Charlie Trethewey 2025 NHL Draft Profile

Trethewey’s on-ice production

Born just outside of Baltimore, Trethewey played hockey in Pittsburgh before moving to Detroit to play AAA with Little Caesars AAA. He led the entire country in points as a defenceman that year with 86 while playing on a very stacked team.

Jumping over to the National Team, his first year was quite good. He led the U17 team in points and goals among defencemen. However, his USHL numbers were quite bad, with just 14 points in 33 games, and Trethewey finished with an abysmal -20.

This season was a rough start, but he did take strides as the season went on. Trethewey’s numbers in both leagues were down, but his plus-minus took an enormous step forward, and he led the USHL side in that category this past year.

It felt like nerves got the better of him at the start of the year. He clearly had all the right tools in his arsenal, but little mistakes and breakdowns just kept happening, and would lead to goals against. Thankfully, he managed to tighten this up as the year went on.

Trethewey’s strengths

Two-way play

The biggest thing to love about Trethewey is that he is very good at both ends of the ice, but leans heavier on defence than offence. The National Team struggled this season, but Trethewey was one of the bright spots. He played well in transition, using both his positioning and his stick to break up plays, and was unafraid to throw his body around as needed.

On the offensive side, he has a decent shot, both slapshot and wrist shot, and is quite adept at walking the blueline like a prototypical defenceman. While he’s not outstanding at either end of the ice, he has all of the right tools to be able to hold his own in any situation, and will likely improve with time.

A younger player, Trethewey’s game is still under construction, but this is an advantage as a team can still shape him into the type of blueliner they feel would be most effective for them.

Skating

Trethewey is an excellent skater, with explosive acceleration and a very good top speed, allowing him to catch attackers on the rush and minimize chances against. As the game has gotten faster, having a mobile defenceman who can defend on the rush is a major asset for NHL teams.

On top of that, his skating mechanics are quite good, and Trethewey is able to his his feet to create leverage in the corners without getting out of position. He has a strong lower body to complement his height and muscle mass, allowing him to be one of the better hitters on his team.

Add this with his good use of his stick on the pokecheck and smart reads in transition, and you have the makings of an NHLer in a few years.

Trethewey’s areas of improvement

Decision-making

This seems to be a theme with NTDP players this year. While it did get better over the year, Trethewey was often guilty of making plays that seemed to make no sense. Whether it was throwing blind passes through the middle of the ice, passes to teammates that came many seconds too late, or simply panicking and losing the puck, Trethewey does need some work on his decision-making.

However, with an August birthday, he is one of the youngest players in his draft year, and has a good amount of runway left in his production to really mature. A lot of these errors did get better as the year went on, but more is needed to move him from a potential fringe NHLer to a real player.

Trethewey’s comparables

It’s hard to find a good comparable for Trethewey at this point, as he has a lot of potential to develop into an NHLer, but with his errors and reads, he could just as easily fade into being nothing more than a college hockey player. Best case scenario, you get a less-good and right-handed Kevin Bahl—a strong two-way player with a good-sized frame who can score occasionally but shines on the back end—but more likely, you get a right-shot Joel Hanley-type player.

Fit with the Flames

There was a time when the Flames had just a couple of right-shot defencemen in their pipeline, but now with Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Henry Mews, this position has been heavily shored up. If Trethewey drops to the third round, it may be worth taking a chance on him, assuming, of course, that the Flames felt comfortable that he would sign in Calgary. However, the team does need to prioritize centres in this draft.

If they do end up going with Trethewey, best case scenario, he slots in as a second pairing defenceman who can play a solid two-way game but leans more on the defensive side of the game. Assuming both Parekh and Brzustewicz are the future of this team’s blueline on the right, Trethewey being the third pairing right defenceman would be a good right side for a playoff contender.

Summary

Trethewey has a lot of the tools you want in an NHL defenceman. A great skater with good offensive skills and better defensive skills. He can break up rushes coming the other way and is strong in the corners. The challenge is going to be maturing and making fewer errors on the ice. If this can be solved, the sky’s the limit for Trethewey, but if not, he’ll end up in the history books alongside other “what could have beens.”

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2025 NHL Draft prospects:

Matthew Schaefer | Michael Misa | James Hagens | Porter Martone | Anton Frondell | Victor Eklund | Roger McQueen | Caleb Desnoyers | Jackson Smith | Jake O’Brien | Carter Bear | Radim Mrtka | Lynden Lakovic | Brady Martin | Justin Carbonneau | Malcolm Spence | Cameron Reid | Logan Hensler |Cameron Schmidt | Ben Kindel | Kashawn Aitcheson | Cullen Potter | Braeden Cootes | Ivan Ryabkin | Blake Fiddler | Cole Reschny | Joshua Ravensbergen | Bill Zonnon | William Moore | Jack Nesbitt | Jack Murtagh | Milton Gastrin | Sascha Boumedienne | Henry Brzustewicz | Adam Benak | Shane Vansaghi | Cole McKinney | Jakob Ihs-Wozniak | Ryker Lee | Ben Kevan | Michal Svrcek | Arvid Drott