5 players Maple Leafs could target with No. 64 pick at 2025 NHL Draft

Now that the Florida Panthers have repeated as Stanley Cup champions, we know that the Toronto Maple Leafs will be making their first selection with the No. 64 pick at the 2025 NHL Draft. Toronto doesn’t have its first-round pick for the next three years, but will make its first pick at the end of the second round, as a result of a trade completed at the 2024 NHL Draft.

There are players who are rising up draft boards (William Horcoff) while there may be some value to be found from players who are descending (Carter Amico) as the Maple Leafs are tasked with re-loading a barren prospect pool.

Here are five players the Maple Leafs potentially target with the No. 64 overall pick:

Carlos Handel

Handel is an offensive-minded defencemen, who recorded three goals and 26 points in 52 regular season games with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. He’s an excellent puck-mover who will add real skill and dynamism to the Maple Leafs’ prospect pool. Handel has always featured well for Germany in international competition and he could be one of the highest-scoring defencemen in the QMJHL next season.

There are some concerns about Handel’s ability to handle physical play at the NHL level, but he’s still a few years away from a NHL roster spot and the vast majority of prospects need to add strength. He could potentially grade out as a power play quarterback, but will need to continue to work on his overall game and take the next step of dominating inferior opponents.

William Horcoff

William Horcoff is an elite physical talent and is steadily rising through draft boards after an outstanding performance at the NHL Scouting Combine, where he set the new long jump record. Horcoff is the son of former NHL forward Shawn Horcoff, and is a prototype for the modern power forward.

Horcoff excelled in the youth circuit and has been on advanced scouting radars for a few years. The 6-foot-4 centre moved to the University of Michigan midway through the 2024-25 campaign, registering four goals and 10 points in 18 games at the NCAA level. Horcoff may be rapidly ascending, but it will take at least another year for him to graduate to the NHL level, as he refines his skill set and continues to score against high-level competition.

It’s more than possible Horcoff is gone before the No. 64 pick, but he’s a candidate that the Maple Leafs should certainly consider trading up for — sure, Toronto lacks real draft capital but it may as well take some home run swings on real NHL contributors — with the team drastically trying to alter its DNA in all formats. Matthew Knies could be the template for Horcoff at the NHL level.

Charlie Trethewey

Trethewey appeared to be a certain first-round pick but his draft stock fell this year after a few underwhelming offensive performances. He’s an excellent skater who models his game after Boston Bruins star Charlie McAvoy and possesses a booming shot, even if his relatively tepid production doesn’t show it.

The right-handed defencemen turns 18 in August and is one of the youngest players in the 2025 NHL Draft class. Trethewey will be heading to Boston University next fall after featuring for the USA Hockey National Development Team Program (USNTDP) where he could show off his professional bonafides and generate real offence from the blue line at the NCAA level, while working on rounding out his game.

In a similar vein to Horcoff, Trethewey is a player that projects to have some home-run upside and his physicality will appeal to Brad Treliving and Craig Berube — one would figure these qualities would also be alluring to scouting director Mark Leach.

Alex Huang

Huang is an excellent offensive defenceman who posted seven goals and 40 points with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL during the 2024-25 campaign. There are distinct similarities to Handel as well, as Huang is a good skater with excellent switch-of-pace skills, who will need to add strength to this frame.

There have been times where Huang has shown flashes of being able to take over games and further consistency while dominating the QMJHL may be the expectation for the 2025-26 season. Huang is heading to Harvard for the 2026-27 season and the Maple Leafs will surely be patient with him if he’s selected at No. 64 — he’s not expected to reasonably contribute at the NHL level for a few years.

Carter Amico

Amico would’ve likely projected as a first-round pick but he suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the 2024-25 campaign. If he’s available at No. 64, he’s a prospect that would check all the boxes for the Maple Leafs.

It’s no secret that the Maple Leafs want towering, physical defencemen and Amico fits the profile at a towering 6-foot-6 and 232 pounds. Amico featured for the USNTDP for the past two seasons and will be heading to Boston University next fall, where he should be able to display his NHL potential against quality opponents throughout the year.

Toronto needs to add defencemen to its pool and like Trethewey, Amico constitutes real value at the No. 64 mark. He already made a strong impression during the 2023-24 campaign, he’s displayed strong ability on the penalty kill and is worth taking a swing on with the final pick of the second round.