Alex Huang – 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

Huang is a solid, puck-moving defender. His puckhandling is outstanding, and he can get downhill fast with momentum. He is a great straight-line skater with quick agility who holds through when he has the puck. He sees through traffic well and excels at finding teammates in dangerous areas. He’s able to navigate all areas of the ice rather quickly, and his backward skating ability allows him to control gaps effectively through the neutral zone.

Overall, his defense has some rough edges. Huang tends to get so far up ice that he’s left behind, often forcing a forward to backcheck for him. He struggles with getting chased out of position and engaging physically. It was good to see him show some physicality at the U18 Worlds, including delivering a solid check to an opponent in Canada’s opening game against Slovakia. Not being big or strong may hurt how high he goes in the draft, but putting on some bulk without losing his skating agility will be a must going forward.

Huang’s fluid stride and excellent edge work allow him to jump into the play offensively and recover defensively with ease. He has a great feel for timing, often pinching effectively to close off lanes or intercept passes without putting his team at risk. Much of this results from being a highly intelligent player, on and off the ice. Huang gets praise from coaches and teammates for this on the ice, while he has a high 90% average in all of his school subjects.

Other THW Draft Profiles

Alex Huang – NHL Draft Projection

NHL teams will like that Huang is a smooth-skating, intelligent defenseman who plays with confidence and poise in all three zones. With the concern about his size and physicality, he will likely hear his name called in the third round.

Quotables

“Likely to be the best skater on the ice at any given moment, Alex Huang is a mesmerizing talent. He explosively separates from opponents with cutbacks on the breakouts and pulls off some high-end edge work plays from the point. Though the production didn’t take a step this season, the defence did. He’s one of the CHL’s best at defending the middle of the rink by angling rushes and getting inside lanes.” Mitch Brown – Elite Prospects

“Huang is a productive blueliner who’s tracking to finish with 40 points while being one of Chicoutimi’s more creative puck movers. He’s not big or strong, but he moves well, activates on the rush and is effective in all three zones. At the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, it looked like Huang was a bit more reliant on Matthew Schaefer to make things happen. But on his own in the Q, it looks like Huang is a lot more confident in himself, and the results this year were solid.” Steven Ellis – Daily Faceoff

“Huang is a smooth puck-moving defenseman. His skating is his best asset. He’s able to navigate all areas of the ice rather quickly, and his backwards skating ability allows him to effectively control gaps through the neutral zone. Huang is adept at moving pucks out of high-danger areas and onto the stick of teammates in transitions. His ability to one-touch passes is a plus.” Aaron Vickers – FCHockey

Strengths

Under Construction – Improvements to Make

NHL Potential

As a player with flowing north-south skating skills, an agile adjuster on his edges, and a clever and talented player on the puck who sees the play develop early, Huang has the potential to be an impactful blueliner in the NHL.

Risk-Reward Analysis

Risk: 3/5 Reward: 4/5

Fantasy Hockey Potential

Offense: 6/10 Defense: 6/10

Awards/Achievements

2023-2024 QMJHL All-Rookie Team
U17 WHC Gold Medal

2024-2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Gold Medal
U18 WJC Gold Medal

Interviews/Links

Alex Huang Stats

Videos