Maple Leafs NHL Prospect Ranking: No. 5, Ethan MacKenzie

Coming in at No. 5 in this Toronto Maple Leafs' prospect ranking is Ethan MacKenzie.

The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all under 23. Therefore, players such as William Villeneuve, Artur Akhtyamov and Easton Cowan, among others, won't feature in this ranking for either or both of those particular reasons.

In terms of where these players fall in the rankings, it is a mix of their ceiling and potential, as well as how they've performed in the past year with their respective clubs.

Toronto selected MacKenzie in the 2026 draft as a 19-year-old with the 69th overall pick in the third round. The Maple Leafs lost a year of development by drafting a player two years after his draft year, but the truth is that taking the 6-foot-1 defenseman was a great pick.

MacKenzie proved to the Maple Leafs that his development is still on an upward trajectory. What hindered his draft stock was an injury in 2023-24 that held him back from making more than 26 appearances that season for the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings. But since then, he's put up great numbers and shown signs of positive development.

The left-handed blueliner is coming off a fantastic season with the Oil Kings, reaching just under a point-per-game average. MacKenzie notched 22 goals and 58 points in 59 games, finishing fourth on the team in both scoring categories. He also led all defensemen on his team in plus-minus with a plus-29 rating.

It was a notable improvement from his 2024-25 campaign, in which he registered five goals and 32 points in 54 contests. His ability to put the puck in the net from the back end is clearly one of the areas that MacKenzie enhanced over the past year.

The Kelowna, B.C., native was a key contributor for Team Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championship as well. He had the second-most points on the team by a blueliner, recording a goal and four assists for five points in seven games at the tournament. That's even more impressive considering his role in the competition was a third-pairing defenseman.

For 2026-27, MacKenzie will be joining the University of North Dakota in the NCAA, looking to build off what he's done over the past year or so. He is technically eligible to join the Toronto Marlies for the coming AHL season, turning 20 in early September. However, being drafted late in his Jr. career, a season of college hockey shouldn't hurt his development very much.

It's also worth noting that the Marlies' defense of Ben Danford, William Villeneuve, Noah Chadwick, Marshall Rifai, Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, and others will make it challenging for MacKenzie to get fair ice time in the American League.

North Dakota's 2026-27 roster has some notable prospects to help MacKenzie excel. That includes Cole Reschny, Will Zellers and Carson Carels.

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