Maple Leafs' Relationship With One Major Hockey Nation Takes an Enormous Hit

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a tough time when it comes to drafting players out of Finland recently, and following Monday's news regarding Finnish defensive prospect Mikko Kokkonen, it's clear that the organization is not exactly on the best of terms with Finland's player development system.

The Leafs have seen a pretty significant shift in organization loyalties since Brad Treliving took over for Kyle Dubas two years ago. Just how significant? Well for starters, he has cleared out a large number of Dubas' former draft picks and players.

The aforementioned Kokkonen, as well as Topi Niemela and Roni Hirvonen represent 3 of the most notable names cleared out by the new regime. As Leafs Nation News points out, that marks three 2nd and 3rd round picks that have left the organization with zero NHL games under their belt -- a costly mistake from the Dubas regime.

LNN also pointed out this week that while the Leafs were previously fond of the Finnish prospects, a shift has occured between 2021 and 2025 with the Leafs opting not to select a single Finnish prospect -- though, admittedly, it could be coincidence.

The Leafs still appear to value European players, though their primary allegiance now appears to be with the Swedish professional and junior leagues. Their record of success out of Sweden is notable, headlined by William Nylander, of course. The Leafs also saw meaningful NHL minutes from Pontus Holmberg and Dennis Hildeby last season.

Time will tell if the Leafs will have a rekindled interest in pursuing Finnish prospects, but for now, it appears as though their primary focus is sticking a little closer to home, as is evidenced by the several Canadian-born players selected in this year's draft, as well as in Sweden, where they've pulled some pretty nice assets out of in recent years.