round pick I'd lay good odds Karlsson winds up being available in the third.
Side note: when using the SHL website, when Google translates the Swedish to English it changes his name to Casper Cheesethrower Karlsson OR Casper Cheese Danger. Just wanted to share that.
Luleå återtar ledningen i Coop Norrbotten Arena när Casper Juustovaara Karlsson styr in sitt andra mål för kvällen ✌️ pic.twitter.com/3WN4X0V6ag
— SHL.se (@SHLse) October 23, 2025
Jaxon Cover
Cover is a 6'2", 174 lb left winger playing on the London Knights. He's been getting a look on their top line, which is pretty impressive even if they lost a lot of their top forwards to pro hockey after their Memorial Cup last year. I saw him in a recent game against Kingston and Tyler Hopkins, where he looked very good. I dare say, he was almost dominant. I saw him again more recently when London played Owen Sound and Harry Nansi.
Making a name for himself!
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) October 13, 2025
Jaxon Cover of the @LondonKnights added four points across two games, earning him the #OHLROTW honours!
DETAILS 🗞️: https://t.co/z2YLDGziIL@FloHockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/HhuKSShLjG
From what I've seen and read from scouts who have covered him, his strengths are all about the flashes he's shown in just about every aspect of the game: skating and pace, puck handling and playmaking, a relentless motor and aggressive forechecking and backchecking, as well as size and strength in his physical play, and a high level of processing and intelligence that will hopefully link everything together eventually. And that's the big question mark. He has tons of projection but hasn't quite yet put it all together for sustained stretches of actual dominance. If he attains that this year, he won't be available when Toronto picks. But if he doesn't quite get to that point, I'd view him as a Harry Nansi kind of prospect.
Early #NHLDraft idea: Jaxon Cover 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wQogPyQnpg
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) September 20, 2025
Landon Hafele
Hafele is a 6'0", 187 lb forward who is one of the oldest players in the draft for first-timers, with a September 18th birthday making him only a few days from being eligible last year. He's the 1C for Green Bay in the USHL, and was the team's leader in points (6 goals, 13 points in 14 games) before he was recently injured. He was actually on the US NTDP last year, but aged out because of his late 2007 birthday. Now, he is committed to join Arizona State next year.
As a player, Hafele is an archetype that I tend to like. He's solid but not elite at just about everything, and has potential as a two way centre. He's physical, tough and relentless of the puck. With the puck he can play with speed and slow things down, though he likes doing the former a lot more. He plays in all situations as the team's top center. His problem is he doesn't show a lot of skill, he's more of a smart meat and potatoes kind of forward when it comes to making plays. That may be why he winds up as a third rounder, especially since he's just an average sized center who may not stick there as a result. But he certainly has my interest.
Olivers Murnieks
I've liked Murnieks since last year, when he was Latvia's top center at the World Juniors when they went on a Cinderella run – including that upset win over Canada. He's a 6'1", 190 pound center with a July 31st birthday, making him on the younger side. He played last year in the USHL and was one of the top players in his age group there, but this year joined Saint John in the QMJHL. So far, he has 10 points in 19 games as the top line center.
Murnieks' strengths so far are definitely on the defensive side. He has a sterling reputation at being a smart and positional center who supports the defensemen to create turnovers and then transition the puck up the ice. With the puck it's more of a work in progress, with flashes of puck handling and playmaking at higher levels but he more consistently makes safer plays or defers to more skilled linemates. If that doesn't come around by the end of the year, and he maintains this level of being a top line center that's a defensive specialist with flashes of some offensive ability, he could fall to the third.
17 gadus vecais Olivers Mūrnieks gūst savus pirmos vārtus QMJHL! 🚨🇱🇻
— NHL Latvija (@Latvija_NHL) October 6, 2025
Šosezon sešās spēlēs viņam jau astoņi punkti (1+7)! pic.twitter.com/gxujObtv2Y
Carter Stevens
Stevens is a 6'1", 183 lb winger playing for Guelph in the OHL. He's another guy that I've seen when Guelph has played some of Toronto's prospects. In fact, I'm starting to wonder if he really wants to be drafted by Toronto because his best games have come against them – in three straight games against Owen Sound (2) and Kingston, he had 4 goals and 6 points. In total, for the season, he has 7 goals and 14 points which both lead, or is tied for the lead, on the team.
Stevens' strengths are as a shooter, with a quick release that he can fire off at speed, from set positioning, and able to shoot through defenders' skates and sticks. He works hard on the forecheck and backcheck, and has some intelligence to his game. There are some question marks on his high end skills and his physical play, and right now there doesn't seem to be anyone who considers him a top two round guy. He may wind up being a late round pick instead of a third rounder, but if he improves through the year and starts flashing more high end tools consistently that could change.
DEFENSE
Adam Goljer
Goljer is a 6'3", 194 lb right shot defenseman from Slovakia. He's on the younger side with a June birthday, and he's been playing in Slovakia's top pro league all season so far this year, playing 14-16 minutes most games but with only one point so far. He's been good enough to be playing above his age groups for Slovakia's international tournaments for a couple of years, where he's done pretty well and playing over 20 minutes per game as one of their top all situations defensemen.
Really like Adam Goljer over the last two games. Jumps into the play to make it a 3v2 doesn’t finish but rebound results in a goal. #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/nrCM9WOk8L
— HockeyWithZak (@HockeyWithZak) November 6, 2025
With his size and handedness, Goljer is a likely candidate to be taken in the top two rounds. He's solid on breakout passes and his defense looks good but not very high end (though it's tough to tell playing as a young teenager against pros). However, there's some consistency issues with his defense and offense, and his skating needs work even if it isn't bad. That's why, for now, I can see him maybe being a third rounder.
Adam Goljer has been Slovakia's best player by a mile and he just scored to make it 5-2 on the power play. #WorldJuniors #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/cBMCedx01a
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) November 5, 2025
Alexander Bilecki
Bilecki is a 6'2" left shot defenseman playing on Kitchener. They're a very deep team who will likely be one of the contenders for the OHL title, and as a result he is usually on the second or third pair. However, he does get some time on both special teams. So far this season he has 2 goals and 5 points in 17 games, so he doesn't necessarily look like a big offensive weapon. However, I've noticed him in the three games of Kitchener's that I've seen so far this year.
Bilecki is just a solid all-around defenseman, who has some decent size but also looks like an above average skater in terms of his mobility. He defends well, both against the rush and in his own zone, but he also moves the puck well on retrievals to get it out of his own end with control. Offensively, I see some potential too. He is a good passer, has decent handling, and flashes a wicked shot with some offensive instincts. He's more about the tools and potential right now, but if he puts it all together he could be something real interesting. He may wind up being gone before the third round, but as long as he doesn't get as much of a role because of his age on a deeper team there's a chance he doesn't get noticed as much, since he is not a top tier defense prospect yet.
Shot off the faceoff and Alexander Bilecki makes it 2-0 for the @OHLRangers. #RTown pic.twitter.com/0b4Gu6inYy
— Caitlin Berry (@caitlinsports) November 1, 2025
Thanks for reading!
I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.
Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!
