Hlacar will be eligible to return to OHL Kitchener's lineup on Oct. 26.
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Matthew Hlacar will be out for several games early in the season.
The 19-year-old, who plays for the OHL's Kitchener Rangers, delivered a blindsided hit to Soo Greyhounds defenseman Jakub Winkelhofer on Oct. 10. Hlacar was assessed a match penalty on the play and was suspended for six games by the OHL on Wednesday.
The OHL stated that the hit was late and that it shouldn't have been delivered "from the backside to a player that would not be aware of the oncoming contact." The league added that, given Hlacar's recent history of dangerous hits, an additional three games were tacked onto his suspension.
The Maple Leafs selected Hlacar in the seventh round (217th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft. He had seven goals and one assist in 43 games during his draft year and currently has one assist in four games with the Rangers this season.
Hlacar has already served two games of the suspension. He will be eligible to return to Kitchener's lineup on Sunday, Oct. 26.
The Binbrook, Ontario-born forward was Toronto's final pick in the 2025 draft. Among the other selections by the Maple Leafs were Tinus-Luc Koblar (second round, 64th overall), Tyler Hopkins (third round, 86th overall), William Belle (fifth round, 137th overall), Harry Nansi (fifth round, 153rd overall), and Rylan Fellinger (sixth round, 185th overall).
Hlacar first made headlines in Toronto after he fought defenseman Rhett Parsons on the first day of Maple Leafs development camp in July.
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