Back to school: Maple Leafs college free agent targets

It’s college free agent season and while this should matter if a team is contender or not, the Leafs are notably not contenders. And this should matter to teams no matter how many prospects an organization has, and for the record, the Maple Leafs don’t have many.

The Maple Leafs can offer up opportunities at the AHL and NHL for college free agents and that should make them an attractive option this year. There is evidence that free agents will get a look given that Jacob Quillan is getting a look now, and has had cups of coffee throughout the year, and Luke Haymes has been given significant opportunities on the Marlies. The Leafs have playing time to offer up potentially at the AHL or NHL level next season, a strong player development department, and with only 43 players presently under contract, the Leafs have room to bring in players in the 2025-26 season to burn the first year of their entry level contracts.

That brings us to the current crop of NCAA free agents, and Steven Ellis has done an excellent job of highlighting the top of the class over at Daily Faceoff. From from that list, these seem like the best available options for the Maple Leafs to consider:

T.J. Hughes – Centre – Michigan

T.J. Hughes has put up numbers throughout his four college seasons and only in his freshman year was he not a point per game player, a pretty significant accomplishment in a program as strong as Michigan’s where playing regularly as a freshman is already a sign of being a promising player.

Like the University of Michigan program, Hughes also benefited from playing a strong AJHL program with the Brooks Bandits, and as a player who will turn 25 early in the 2026-27 season, there is a good chance that if his transition to pro hockey goes smoothly, he’ll be ready to contribute almost immediately. He’s received the development you’d hope for.

Steven Ellis says this about Hughes’ game, “He’s intense, quick and always looking to get in the way to steal pucks. His play away from the puck has continued to improve over the past two seasons, as well.” And while that hints at some work possibly being needed with play away from the puck as he takes the next step, he’s tenacious on the offensive side of the puck and for a Leafs team that struggles with possession, he’s a player that can help get the puck back.

The need for centres in the Leafs organization is obvious, and as a right shot, the Hamilton native fills an even greater need. And yes, as an Ontario born player there might be a greater chance he’s interested in being a Leaf too.

J.J. Wiebusch – Right Wing – Penn State

Sticking with the theme of double initial players, here’s J.J. Weibusch. He’s certainly benefited from the exposure of scouts coming to check out Gavin McKenna, but Weibusch has played a role in the upswing of the program even before draftcentric eyes fell on the program.

Wiebusch is a bit younger, at 22, and as a sophomore still could choose to continue his college hockey career if there isn’t a perfect fit found, but given that he’s nearly a point per game player and his program will be taking a bit hit with McKenna’s departure, it makes sense he’ll explore his options.

Wiebusch is likely more of a complementary player than a play driver, and some of this comes through in Steven Ellis’ assessment of him, “you’ll be more impressed with the smaller details in his game, like his ability to chip pucks out of danger and support his team on the rush. Wiebusch loves to play with boatloads of energy, and I could see him contributing as a fourth-line forward capable of scoring about 10 goals a year if everything works out.” While Steven notes that Wiebusch has solid puck play and is a bit of a creator, the safety of Wiebusch fitting a fourth line energy role if his offensive attributes don’t pan out at the pro ranks is appealing. Smart little plays create the opportunities for players at the NHL level and it’s easy to see where there is potential for Wiebusch to get a cup of coffee in the coming seasons. Optimistically, there are shades of Bobby McMann here in the 6’0 winger.

Hank Cleaves – Centre – Dartmouth

There are a lot of things taught in college, but size isn’t one of them. At 6’4 Cleaves has something you can’t learn and something the Leafs and other NHL organizations gravitate towards.

While Dartmouth isn’t a powerhouse developer like Michigan or Penn State, they have been a reliable source of interesting gambles for the Maple Leafs in the past and understandably that could lead to the Leafs looking in this direction once again.

Besides being 6’4, the sophomore has been over a point per game this season and his previous season and his BCHL numbers don’t support him becoming a prolific scorer, his size and puck moving make him appear as a possible bottom six option for NHL teams willing to give him some AHL development time. And Cleaves would be more of a project according to Ellis, “At 6-foot-4, he’s got the size teams like, and he moves well, too. If Cleaves can find another gear, there’s real bottom-six NHL potential here. Many scouts think the 22-year-old could easily make the jump to the AHL and be effective next year.”

This is far from an extensive list, but instead largely focuses on the Leafs continued need to find centres and looks at what they’ve had success developing. A goaltender could prove to be an interesting option as well as the Maple Leafs may experience some shifts in their goaltending depth chart with two pending RFAs and a pending decision on how close to NHL ready Dennis Hildeby is, and looking in that direction may make sense too.

From Ellis’ list, the defensive options seem to be more undersized than what fits the current direction of the Maple Leafs, and the one other name that stood out in the honourable mentions was Nathan Piling, a centre from the University of St. Thomas.

It seems reasonable to expect that the Maple Leafs will be active in the college free agent market, as well as dabble in CHL and European free agency as well as all of these areas see their seasons wind down in the coming weeks. Without draft picks and increasingly limited options in free agency, finding ways to build out talent, even if it is just at the bottom of the roster will be important.