Maple Leafs prospect check-in: How has Miroslav Holinka fared through 5 months of 2025-26?

Of all the prospects in the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system, Miroslav Holinka is without a doubt the quickest riser. With both Easton Cowan and Dennis Hildeby having graduated to the NHL in 2025-26 and quickly shedding the ‘prospect’ tag, the 20-year-old is on a clear path to working his way into the Maple Leafs’ top five prospects.

Originally drafted out of Czechia, where he scored 20 goals and added 41 points in 29 games with his junior team and notched three points in 16 pro games, Holinka crossed the Atlantic and made a strong first impression in his first WHL season, finishing the 2024-25 season with 19 goals and 45 points in 49 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings. It was an impressive rookie season for Holinka, but his production in 2025-26 quickly took things to another level.

Through 43 games in his sophomore season with the Oil Kings, Holinka has 30 goals and 35 assists for 65 points in those 43 games. He’s on pace to hit the 40-goal mark and currently sits ninth in WHL scoring, two points behind teammate and 2026 draft hopeful Lukas Sawchyn who has played in seven more games. Holinka’s offensive game has taken a step forward both from a goal-scoring perspective and a playmaking perspective, and standing at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds with the ability to play anywhere on a line at forward, he’s displaying many traits that will lead to him becoming an NHLer eventually.

Holinka inked a three-year entry level contract with the Maple Leafs last summer, and while he could return to the WHL for an overage season, it seems far more likely that the Leafs will look to officially bring him into the organization and give him a chance to play in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Toronto Marlies. With prospects such as Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin having departed the organization in trades, Holinka is a strong name to keep an eye on over the next year or two as somebody who could lessen the weight of losing two top prospects in trades.

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