3 Players Who Could Surprisingly Make the Maple Leafs’ Opening Night Roster

The Toronto Maple Leafs look like an almost completely different team heading towards the 2026-27 season. With Gavin McKenna stepping into their top-six forward group immediately after being selected first overall, a revamped bottom-six forward group following a busy offseason, and a new starting goaltender, the Maple Leafs have made it clear they want to get back into the playoffs this season.

John Chayka has been quite busy and has made it clear he has no issue making even more changes if it could benefit the team and put them in a position to succeed.

Earlier this month, Chayka said, “We think we’ve got some good stability through our lineup now. If we can add difference makers, I think we should always be trying to do that, and it does feel like there might be more liquidity in the market in these July, August months.”

The nice thing about the busy offseason that the Maple Leafs are having is the fact they have added some organizational depth, meaning there will be some internal competition in training camp for some spots on opening night, even if they are able to add some more firepower on the trade market, or with another free agent.

In this article, we will take a quick look at three players who could surprisingly make the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster.

Jacob Quillan

The Maple Leafs could end up holding 14 forwards at the start of the season, and some of the bottom-six forward spots could be wide open for the taking for some players on the outside looking in. One player that comes to mind as a potential surprise is Jacob Quillan.

Quillan, who is 24 years old, played 23 games with the Maple Leafs last season, scoring one goal and adding two assists for three points. He also played 40 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Toronto Marlies, where he scored 14 goals and added 22 assists for 36 points.

A strong training camp likely guarantees him a look heading into the new season, and he would simply have to keep his spot when he gets playing time. He is an undrafted player out of Quinnipiac University in the NCAA, and seems ready to make the jump to the NHL full-time.

Quillan would likely have to beat out a veteran, but a strong showing likely gives the Maple Leafs’ coaching staff no choice but to keep him in the NHL.

Zack MacEwen

Another forward, Zack MacEwen, will also be trying to crack the Maple Leafs’ opening-night roster, in hopes of finding a full-time spot in their bottom six. He recently signed a two-year deal with the Maple Leafs, after playing just three games for the New Jersey Devils last season. He does have 240 games of NHL experience under his belt, though.

MacEwen plays a physical style of hockey, often being referred too as a fighter, and that seems to be the type of player that the Maple Leafs were eyeing up when they signed him. He may have his work cut out for him, but a solid training camp and beating out a couple of veterans could impress new head coach Jim Hiller, and earn him a spot on their fourth line.

Artur Akhtyamov

This one could be interesting.

Goaltender Artur Akhtyamov has just three games under his belt at the NHL level, and didn’t perform well, posting a 5.24 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .877 save percentage (SV%).

Last season with the Marlies in the AHL, he posted a 2.88 GAA and a .904 SV%.

The Maple Leafs do have their goaltending tandem set with Sergei Bobrosvky and Anthony Stolarz prepared to take the reins, but with the uncertainty surrounding Bobrovsky and whether or not he can bounce back after a horrendous 2025-26 campaign, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they keep three goalies in the NHL to start the season.

Akhtyamov will benefit from eventually going back to the AHL, but putting a little bit of pressure on their tandem to perform makes sense. He will probably get a few starts in the preseason, and an impressive showing could force the Maple Leafs to keep him around and give him a few starts out of the gate in the regular season.

Several teams are going to be running a three-goalie system this season, including the Edmonton Oilers, so there is no issue with the Maple Leafs considering that option too. At bare minimum, they have a goalie in the AHL who is ready to come up at any point and can provide stability in the case of injuries.

There are more players who could surprise everyone in training camp and stick around on the Maple Leafs’ opening-night roster, but these three stand out to me.

Time will tell what else the Maple Leafs decide to do this offseason, but one thing is for sure: they want to make a deep playoff push this season.

As the 2026-27 season approaches, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.