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Is the Quillan mightier than the hockey stick?

Yes, I spent way too long trying to think up a hook for this article. Is Quillan the Leafs most prickly prospect? Does Quillan have what it takes to blanket the other teams’ defence? How much ink should we spill over Quilly?

As you can see, I wasn’t very successful. So let’s skip ahead to the facts now.

Born on 02/02/02, which must be a fun conversation starter, Quillan has sparked highly varied opinions in his ranking, but it’s also a tight ranking relative to many others in our T25U25, ranging from only 10 to 17, though on this year’s list that range encompasses a possible NHL-level player all the way down to the abyss of a long-term hockey career, which leaves us with the big question about a player that many Leafs fans still know very little about: who is Jacob Quillan and what is his actual potential?

Q CLEANS IT UP IN FRONT 🫡 pic.twitter.com/7CXAR0KOuO

— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) March 15, 2025

Jacob Quillan
Vitals

Age as of July 1
23.41

Position
C

Height
6’1″

Weight (lbs)
204

Shoots
L

Draft Year
Undrafted

Draft Number
NA

The Player

Quillan was not drafted, so he took the NCAA route going to Quinnipiac University, and yes, we have a Q theme going on here. His rise to fame came from scoring the championship winning goal in 2023. After turning pro in 2024 he spent most of his time playing as either a second or third line center for the Marlies, behind Logan Shaw and Fraser Minten before he was traded away. Quillan essentially took over Minten’s spot. He’s had a rotating cast of wingers playing with him since then.

He did play his first ever and only NHL game least season and you will probably remember it for this happening:

Quillan came back to play after that. Cousins did not.

The Votes

Voter
Vote

Cathy
10

Brigstew
14

Species
12

Hardev
13

shinson93
10

Cameron
15

Zone Entry
17

Svalbard38
16

dhammm
11

adam
10

Weighted Average
12.8

Highest Vote
10

Lowest Vote
17

As previously noted, I mixed up my votes between Quillan and Cade Webber, where I put Quillan at 12 when I meant to put him at 10, but a quick check shows it wouldn’t have really changed his overall average ranking anyway. I blame the ranch kittens for this error.

In any case, the ranking this year put him up from last year, but that’s partly because some players above him left. It feels like he’s still exactly where we had him last season. In fact, going back and looking at what was written then sounds very familiar to now. There was a lot of talk about how he had a broad variety of well-rounded skills, but he needed to learn to put them to better use and more often. In other words, he’s close to the NHL but not there yet; and maybe after a full year on the Marlies he will be ready to make the jump.

Well it’s another year later and it still feels like he’s close, but not there yet; and maybe he needs another year to be ready to make the jump. I’ve heard this story before, but I also think he is pretty good and those well-rounded skills are all still there, he simply needs to use them in a more efficient way and more often. He likely is ready to test out more for the Leafs this season, however Scott Laughton still exists, and that’s one big rock to climb over on his trail to the NHL.

The OpinionsBrigstew: I like Quillan quite a bit. He’s almost perfect for a depth role as a two-way center, and he’s just lacking in having a bit more size and a bit more play driving ability. He’s very much a borderline NHL guy, and I’m hoping his time with the Marlies helps him with some late stage improvements in the offensive areas. Shinson93:  Quillan was good enough last year to earn his 5 min on the Leafs.  He’s got a good 2 way game, but was another guy that really didn’t show up in the playoffs.  He’ll need to take on an even bigger role with the Marlies this year.  I’m interested to see if they use him as the top shut down guy or ask him to play on more of a scoring line.dhammm: There are several reasons the Leafs probably want to clear out their depth forward flotsam, but one of them that appeals to me is they would clear a path for a player like Jacob Quillan to get NHL icetime. He seems like a guy that could do much of what David Kampf does at less than half the price, although I am not sure if his ceiling is higher than what Kampf was at his best.Svalbard38: Looking back at my ranking, Quillan probably should have been higher. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s the new Alex Steeves though. NCAA free agent signing who put up some good college numbers, can play C and W, average size, ends up being one of the top Marlies for a couple of seasons but never gets much of a chance at the NHL, then moves on in a couple of years. Hoping he proves me wrong, but to do that the organization will need to give him a shot if he proves he deserves one.Cathy: I think Quillan is the new Alex Steeves, and I ranked him 10th because I don’t think the players below him are at that level or likely to get there but every vote he got can have a reasonable argument. Steeves got in the NHL and looked busy, and he tried hard, has a complete hockey game – not always true for every player – but he was not a value add. If he will ever be Alex Steeves, but with an NHL job for a few years, he needs to bring something more to the NHL.

His role on the Marlies is now going to be larger and more prominent this season and that’s an opportunity he needs to take that big step, use his tools, get noticed, and earn a place on the Leafs by continuing to be the offensive zone threat and intimidator, like a wasp out there you don’t want anywhere near your front door. While there’s a lot of centres already in that Leafs lineup, some in the bottom-six will be gone by the end of the coming season and Quillan can still potentially get himself wedged in the Leafs lineup for good.

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