> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 2026 T25U25: Emil Andrae is #6 - URL: https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2026-t25u25-emil-andrae-is-6/ - Published: 2026-09-09T12:00:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-09T12:00:29.000Z - Description: Chayka's first acquisition, but is it that meaningful? - Author: Hardev - Tags: Top 25 Under 25 John Chayka’s first move as GM of the Leafs was to acquire Emil Andrae from the Philadelphia Flyers, sending Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit back the other way. At the time of the trade, I presumed Andrae was a consequential piece that Chayka wanted to add, but with time I'm less and less sure of it. Let's have a look at the 24-year-old defender. | Emil Andrae | Vitals | | ---------------- | ------ | | Age as of July 1 | 24.35 | | Position | LD | | Height | 5'9" | | Weight (lbs) | 189 | | Shoots | L | | Draft Year | 2020 | | Draft Number | 54 | ### The Player Emil Andrae was drafted in the second round in 2020, and has developed into a small, mobile, left-shot depth defender. He played three pro seasons with HV71, including playing for Sweden at the world juniors twice, before making the jump to North America in 2023-24\. In the three seasons before this one, Andrae played progressively more games in the NHL, but only as much as a 6/7 role. The season Phiadelphia finished last in the Metro and picked Porter Martone sixth overall, Andrae played a bit on the second pair. Last season he was exclusively on the third pair or in the pressbox. The more time I spend separating Andrae from how he was acquired (ie. traded for Joseph Woll) and instead look at the player that is here, the less convinced I am that this was Chayka's big first pro-scouting move. I don't know how impactful of a player the Leafs have in Andrae, especially with who's on defense ahead of him on the left side (McCabe, Rielly, OEL). His contract is also comparable to one Troy Stetcher, which should additionally temper expectations of this player. At the time, I was upset with trading Woll and attributed his value to Andrae's. But there was also a third round pick in that deal, which is exactly how much goalies get traded for across the board. This trade was much more likely to be two teams trading away their problematic depth defenders. Simon Benoit was statistically the worst regular defender in the league last year, and Andrae was an RFA with arbitration rights that would've paid him much more than Philly wanted to pay someone they didn't want to play. In Emil Andrae, the Leafs get a better puck-mover than Benoit, and a depth defender who won’t have as catastrophic of a floor as Benoit. Benoit, a reminder, was the only defender who played 1000 minutes at 5v5 with a shot share under 40%. Andrae is a "fun" defender, meaning chances go up for both his team and the opponents when he's on the ice. In the offensive zone, Andrae is a good skating playmaker. He can get involved and can be plausibly impactful from the blueline. Defensively, Andrae struggles at winning puck battles against forecheckers and heavy pressure. So much so Max Domi did this to him: > Domi snuck up behind Andrae, stole the puck and scored [pic.twitter.com/SLPwBvGYet](https://t.co/SLPwBvGYet?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) > > — Omar (@TicTacTOmar) [March 26, 2025](https://x.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1904706605796520017?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) Playing Andrae with and against depth players is a safer place for him than against real competition. In fact, he played two games (Mar 19th and 21st) on the fourth line with Garnett Hathaway and Garrett Wilson. > Emil Andrae always played like he took half a jar of preworkout before the game whenever the Flyers called him up. Was always super involved & followed the puck like crazy. Then he would get sent down or scratched for a month. [pic.twitter.com/gaXv1tte9g](https://t.co/gaXv1tte9g?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) > > — Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) [June 16, 2026](https://x.com/ShutdownLine/status/2066913308607696965?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) In this clip, you can see Andrae does a lot of the right things as the puck goes up the ice, but he simply wouldn't have been able to get to the net for a rebound. > Emil Andrae had multiple good breakout plays like this and other good offensive pinches tonight in just 10:22 of TOI. > > Zamula should be less than an afterthought at this point. The new search should be for a D partner for Emil Andrae.[#LetsGoFlyers](https://x.com/hashtag/LetsGoFlyers?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) [pic.twitter.com/8oyDkAkRi1](https://t.co/8oyDkAkRi1?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) > > — Flyers Clips (@Flyers\_Clips) [October 14, 2025](https://x.com/Flyers%5FClips/status/1977934809079947538?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) Researching him, I watched as much video as I could find from him last year. In all, his overall game isn't much to write home about. He can get beat skating backwards, he doesn't use his body much aside from the odd Rasmus Sandin reverse hit. A lot of his defending involves coasting, reaching, and hoping. I'm not surprised he got benched or scratched as much as he did considering his lack of situational awareness a lot of the time and energy away from the puck. ### The Votes Most voters, including myself, put Andrae at the back of the NHLers and highly promising prospects group, more-or-less using him as an anchoring point for the other prospects. Cathy and Brian were the ones lower on him. | Voter | Vote | | ---------------- | ---- | | Cathy | 9 | | Species | 6 | | Hound Line | 6 | | Shinson93 | 7 | | Cameron | 6 | | Sclodiggity | 6 | | Brian S | 11 | | Svalbard38 | 6 | | Zone Entry | 5 | | Hardev | 6 | | Adam | 6 | | Weighted Average | 6.73 | | Highest Vote | 5 | | Lowest Vote | 11 | I placed Andrae where I did to give him recognition for actually playing in the NHL, something the vast majority of prospects I ranked behind him will achieve. Who knows how much he'll do it for the Leafs, or even if this might be nearing the end of his NHL career ala Henry Thrun, but give him credit where it's due. He's a great offensive defender in the AHL, at least. The Opinions > Shinson93: Andrae gave me some Henry Thrun and Victor Mete deja vu for these rankings. Not for style of play, but rather an RFA signing coming in just before aging out of this list, with quite a few NHL games, but with a not great team. Andrae is probably much better than both these players, but where do you rank him against younger prospects with more runway? Is he already better than most of them; will he get better with an opportunity; or is this the start of a downward trend? I decided to put him just above all the maybe guys that I think might get a cup of coffee in the NHL. > Hound Line: Hello Emil, welcome to the Travis Dermott memorial placement on the t25\. Reserved for NHL level Defenders with very little upside left. I'm going on scouting reports, stats and vibes here. I wasn't going to watch any full Flyers games and I couldn't find anything other than scoring highlights online. > Svalbard38: Andrae, aside from being a very welcome injection of youth into an aging defence, is my benchmark for these rankings. In his last year of T25U25 eligibility, he’s already played 100 games. If I think a guy is likely to hit that mark by his last appearance on this list, he goes above Andrae. If I’m not decently confident that’s going to happen, he goes below Andrae. As for the player himself, I want to see Andrae sink his teeth into the opportunity and make it indefensible to sit him. This season won’t be a success if he ends it as the clear 7D. > **Cathy:** It's interesting to compare the impression Andrae makes – with some fans, with his former GM – and the way analysis of his results makes him appear. Somewhere is the real guy. But that All Three Zones chart shows a player very able at puck skills, but you know, it's odd. He forechecks, he gets high-danger assists, his play near the offensive blueline is very good, and he's a little retrieval machine in the d-zone. But if you add up what he isn't good at: defending entries, setting up one-timers, pretty much any shooting, and it's the "spotlight is on you" moments he's not good at. I'm very curious to see how he plays, and I'm happy voting for him as an NHLer, but only just. But that's a tantalizing mix of skills, and I think the Leafs took him for those skills. Carving out a role will be up to him. To be honest, I can't help but think Andrae is going to get claimed on waivers before he plays for the Leafs.