The Maple Leafs are bringing a heavy camp body count into 2026, and the reason is simple: the preseason schedule features two pairs of split-squad games, so Toronto needs enough players to field at least two full teams during the opening week.
That leaves the Leafs with 41 forwards, 25 defenders and 7 goalies in camp.
Among the NHL names, the forward group includes Teddy Blueger, Easton Cowan, Max Domi, Brandon Duhaime, Dakota Joshua, Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz, Auston Matthews, Gavin McKenna, William Nylander, Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons and John Tavares. On the back end, the group features Emil Andrae, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe, Darren Raddysh, Morgan Rielly, Troy Stecher and Chris Tanev. In goal, Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz are listed.
There are already a couple of notable health situations in that NHL tier. Max Domi failed his physical and is out indefinitely, which had been reported over the summer after complications during a surgery. Morgan Rielly is dealing with an illness, described as a virus, and might miss the first preseason game.
The next wave is made up of players on NHL contracts who are on the bubble or spending time with the Marlies. That forward group includes Brendan Brisson, Brandon Buhr, Bo Groulx, Luke Haymes, Miroslav Holinka, Vinni Lettieri, Zack MacEwen, Michael Pezzetta, Jacob Quillan, Henrik Rybinski, Landon Sim, Ryan Tverberg and Borya Valis.
The defense list there is Nick Blankenburg, Vinny Borgesi, Ben Danford, Noah Chadwick, Hayes Hundley, Cole McWard, Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, Marshall Rifai, Blake Smith, William Villeneuve and Cade Webber. Artur Akhtyamov and Samuel Hlavaj are the goalies in that group.
Blankenburg, a 28-year-old right defenseman, is in camp on a PTO. He broke into the league two years ago with Nashville, was traded to Colorado at the last trade deadline for a fifth-round pick, and played five playoff games for the Avalanche.
In Nashville, he was part of a defense that was described as the Roman Josi show with a bottom four, and Blankenburg filled a puck-moving role with some offensive touch. In Colorado, he was their No.
- His presence even prompted a second look at Emil Andrae’s placement among the NHLers above.
William Villeneuve is also dealing with an injury situation after ACL reconstruction surgery on his knee in the summer, and he is out indefinitely.
Then there’s the group of official camp invitees who are not on NHL contracts but do have AHL deals with the Marlies or ECHL contracts with the Cincinnati Cyclones. That list includes the Marlies captain, Logan Shaw, along with forwards Matthew Barbolini, Sawyer Boulton, Reese Johnson, Marc Johnstone, Ryan Kirwan, Jackson Kunz, Adam Kydd, Joe Miller, Ross Mitton and Sam Stevens.
The invitee defenders are Matt Anderson, Frank Djurasevic, Matt Hellickson, Ben Meehan and Max Smolinski. In goal, the invitees are Ken Abbleby, Kaidan Mbereko and Timofei Obvintsev.
Some of those players will join Shaw with the Marlies, while most will begin with the Cyclones.
Finally, the prospect group includes forwards Tyler Hopkins, Tinus Luc Koblar and Harry Nansi, plus defenseman Alexander Bilecki. Hopkins, Nansi and Bilecki are camp invitees and will eventually be returned to their OHL teams at some point during training camp.
Koblar is the unusual case. The 19-year-old was signed to be a key part of Rögle BK’s SHL roster in Sweden, but he has taken leave from the club to try to make the Leafs out of camp.
The move created a stir in Sweden because the SHL season is already underway, and Koblar also missed preseason games while attending Leafs development camp. The arrangement in his SHL contract is straightforward: if Koblar makes the Maple Leafs, he stays; if not, he’s loaned back to Rögle BK.
There’s no AHL step in between. He looked strong at the rookie tournament, and the view here is that he was a step ahead of fellow center prospect Miroslav Holinka, who is headed to the Marlies this year.
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Maple Leafs Suddenly Have A Goalie Concern Entering Camp
Anthony Stolarz arrives at training camp as the Toronto Maple Leafs' backup behind Sergei Bobrovsky, and the numbers on the roster page are hard to ignore. At 6-foot-6 and 257 pounds, he is built very differently from most NHL goaltenders of similar height, and that physical profile naturally puts a spotlight on how he moves, how he handles the grind, and how prepared he is to stay on the ice.
For a player with an injury history, the concern is not just about size for size's sake, but how that size translates to agility and joint stress over a long season. This camp matters for Stolarz and for the Leafs, too, because it is a chance to sharpen his conditioning before the games count and to ease some of the questions that follow him into the season. [Read more 🡒]