<p>If there was any NCAA free agent to get this year, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-sign-top-ncaa-luke-haymes-contract">it was center Luke Haymes.</a></p>
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<p>The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> were believed to be the favorites to land him from the start. He was invited to Toronto&#8217;s development camp last year, and it was known that the Leafs had been interested in him all season long.</p>
<p>Many considered Haymes to be one of the best – if not the top – college UFA on the market this year. Others weren&#8217;t entirely convinced. But this market wasn&#8217;t as good as other years, which allowed Haymes the opportunity to stand out.</p>
<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-prospect-roundup-haymes-prokop-chl-playoffs">Haymes just finished his third season at Dartmouth College</a>, scoring 12 goals and 18 points in 22 games. A hand injury limited his game output, but he returned with a vengeance and played some solid hockey to close out the season.</p>
<p>In total, Haymes had 41 goals and 70 points in 83 games over three years, which, for someone who was never really on anyone&#8217;s draft radar and was never on the NHL Central Scouting&#8217;s list, is pretty solid.</p>
<p>The Ottawa native showed promising signs from the start of his three-year college tenure. He scored 11 goals in his freshman season before potting 18 as a sophomore. He led the team in goals twice, and would have easily done it again this year had he stayed healthy. Haymes possesses a quick, accurate wrister, but he can score in a variety of ways and angles. His confidence with the puck in the offensive zone is among the best we saw from anyone this past year, and his one-timer is truly NHL-caliber.</p>
<p>One thing that really improved after his injury was his intensity level. He became more physically engaged and chased pucks more often with purpose. Haymes will never be a punishing hitter, but he looks ready to take on the pro leagues.</p>
<p>Defensively, there&#8217;s a lot to like. Haymes often doesn&#8217;t lose his man and can be seen winning puck battles and getting into passing lanes. He&#8217;s a two-way player who gives it his all at both ends – although I&#8217;d describe his skating as just fine. Not a hindrance by any means, but not a strength.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the thing I&#8217;ve said before about college players, and I&#8217;ll repeat it: if you&#8217;re looking for future, impact NHLers, you&#8217;re usually looking in the wrong place. You&#8217;re generally looking for someone who can make an impact with one of your pro teams right away instead of waiting 3-4 years with a recently selected 18-year-old.</p>
<p>And that&#8217;s fine. The reality is there will always be some hyped up college players that you&#8217;re excited to bring in only for them to spend most of their career in the AHL. Christian Hanson is a perfect example of someone who had great college numbers but never made it as an NHLer. There&#8217;s a reason that Tyler Bozak is considered one of the best college free-agent signings in NHL history. He played some good years in Toronto but also during an ugly period for the franchise. He likely wouldn&#8217;t have been as impactful if the Leafs had more depth.</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Leafs Sign NCAA Free Agent Luke Haymes | Steven Ellis Explains What They&#039;re Getting" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a_TOLgMODoQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Last year, Toronto signed <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/2024-tln-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-15-jacob-quillan">Jacob Quillan</a>, and he has been a decent depth player for the team. But the reality is that he&#8217;s probably not more than a bottom-six player at best, just like <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-happy-alex-steeves-performance-return">Alex Steeves</a>. Steeves was one heck of a college player. He&#8217;s also been lights out in the AHL, and will go down as one of the best players the Marlies ever had. But he has never had a chance to play high in Toronto&#8217;s lineup and likely never will. That&#8217;s just the reality most of these college free agents run into – there&#8217;s usually a good reason why they were passed over 2-3 times on draft day.</p>
<p>The moral of the story: Haymes is pro-ready. He&#8217;ll make an impact with the Toronto Marlies next season and might even get into some NHL games. I feel very, very confident that he&#8217;ll become an NHLer, and if all goes well, maybe he will become the team&#8217;s No. 3 center. There&#8217;s still room for him to improve his playmaking game and his speed, so the short-term priority absolutely will be on him improving at Coca-Cola Coliseum.</p>
<p>So, was this worth the signing? Absolutely. He&#8217;s only 21 – younger than most college UFAs. Leafs fans should be thrilled about the team&#8217;s commitment to exploring the college market every single year because you&#8217;re always chasing diamond-in-the-rough talent who you don&#8217;t need to wait forever on. While it&#8217;s hard to say if <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/fraser-minten-is-thriving-in-craig-berubes-system-and-may-be-a-permanent-maple-leaf">he&#8217;s actually a Fraser Minten replacement</a> (Minten had better tools at his disposal to be more impactful), he lessens the blow, at least.</p>
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If there was any NCAA free agent to get this year, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-sign-top-ncaa-luke-haymes-contract">it was center Luke Haymes.</a>
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The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> were believed to be the favorites to land him from the start. He was invited to Toronto's development camp last year, and it was known that the Leafs had been interested in him all season long.

Many considered Haymes to be one of the best – if not the top – college UFA on the market this year. Others weren't entirely convinced. But this market wasn't as good as other years, which allowed Haymes the opportunity to stand out.

<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-prospect-roundup-haymes-prokop-chl-playoffs">Haymes just finished his third season at Dartmouth College</a>, scoring 12 goals and 18 points in 22 games. A hand injury limited his game output, but he returned with a vengeance and played some solid hockey to close out the season.

In total, Haymes had 41 goals and 70 points in 83 games over three years, which, for someone who was never really on anyone's draft radar and was never on the NHL Central Scouting's list, is pretty solid.

The Ottawa native showed promising signs from the start of his three-year college tenure. He scored 11 goals in his freshman season before potting 18 as a sophomore. He led the team in goals twice, and would have easily done it again this year had he stayed healthy. Haymes possesses a quick, accurate wrister, but he can score in a variety of ways and angles. His confidence with the puck in the offensive zone is among the best we saw from anyone this past year, and his one-timer is truly NHL-caliber.

One thing that really improved after his injury was his intensity level. He became more physically engaged and chased pucks more often with purpose. Haymes will never be a punishing hitter, but he looks ready to take on the pro leagues.

Defensively, there's a lot to like. Haymes often doesn't lose his man and can be seen winning puck battles and getting into passing lanes. He's a two-way player who gives it his all at both ends – although I'd describe his skating as just fine. Not a hindrance by any means, but not a strength.

Here's the thing I've said before about college players, and I'll repeat it: if you're looking for future, impact NHLers, you're usually looking in the wrong place. You're generally looking for someone who can make an impact with one of your pro teams right away instead of waiting 3-4 years with a recently selected 18-year-old.

And that's fine. The reality is there will always be some hyped up college players that you're excited to bring in only for them to spend most of their career in the AHL. Christian Hanson is a perfect example of someone who had great college numbers but never made it as an NHLer. There's a reason that Tyler Bozak is considered one of the best college free-agent signings in NHL history. He played some good years in Toronto but also during an ugly period for the franchise. He likely wouldn't have been as impactful if the Leafs had more depth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_TOLgMODoQ

Last year, Toronto signed <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/2024-tln-maple-leafs-prospect-rankings-15-jacob-quillan">Jacob Quillan</a>, and he has been a decent depth player for the team. But the reality is that he's probably not more than a bottom-six player at best, just like <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-happy-alex-steeves-performance-return">Alex Steeves</a>. Steeves was one heck of a college player. He's also been lights out in the AHL, and will go down as one of the best players the Marlies ever had. But he has never had a chance to play high in Toronto's lineup and likely never will. That's just the reality most of these college free agents run into – there's usually a good reason why they were passed over 2-3 times on draft day.

The moral of the story: Haymes is pro-ready. He'll make an impact with the Toronto Marlies next season and might even get into some NHL games. I feel very, very confident that he'll become an NHLer, and if all goes well, maybe he will become the team's No. 3 center. There's still room for him to improve his playmaking game and his speed, so the short-term priority absolutely will be on him improving at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

So, was this worth the signing? Absolutely. He's only 21 – younger than most college UFAs. Leafs fans should be thrilled about the team's commitment to exploring the college market every single year because you're always chasing diamond-in-the-rough talent who you don't need to wait forever on. While it's hard to say if <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/fraser-minten-is-thriving-in-craig-berubes-system-and-may-be-a-permanent-maple-leaf">he's actually a Fraser Minten replacement</a> (Minten had better tools at his disposal to be more impactful), he lessens the blow, at least.
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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Scouting Report: What you need to know about new Leafs signing Luke Haymes

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