2026 NCAA Free Agent Watch

With the NCAA season wrapping up for many teams, this year's college free agency group has already started. Toronto has had a recent history of signing quite a few of these in the hunt to stock up their prospect cupboard after trading away so many young players and picks. Luke Haymes and John Prokop were signed last year, plus Ryan Kirwan and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine came in on AHL deals. Jacob Quillan was the big get the previous year, with Matthew Barbolini a noteworthy guy signed to an AHL deal.

Now, last season Toronto had been heavily linked to Haymes for months leading up to signing him. They had also had him at their development camp in a previous summer. As far as I know, Toronto hasn't been linked to anyone at all this year... but I don't remember them being linked to Prokop or Quillan either.

So, who are some interesting players that would make sense for the Leafs to sign? Well, there are two kinds of players they've gone for the past two years in particular – two-way centers and big defensemen.

FORWARDS

Hank Cleaves

A 6'4" centre that the Leafs may already be somewhat familiar with, since he was Luke Haymes' teammate last year on Dartmouth. Despite being 21 last year, it was his freshman season. He had spent the previous two seasons in the BCHL where he led the team in scoring. Now age 22, Cleaves is one of the younger college free agents getting hype this year because of his combination of size, speed, and two-way potential. He's second on his team this year, with 14 goals and 35 points in 30 games, and is at the top of the rankings in the NCAA for even strength AND primary assists.

Cleaves is an American from Connecticut, and he was invited to the New York Rangers' development camp last summer. I wouldn't be surprised if he picks one of the teams in that state to sign, if he does indeed sign this year. But he seems to be a late bloomer with interesting tools and skill, and it's not like Toronto's prospect cupboard is full of quality centres. They may be able to offer more of an immediate opportunity for him.

TJ Hughes

I know I wrote about Hughes last year in a similar post, but I'm pretty sure I may have mentioned him the year before that too. Hughes, no relation to the American Hughes brothers, is from Hamilton, Ontario. He's already 24 years old, but he's been one of the top potential free agents for NHL teams the past two years. He's finishing up a long and quality career with Michigan – one of the top teams in college for his four year career.

Hughes has had 13+ goals in all four years, and 36+ points. He's come close to breaking 50 points twice, including this year where he still could break that mark as they're still playing the conference and NCAA playoffs. He's the team captain this year, he's used in all situations, he's rounded out his defensive play and his faceoffs and is arguably the most complete and NHL-ready player in this year's free agent group. He may not be the highest ceiling guy, but he's very versatile and plays a pro-like game already. As a local Hamilton boy, who knows?

Nathan Pilling

Pilling is another 6'4" two-way centre who's even younger than Cleaves (21 until June). He may not have the same upside as Cleaves seems to, but he arguably offers more in the kind of little detail, physical, defensive play that teams like in their bottom six. Despite that, he's third on his team in goals (15), fourth in points (29) and first in shots (131) as their second line centre. He plays a lot – usually around 20 minutes per game – and contributes both on the powerplay (6 goals) but also short handed (3 goals). He also seems to be their go-to guy for faceoffs, especially late this season. Despite not being a top rated program, Pilling is a big reason why St. Thomas is on the fringe of making the NCAA tournament this spring.

The ideal scenario for Pilling, within realism, is probably to become a guy like Steve Lorentz who is also a 6'4", bottom six kind of guy. He won't excite you most of the time, but he could wind up being just the kind of player you don't mind having in your bottom six for specialized situations and won't cost a lot in cap hit. The concern for him is the common one for taller guys who are also lanky, like he is – his top speed is good, but it takes him longer to get up to speed. Adding more explosiveness to his first couple of strides would do wonders for him, and more muscle will help with his physical and defensive play.

Dylan Hryckowian

Hryckowian is a 5'10" right winger who's still just 21 years old until May. He may not have the size of some of these other players, but he has a few things going for him. First, he likely has the best set of offensive skills – he is tied for 10th in the NCAA in points per game with 15 goals and 37 points in 29 games. He's been a model of consistency in his three years with Northeastern, but making gradual improvements: 34 points in 34 games in his freshman year, then improving his goals by 10 and points by 2 last year, and has already surpassed that this season with the playoffs just starting.

But Hryckowian isn't just an offensive guy. He is a good skater and uses it aggressively on the forecheck and backcheck. He plays in all situations, often playing 20+ minutes per game. He's very similar to his older brother Justin who also played for Northeastern, also signed as a free agent with an NHL team (Dallas), and is playing his rookie season this year for a good team and could top 30 points at 25 years old. His brother found a role using similar skills as a depth/energy winger who can contribute on offense, so he has that path to follow. Dylan potentially has more offensive upside and a better skater, but isn't as good defensively.

DEFENSE

Isaiah Norlin

Norlin is arguably the top defensive free agent out of the NCAA this year. He's big but still has room to fill out (6'6" and 205 lbs), he's already got a good defensive game with solid instincts and physical potential that can be realized as he gets stronger, and this year he's showing a big offensive breakout compared to his career to date. He's tied for second on his team in points with 26 in 35 games, and tied for 7th in the whole NCAA for defensemen.

He's still unrefined, but like Cleaves he is relatively young (22) and showing signs of being a late bloomer for his all-around game. There could be more potential for him to realized compared to other 20+ year old college players, considering this is his first NCAA season where he was given this much opportunity. He only played in 16 games for Nebraska-Omaha last year, and transferred to Colgate in the summer. Now he plays 25-30 minutes per game, and with some physical and skills development he could be the most interesting free agent this spring. He shows good skill and footwork on the blueline, good instincts to jump into the play off the rush, and has a pretty good shot for a defenseman if that's your thing.

Tyler Dunbar

Dunbar is a 6'1", left shot defenseman and just turned 22 years old this past December. He's a very good skater, but is more smooth and shifty guy than having huge raw speed. Like Norlin, he seems to have more potential than others his age as a project who could still be refined. He has decent defensive instincts and plays a very physical game if that's your thing. Offensively, he seems to have the good kind of offensive chaos in helping create opportunities through his passing and movement off the puck.

So if you were to compare Dunbar with Norlin, he probably doesn't have the defensive projection both because of his smaller size and because of a more mixed results for his defensive reads. But I think he's also better projected on the offensive and puck moving side. It's a bit easier to compare them together since they both played in the ECAC conference, where the nerd schools like Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, etc are. It's a typically weaker conference, which is something to keep in mind when considering their numbers.

GOALIES

Lawton Zacher

Zacher is a 6'2" goalie from Buffalo that just turned 22 in December. He is the main starter for Northeastern. Despite the team being pretty meh, he had one of the best seasons statistically in the entire NCAA. In 32 games, he had a 15-16-1 record with 5 shutouts, a 2.20 GAA and a .929 sv%. Those are very strong stats considering he played in (arguably) the best conference in college and he's likely going to be one of three finalists for the NCAA's top goalie award.

For a more scouting based analysis, I'll rely on reports I've read because I don't know anything about goalie mechanics. Zacher gets top grades for his skating and quickness in the crease, in terms of coming out to challenge shooters, moving side to side, and getting up and down from the butterfly. He has a good glove and blocker as well, but he apparently can struggle in close because of lesser flexibility which can leave gaps in his positioning – like his five hole.

Johnny Hicks

Despite only being 5'11" (or even as small as 5'10" on some sites), I'm including Hicks for three reasons. First, because I included him way back in my list of goalies for the 2023 draft and I'd love to be proven right that he was worth a pick three years later. Second, he's the youngest goalie among those talked about among NCAA free agent goalies this year – he's 20 years old until September. Third, because he has the highest save percentage in the entire NCAA by far at an incredible .960 sv%.

Now, those stats are only for 15 games, as he wasn't Denver's main starter though he did take over as the starter in late January and went undefeated with a 10-0-1 record. But it matches a trend I talked about back in 2023, which is that despite being small for a goalie he just always stops pucks at an incredible rate. What's helped him in junior and college is being very good to great at everything else – scouts rave about his skating/movement, puck tracking, ability to read and anticipate play. Given his age, and the fact that he doesn't even have one full season as a starter, I wouldn't be surprised if he returns to college next year instead of signing a contract. But

Thanks for reading!

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