Training camp for the Toronto Maple Leafs is nearly here, and with all the new faces around the organization, the roster and management, the lead-up to the 2026-27 season will be interesting.
It’ll be an opportunity for new players to become accustomed to each other and build chemistry. It’s also a chance for players to leave a good first impression on the ice with new head coach Jim Hiller. And for some, that early impression of the coach means more than for others.
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Here are four players on the Maple Leafs who must have a great training camp to solidify their spots on the NHL roster. Especially for opening night on Sept. 29 against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena.
Emil Andrae was the main get when Toronto traded Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers. The 5-foot-9 defenseman backs himself as a mobile player who likes to move the puck. That’s a defenseman that the Leafs could’ve used in last year’s back end as they struggled to move the puck out of their own zone efficiently.
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At training camp, Andrae must prove that his ability on the puck is enough to overcome his small frame and limited NHL experience. Not to mention, there will be competition among the Leafs’ defense group, specifically with Troy Stecher, as well as Nick Blankenburg, looking to make a name for himself on a PTO. Even 20-year-old Ben Danford has set lofty goals for himself to make the NHL roster out of camp.
The 24-year-old Swede has played a total of 107 career games, 61 of which came last year. Andrae averaged 15:20 of ice time per game, scoring two goals and 13 points, and finishing second on the team in plus-minus with a plus-15.
Easton Cowan isn’t really at risk of losing a job on the Maple Leafs’ NHL roster. But how many minutes he gets throughout the year remains unclear.
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The 21-year-old certainly grew over the course of 2025-26. Cowan featured in 66 regular-season games for Toronto, registering 11 goals and 29 points. With that, he averaged 14:43 of ice time per game.
If the Maple Leafs were in contention for the Stanley Cup playoffs, Cowan’s young career to this point could look completely different. He wouldn’t have received as much ice time or opportunity if the team had more to play for and had maintained their veteran players rather than trading them at the deadline (Scott Laughton, Bobby McMann and Nic Roy). Cowan didn’t get an opportunity in the NHL just because some veterans got traded, but it definitely gave him some room in the lineup.
Nonetheless, with Hiller now overlooking the lineup, he’ll need to prove that he’s more than a player who benefited from a team that had little to play for. He’s already a middle-six player on the team, but can he propel himself to a constant second-liner with a good first impression?
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Dakota Joshua is another player who has a spot in Toronto’s lineup. But his role is a little less solidified than Cowan’s, per se.
He’s projected to be the fourth-line left winger for opening night, with training camp still to happen between now and then. But for any fourth-line player, they can be taken out of the lineup the second the coach doesn’t feel like they are fulfilling the role or having an impact on the game.
Joshua’s challenge in camp is to show that he is a useful player who can be physical with his 6-foot-3 frame. If he can be that heavy player, as well as put up 10-plus goals in the year, that would be acceptable.
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With all the bottom-six additions to the Maple Leafs this off-season, Steven Lorentz appears to be the odd man out in terms of the 12 forwards to dress for opening night.
Lorentz, 30, will be competing for a regular spot on this roster just as much as anyone else will be going into 2026-27. Training camp is the opportunity for him to showcase himself to Hiller and the rest of the coaching staff. It’s the chance for him to set himself apart from his peers and those also jostling for a fourth-line role.
He has to show that he can do a little more than skate the length of the ice each shift. The fallout with Calle Jarnkrok was that he didn’t provide many dimensions other than being an option on the penalty kill. Lorentz can’t fall into that realm.
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As a 6-foot-4 forward, he should be able to be a little more physical and bring some energy. With that, he’s got decent speed and can make plays offensively, notching 18 points last season on an average of 11:52 per game.
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