The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2026 third-round pick is getting a look that few saw coming.
Mans Gudmundsson, selected 76th overall in June, is set to get a top-pair preseason opportunity with Farjestad BK at only 18 years old. For a player who spent almost all of last season in Sweden’s U20 league, that is a pretty sharp jump.
Gudmundsson’s path to this point has been mostly in junior hockey. He appeared in one game with Färjestad’s senior squad last season, then logged 35 games with the U-20 team, along with 28 games for Sweden internationally and four games with the U-18 squad.
The Leafs took him in a draft where they clearly leaned into defensive depth, using three of their first five picks on defencemen. Gudmundsson fit that theme as a 6-foot-3 blue-liner with a projectable frame, a hard edge, and a style that leans physical. He is aggressive, he uses that physicality to separate from opponents, and while skating remains an area he needs to sharpen, his offensive touch is more advanced than the raw goal total suggests.
That showed up in the numbers with Färjestad’s U20 team, where he posted 25 points in 35 games, including 24 assists. He also showed a reliable first pass and a willingness to jump into the play.
Now comes the bigger stage. This preseason test will put Gudmundsson one full level above where Toronto drafted him, and that is the real story here.
Even in exhibition play, the gap between junior hockey and the professional game is a serious one. If he can handle the pace and hold his own, that is the kind of thing that can keep the door open.
He is not being handed a permanent SHL job by virtue of this assignment, though. The key questions are simpler and tougher: can his physical game hold up, can he make quick decisions, and can his first pass survive against adults after spending nearly all of last season in the U20 ranks?
Gudmundsson will be paired with Axel Bergkvist, a 26-year-old SHL veteran who stands 5-foot-9 and brings puck-moving ability. Bergkvist is entering his fifth season in the league, and the setup should give Gudmundsson some guidance as he adjusts to the speed around him.
There will be plenty of eyes on the teenager in preseason. Players with his size and athletic tools do not come around often, and finding a depth role for that kind of profile is never the hard part. The harder part is proving he can be trusted.
For Toronto, the most useful measure of Gudmundsson’s season will not be his point total. It will be whether Färjestad starts leaning on him more.
Can he become a regular? Can he kill penalties?
Can the skating improve enough to matter? Can the offensive game take another step?
Can he move from depth minutes into a regular pair?
That is the lane that matters here. The Maple Leafs do not need Gudmundsson to pile up production this season. What would count is earning enough trust from Färjestad to stick with the senior team and turn a preseason look into real SHL minutes.
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