William Horcoff may very well be out of range for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft. Horcoff was ranked as the 24th-best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting and after a standout performance at the NHL Draft Combine, it’s more than possible that Horcoff will be gone by the time the Maple Leafs make their first selection with the No. 63 or No. 64 (Florida Panthers’ original second-round pick) selection this month. And while it’s rare for the Maple Leafs to trade up during the draft, Horcoff is a prospect worth moving up for.
Horcoff set the long jump record at the combine at 124.75 inches at the combine and wowed executives and scouts alike with his athleticism and explosiveness. The son of former NHLer Shawn Horcoff, the 18-year-old centre recorded four goals and 10 points in 18 NCAA games with Michigan and could develop into one of the best players in the 2025 class.
“I think I could be a skilled power forward in the NHL,” Horcoff said to ESPN’s Kristen Shilton at the combine. “I’d love to play like Brady Tkachuk. That [mean streak] is something I’ve added this season, and I think I’m going to continue doing it more consistently next season.”
Will Horcoff’s stock is on the rise 📈 after an impressive showing at the NHL Combine.
Horcoff set a Combine record in the vertical jump and placed in the top 15 in seven tests.#GoBlue〽️ pic.twitter.com/KYONOCdNea
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) June 9, 2025
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Here’s what Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis wrote about Horcoff in his latest draft rankings. Horcoff is listed as Daily Faceoff’s 49th-ranked prospect.
Will loves to put players through the glass whenever possible. He hasn’t put up a ton of points this year, but he’s good in his own zone. Horcoff only joined Michigan in January, but he made a big first impression with a two-point effort in the outdoor game against Ohio. He put up some solid numbers with Michigan and I thought he looked good at the U-18s, even if he wasn’t in a shining role.
Horcoff’s physicality, athleticism and self-professed mean streak are all qualities that ought to appeal to Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving. Treliving and head coach Craig Berube clearly want a physical team that can wear down opponents through a north-south approach and these are traits that the Maple Leafs often lacked throughout the past decade. It’s far too early to project Horcoff into the current iteration of the team, but Toronto previously hit a home run in the second round of the 2021 draft with Matthew Knies and this could be a player comparable at the NHL level.
It’s worth mentioning that Horcoff was a menace at the minor hockey level for the vaunted Little Caesars program and has been a dominant scorer at virtually every level of his career. He may have to adapt his game a bit, but Horcoff has shown an ability to take over games when he rounds into form and he could be in for a massive leap next season at Michigan.
William Horcoff said he is cheering for the Oilers, the same team his dad played for.
He says one player he would love to play with that his dad also played with is Ryan Nugent Hopkins.
Said it looks like RNH hasn’t aged since he was 18. #NHLDraft
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) June 7, 2025
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Toronto wants to change its DNA and while Horcoff is still a few seasons away from contributing at the NHL level, adding a player with elite athleticism, physicality and competitiveness will certainly be welcomed by the Treliving-Berube regime. And while Horcoff may initially be out of the Leafs’ range, he may be worth trading up for, especially if you take the vantage point that it’s worth taking a few home run swings, rather than waiting for a handful of few low-ceiling players to make a dent at the professional level – packing a second-round and third-round pick to move up 14 spots should be in play! If Horcoff is still around at No. 63 or 64, the Maple Leafs should sprint to the podium to hand in the pick.