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2025 TLN Maple Leafs Prospect Rankings: #10 Luke Haymes
Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/2025-tln-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-10-luke-haymes
Every year, NHL teams will dip their feet into the NCAA free agent pool and take a chance on a player whom NHL teams decided to pass on in their draft years. Some of the most notable undrafted NCAA players to carve out a notable NHL career include Martin St. Louis, Adam Oates, and Joe Mullen. Some more recent examples include Kevin Hayes, Torey Krug, and former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak.
In March of this season, the Maple Leafs managed to pull Luke Haymes and sign him to an entry-level contract, who was widely believed to be the best NCAA free agent available. The 22-year-old spent three seasons with Dartmouth College of the NCAA, with his career year coming in 2023-24 via an 18-goal, 36-point campaign in 31 games. He didn’t play a full season in 2024-25, but played enough to prove why he should be the most sought-after free agent of his class with 12 goals and 18 points in 22 games. Haymes then joined the AHL’s Toronto Marlies following the signing of his entry-level contract, and in a small sample size he proved that he belonged with six points in nine games. He will almost certainly get top-six minutes with the Marlies to start the 2025-26 season, and given his experience playing with players older than him, he could be a contender for a call-up if he starts the season strong.
Our prospect guru Steven Ellis wrote a piece introducing Haymes to Maple Leafs fans after he signed the contract. Here’s a snippet of what he had to say about him.
Ellis goes on to remind fans to temper expectations with their new prospect. NCAA players are more often signed because they’re closer to being NHL ready and could make an impact in the short term, not because they’ve got a limitless ceiling of potential with the right development. For every NCAA signing that’s carved out a solid NHL career, there are probably two or three who haven’t been able to translate their success. Jimmy Vesey is a perfect example of this – remember him? There was a whole sweepstakes with teams looking to sign him and secure his services, but nearly a decade later, he’s more of a journeyman depth forward than the top-six stalwart fans were hoping for when he eventually signed with the New York Rangers.
Standing at 6-foot-2 and having the centre position be his most natural, Haymes is already off to a good start in terms of getting himself on the Maple Leafs’ call-up watch list. Factor in his goal-scoring knack complemented by his NHL-ready shot, and he’s got good defensive instincts too? Safe to say that if he gets off to a good start with the Marlies, he’ll be one of the first people to look at. And who knows? The Maple Leafs have tons of depth options right now, to the point where it’s a bit of a good problem, but the volume of candidates for the bottom-six also means that it’s entirely up to the player as to who runs away with the job. Haymes may not crack the Marlies out of training camp, but he’s got the skill and intangibles that head coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving are looking for, and if he can prove early on that he can handle the jam of pro hockey, the team won’t kick him to the curb if he’s helping them win hockey games.
Between the signing of Haymes and the draft selection of Kingston Frontenacs forward Tyler Hopkins, it’s clear that the Maple Leafs didn’t feel great about having to trade Fraser Minten at the deadline, to a divisional rival no less. But, that’s the price that you have to pay to make substantial upgrades mid-season. Both Haymes and Hopkins are centres with good size, a good motor, and good defensive instincts. Haymes may be a little further ahead in his development than Hopkins, so it certainly appears that he’s the short-term Minten solution while Hopkins is a potential long-term play should Haymes’ development cap out as a bottom-six forward. Still, it’s hard to predict what these prospects are capable of. Nobody ever had Bobby McMann on the Maple Leafs’ top prospect list, and given that he was playing in the ECHL at age 24, nobody should have. But he kept grinding away, kept improving his intangibles, and now he’s a 20-goal scorer on a multi-year contract with the Maple Leafs.
All of this is to say that Haymes’ ceiling is in his hands right now. He’s signed to a two-year entry-level contract that will expire following the 2026-27 NHL season, and if he can get a couple of NHL games under his belt this season, he’ll be setting himself up for success if he can prove that his game is continuing to grow as he makes the jump to pro hockey.
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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/2025-tln-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-10-luke-haymes