Injuries. They are going to happen. Probably at the worst time and to the player the Toronto Maple Leafs need the most. Call me pessimistic, but 2025-26’s disappearances of Auston Matthews, Chris Tanev, and Anthony Stolarz should have the team planning out their contingencies in advance.Enter the AHL veterans. Not quite “prospects” like TLN is currently counting down, but some players who want to get a fair look in the NHL and prove they belong. It’s not the Vinni Lettieri, Michael Pezzetta and Dakota Mermis crowd; it’s the group that, in a perfect world, could be the Bobby McMann late-blooming breakouts, if they only got a chance.Marshall Rifai

Rifai is a coach’s comfort food, and that might be what opens doors for him on the Maple Leafs. His style of play is built for a sheltered bottom pairing or shot blocking on a penalty kill, and if Emil Andrae is too risky or too many injuries hit the Maple Leafs, he might be worth a look.

Rifai’s injuries held him back from getting into more games with the Maple Leafs, and there are no guarantees that John Chayka shares Brad Treliving’s enthusiasm about Rifai. Marshall is one of the top left-side options the Leafs have to call on, though.

William Villeneuve

Villeneuve is about addressing a specific need. He can provide offence from the point in a sheltered capacity. He’s demonstrated in the AHL playoffs and during his stint on the Leafs that keeping up defensively is a challenge.

He can skate. He does have a point shot. If he has a reliable partner and he’s trotted out in situations tailored for him, he can be an effective call-up if the Maple Leafs lose some puck-moving options to injuries.

While the TLN definition of prospect didn’t include Villeneuve, the Maple Leafs organization likely views him as a work in progress. He’ll get a chance to build on his shortcomings, and some of that might come through NHL exposure.

Brandon Buhr

It’s interesting to write about Buhr as a non-prospect since he’s just been pulled out of the NCAA. That said, if the definition we used were “feels like a prospect,” our rankings would have been all over the place.

Buhr was finding the back of the net for Union College over the past couple of seasons. He was a point-per-game player for them last season and picked up a couple of assists in his five-game trial run for the Marlies. He’s got some size to him and could contribute well on the Marlies. It’s his size and willingness to finish his checks that could see doors open for him.

As a Leafs call-up, I’d say he’s more of a late-season, “see what we’ve got” option if 2026-27 goes sideways for Toronto. John Chayka’s tendencies for recalls might differ from Brad Treliving’s, even if the roster construction favours veterans.

In reality, Buhr is a lot like other likely “start to finish” Marlies. He’s near the prospect age range like Ryan Tverberg, Cade Webber, Samuel Hlavaj, Henrik Rybinski, and Cole McWard. It’s just that Buhr, as a rookie, is a bit more of a wildcard than the AHL veterans.

Jacob Quillan

For most of last season, Jacob Quillan was a mystery box that just needed to get a look on the Maple Leafs to determine what he was. Down the stretch, it became apparent that in his current state, he brings speed and hustle to a fourth-line role.

That’s fine if that’s what Quillan is. There is some hope that after getting a taste of the NHL, Quillan has spent the summer training on what he needs to do to close the gaps to becoming an everyday NHLer. That would be nice, but if he’s a solid bubble player that can help out with centre depth, the Leafs can still use him.

Bo Groulx

For one brief moment, it looked like Bo Groulx could be a great bottom six option for the Maple Leafs. He was having a Boyd Devereaux moment to close out the end of the season. His success and injuries opened up opportunities higher up in the lineup, and it became clear that the Leafs were flying too close to the sun with their solid AHLer. The impact on Groulx’s numbers drove his xGF% and CF% down to around the 30% level. That isn’t going to sit well with a numbers guy like Chayka, whether you agree with that or not.

Groulx remains one of, if not the best, forward call-up option. There’s good reason to see what he brings to training camp, and whether there is much difference from what players like Steven Lorentz, Teddy Blueger, and Colton Sissons bring to the table.

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