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Haymes
Luke Haymes
Vitals
Age as of July 1
21.93
Position
C/LW
Height
6’1″
Weight (lbs)
192
Shoots
L
Draft Year
Undrafted
Draft Number
NA
The Player
There’s a lot of background in this profile by The Athletic, who dug into what he learned from attending Toronto’s development camp back in 2023 and how his NCAA career progressed after.
If you want more of a breakdown of him as a player, this blurb from Elite Prospects from their NCAA free agency guide is also helpful:
A goalscorer, Haymes brings both an NHL-calibre shot and scoring instincts. He racks up the high-danger chances by battling in front, and then spinning off and slipping inside for a high-skill deflection or in-tight finish. Off the rush, he’s always adjusting his routes and speed to stay open. One-timers, curl-and-drag shots, catch-and-release wristers – he does them all at high speed and under pressure. Haymes looks like an NHLer, bringing that extra level of intensity and attention to detail that the world’s best league demands. Offensively, he’s constantly creating openings for both himself and teammates by proactively engaging opponents going into the wall, rolling with checks to cut inside, and retrieving pucks multiple times per shift. Those same skills translate to the defensive zone, another high-impact area for Haymes. He’s an aggressive down-low defender who pokes away the puck and then seals off the opponent with a hit. A proactive player, he anticipates switches and locks down passing lanes. The other element of Haymes’ exciting projection is development. For one, his edge work and explosiveness are both better than this time last year. He’s also becoming an increasingly dynamic player, showcasing more manipulation skills and playmaking each weekend, as highlighted below in our video breakdown of his March 1st performance.
And here’s the video they mentioned at the end:
NCAA tracking data from EliteProspects.com
After finishing his college career, he wound up playing for the Marlies in 9 regular season games, where he had 2 goals and 6 points in a 2nd/3rd line role. He played in both of Toronto’s playoff games, both overtime losses, and had no points. He was not necessarily a dominant player, but he was noticeable. He showed good defensive instincts – he had multiple points generated by making a defensive play at one end, leading to a goal or an assist at the other. He also showed flashes of pretty impressive creativity with the puck, in terms of the passes and stick handling he pulled off.
#Leafs prospect Luke Haymes (#62 in blue) showing off his two way play in this clip. Defend the blueline to create a turnover, gets the pass to transition the puck up the ice, really good and hard shot the goalie couldn’t handle to get the primary assist. He has two points today in his weekend debut
— Acceptable Treliving (@brigstew.bsky.social) 2025-03-30T21:34:51.290Z
He’ll likely never be a top offensive player in the NHL, but if he has one more leap in him, he could turn into the kind of 3C we envisioned from Fraser Minten. He has a good shot, he moves the puck well, he supports the play without the puck responsibly and should stick at center, he has size, he’s a good skater, he has a bit of everything. His issue is a lack of high end talent.
However, after having seen Jacob Quillan make his brief AHL debut two years ago at the same age as Haymes was this past year, and then seeing Quillan this year… I think Haymes is already a bit better. Quillan is definitely smart and reliable, and maybe has an argument for being a bit better defensively and at driving play. But Haymes is very close in those areas and, I think, more significantly better with the puck and at driving offense specifically. Haymes turned 22 years old in late July, and will be for all of this season. That’s not “young”, but it’s also not over for him. If there’s a time for him to take one last leap, it will be after having a full summer working with Toronto’s skills and development coaches.
If Quillan could get better and earn himself one NHL game, I think there’s a chance Haymes could get called up for a bit more than just the cup of coffee.
The Votes
I wasn’t the absolute highest on Haymes out of all the voters, but I was among those who were highest on him. Only two of the voters didn’t rank him in their top 25 at all, but those who did rank him tended to be pretty high on him – 8 of us had him inside the top 20, including 5 of us within the top 15.
Voter
Vote
Cathy
14
Brigstew
12
Species
NA
Hardev
21
shinson93
8
Cameron
14
Zone Entry
10
Svalbard38
12
dhammm
17
adam
NA
Weighted Average
16
Highest Vote
8
Lowest Vote
21
Personally, I had Haymes towards the end of the tier of prospects I still consider to be at least a little interesting as, potentially, legitimate NHL prospects. The odds may not be good for him, but I’m telling you there’s a chance (imo).
The Opinions
Here’s what the others had to say about him:
Shinson93: Haymes was one of the handful of guys that joined the Marlies at the end of the season, but the only one that really seemed to hit the ground running. I think he’s similar to Quillan but has a bit more offensive upside. I liked his energy, but he was a little flat in the playoffs. I can see him being a guy that replaces Steeves role as an everyday scoring winger.dhammm: I consider him the best of the free-agent prospect lottery-tickets the Leafs picked up in 2025. His scoring, height, the relative runway he has to grow into a useful player, and his exciting stint with the Marlies late in the season combine into a strong enough profile for me to buy in.Zone Entry: Even if Haymes maxes out as a Minten-lite that still puts him well ahead of most of our other prospects. If only he had another syllable, are we sure “Luke” isn’t short for “Lucas”?Svalbard38: I’m more excited for Haymes than I am for most NCAA free agents. He’s younger than most guys signed out of college, he can play centre, and he’s been touted pretty highly as one of the better college free agents in recent memory. He did well in the handful of AHL games he’s played, but Pavel Gogolev had a great start to his AHL career too. Let’s see him follow it up with a good first full season with the Marlies.Hardev: I think I’m going to be proven wrong in voting Haymes so low this year. As I’ve watched him more, I’m increasingly impressed with his game. He plays at a high pace and has a good awareness of the players around him. He played on the Marlies with confidence and looked adapted in only his second game. He works hard, plays physically, and I think he’ll be in the top six next season pretty quickly for the Marlies. There’s offensive upside with him, his two-way game looks reliable, and he plays fast. I expect he’ll be a lot higher on my ranking next season in order to make up for this year.
So now it’s your turn. Do you think that Haymes has a chance to turn into a useful bottom six piece in the NHL? Or do you think he has AHL all-star and nothing better written all over him?
Shiny new #Leafs prospect Luke Haymes scores a beauty! He read the coming breakout pass, jumped into the lane at the perfect time and undressed the goalie for his first pro goal.
— Acceptable Treliving (@brigstew.bsky.social) 2025-03-30T20:49:04.755Z
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