Maple Leafs prospect Sam McCue traded from OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs to Ottawa 67’s

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Sam McCue was traded from the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs to the Ottawa 67’s on Thursday.

McCue, along with Brantford’s 5th-round pick in the 2029 OHL Priority Selection Draft are heading to Ottawa, in exchange for 2nd and 3rd picks in the 2029 Draft.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler was first to report.

McCue was selected by the Maple Leafs in the seventh round of the 2024 NHL entry draft. The 20-year-old forward has already appeared with four OHL teams over the past three seasons, starting with the Peterborough Petes, then the Owen Sound Attack, the Flint Firebirds, and finally the Bulldogs. Now he looks set to continue his major junior career in the nation’s capital.

McCue recorded 10 goals and 16 points in 25 games played with the Bulldogs. Last season, he had 36 goals and 55 points in 45 games played, splitting his season between the Attack and the Firebirds.

In The Leafs Nation’s 2025 summer prospect rankings, McCue landed at #17, with Jon Steitzer writing:

The immediate future for Sam McCue won’t include pro hockey. He’s recently been traded from Flint to Brantford and will continue playing the role of muscle in the top six. As McCue gets older and adds more weight to his frame (Elite Prospects presently lists his weight at 190 lbs.) he’ll face less of a challenge in the OHL and making the jump to pro in 2026-27 or moving to the NCAA would be logical next steps. The Leafs have until June 1st of 2026 to get McCue under contract.

Given that McCue lacks some of the additional skills that you see in players like Matthew Knies or other skilled physical top six players, it is likely that McCue’s role in pro hockey will take on something closer to the role that he initially played in Peterborough, and that is a bottom six physical presence. The challenge for McCue will be that 6’2 and 190 lbs. means a lot less in the pro ranks and while a willingness to hit and to go to the tough areas of the ice is something the Leafs can work with, the questions of how much muscle can be added to McCue and how he’ll perform when opponents can push back need to be answered before getting too excited about McCue as a potential option for the Leafs.