There are a couple of interesting Toronto Maple Leafs stories worth looking at today, and neither one is really about Auston Matthews, William Nylander or the big names at the top of the roster. One is about a fourth-round goaltending prospect who may be more interesting than his draft position suggests. The other is about the changing voice of the Maple Leafs on the radio.
That’s one of the things that makes following this team fun. There is always something happening beyond the obvious stories. Patriks Plūminš is still a long way from an NHL crease, while Todd Crocker has the rather enormous job of following Joe Bowen. But both stories tell us something about where the organization is going.
What Makes Patriks Plūminš Such an Interesting Maple Leafs Prospect?
At first glance, Patriks Plūminš doesn’t exactly jump off the page as the most exciting goaltending prospect. Toronto selected him in the fourth round of the 2026 NHL Draft, 149th overall, and he isn’t generally described as an especially athletic goalie. But there is something about his game that clearly caught the Maple Leafs’ attention: he reads the game extremely well.
That matters. Plūminš is 6-foot-4, so he already has the kind of size that can make life difficult for shooters. But he doesn’t appear to depend on spectacular movement to make saves. He tracks the puck, anticipates where the play is going and gets himself into position early. Sometimes the best save a goalie makes is the one he makes because he was already standing in the right place.
His numbers suggest that ability isn’t just theoretical. Plūminš posted a .927 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average (GAA) in 16 games in Latvia’s professional league. He then followed that with an excellent U18 World Championship, recording a .947 save percentage and a 1.62 GAA in five games. Those numbers don’t guarantee anything, of course. Goaltenders are notoriously tough to project, and there is a lot of development still ahead.
Still, this is where the fourth-round selection starts to look interesting. Toronto may have found a goalie whose biggest strength isn’t raw athletic ability but hockey sense. The reasonable projection at this stage might be a future tandem goalie, but there is plenty of time for that projection to change. For a fourth-round pick, that’s not a bad place to start.
The Maple Leafs May Have Found Joe Bowen’s Replacement
The other story is considerably closer to the NHL. After 44 years of Joe Bowen calling Maple Leafs games, Toronto needed someone to step into one of the most recognizable jobs in Canadian sports broadcasting. According to reports, longtime Toronto Marlies play-by-play voice Todd Crocker is expected to take over as the Maple Leafs’ radio voice this season, working alongside Jim Ralph.
Nobody was ever going to simply replace Bowen. He called more than 3,800 Maple Leafs games before retiring after the 2025-26 season, and his voice became part of the soundtrack for generations of Maple Leafs fans. There isn’t really a way to duplicate that. The better question is whether Toronto could find someone who already understands the organization, the players and the audience.
Crocker certainly checks those boxes. He has spent years calling Marlies games and has followed many of the players who eventually arrive in Toronto. He also has some NHL experience. In January 2025, he filled in for Bowen when Bowen took the night off to watch Notre Dame play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff. Crocker called Toronto’s 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning that night alongside Ralph, giving fans a pretty good preview of what the future might sound like.
Maybe that’s the right way to look at this transition. Crocker doesn’t have to be Joe Bowen. Nobody could be. He gets to develop his own voice and relationship with the audience while bringing a sense of familiarity to the broadcast. That’s probably healthier than trying to recreate something that can’t be recreated.
What These Two Stories Tell Us
The Plūminš story is a reminder that not every interesting Maple Leafs prospect will be a first-round pick with a big spotlight on him. Sometimes there is something underneath the obvious numbers that makes a player worth watching. In his case, it’s the combination of size, numbers and an ability to anticipate the game.
The Crocker story is different, but there is a similar theme. The Maple Leafs are moving into a new era. Bowen’s retirement closed an important chapter, but it doesn’t mean the story stops there. Crocker gets the chance to start writing the next one.
Free Newsletter
Get Toronto Maple Leafs coverage delivered to your inbox
In-depth analysis, breaking news, and insider takes – free.
Subscribe Free →
