2026 T25U25: William Villeneuve is #17

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William Villeneuve got a cup of coffee in the NHL as the Leafs spiraled towards the end of their worst season in a decade. Give Villeneuve credit for being the one to get the call-up, and no one can take away his NHL debut, but that's about all it is. And in his last T25U25 season, Villeneuve finishes more-or-less where he's been ranked the entire time.

William Villeneuve	Vitals
Age as of July 1	24.28
Position	RD
Height	6'2"
Weight (lbs)	183
Shoots	R
Draft Year	2020
Draft Number	122

The Player

Since being drafted in 2020, a common refrain about Villeneuve is that he's an offensive defenseman, even though his point totals directly correlate with power play time. Meanwhile, there's not much to write home about at 5v5. His Calder Cup winning season with the Marlies paints that picture more clearly than ever.

Thanks to the useful site, AHLTracker.com, Villeneuve had 30 points in 61 regular season games last year for the Marlies. He had three goals and 27 assists, good for eighth in Marlies scoring, which was a bit higher than Henry Thrun who has since moved on. When you filter his points to even strength, he only has 13 points, good for only fourth on the Marlies behind Noah Chadwick, Matt Benning, and Thrun.

For someone titled as an offensive defenseman, that reputation breaks down very quickly. Top of that, a brief review of who made goals happen on the Marlies last year makes it clear that it was the forwards who created chances and buried goals. The Marlies didn't have anyone who could play with the top six at their level.

What Villeneuve brings to the table is a sufficient combination of confidence with the puck and experience that had him on the first power play unit – one, it must be said, that spent stretches trialing five forwards on it. It's hard to argue Villeneuve added plus value to the power play, instead being a cog in the wheel and playing a role.

When Villeneuve came to the Leafs for three game, I will admit he stood out against the background of beaten down, bloodied, and demoralized defenders that remained. The Leafs defense couldn't make a pass, they couldn't get out of the zone. They were slow and exhausted, and had been stuck in a type of purgatory for 70 games. In contrast, Villeneuve played a simple game for about 16 minutes a night where he completed passes and made sure he didn't get tossed around. It was enough to be seen as a breath of fresh air in the same way Troy Stetcher was.

At 24, Villeneuve is either an NHLer or he isn't. Last year, the Leafs were one of the worst-performing defenseive teams in the league. Villeneuve got a few games in, but it's telling that he didn't get an extended stay at any time before mid-April. This season, the Leafs project their defense to be significantly improved. I don't see Villeneuve as an option. If he had got himself onto the roster as a 6/7 guy last year, it's a different story, but that's not what happened.

Even looking to the Marlies, I wouldn't be surprised if Noah Chadwick gets more looks at PP1. Chadwick was a better player in junior, especially on the power play. Villeneuve will need to gain a reputation for more than power play points to have an extended pro career. For reference, Henry Thrun is a year older, has 120 more NHL games to his name, and signed as a premier AHLer in Winnipeg this summer.

The Votes

I ranked Villeneuve 17th, right about where he ended up being ranked. Two voters placed him 25th, one didn't rank him, and no one put Villeneuve in their top-10.

Voter	Vote
Cathy	NA
Species	17
Hound Line	18
Shinson93	25
Cameron	16
Sclodiggity	12
Brian S	19
Svalbard38	13
Zone Entry	25
Hardev	18
Adam	11
Weighted Average	18.18
Highest Vote	11
Lowest Vote	25

Villeneuve was essentially tied with Friday's player, Zac Olsen, who had a weighted average of 18.27. These two players couldn't be more different – Villeneuve is the 5th oldest on the list while Olsen is the 5th youngest. So the fact they were ranked so closely shows that this series isn't about the "rank" but an excuse to talk about these players at whatever stage in their careers they happen to be in.

The Opinions

Shinson93: This guy is a good story, winning a Calder cup and getting some NHL games as our own drafted prospect. I don’t think he has the chops to be more than an AHLer, but he’s continued to improve when I didn’t think he would.

Brigstew: The fact that he actually played in an NHL game made me so happy. I’ve always been a fan of Villeneuve, and if he gets another game here or there I hope he enjoys it. I don’t think he’ll ever go beyond that, but him becoming as good as he is now is a pretty big achievement for him for how long he’s come.

Sclodiggity: I think Villeneuve is an NHLer. He won’t be a regular on the Leafs (and is likely to see zero games), but looking around the league, I’d take him over a few team’s bottom pair guys. That’s what defines a tweener, but I think he could be getting 50+ games in the right situation. What does that mean for his value to the Leafs? Well, probably not trade value, but having a solid call up option and contributing to a Calder Cup win definitely counts for something. I could see him getting a call before any of Mermis, Danford, Borgesi, Rifai, or Webber (still gotta jump Myers and Stecher though…)

Cathy: I don't watch much junior hockey, but I watched the Memorial Cup the year Villeneuve won, and he was so much fun. But I've never bought in on his future growth. I think there is a strange idea that offensive skills are innate like being musical or grasping math easily, but that defence is a set of steps you can be taught. The ballet vs line dancing. Defence is not something you can unpick from the rest of the game and draw a diagram of it. But he hasn't got it and he's at the end of the runway.

Svalbard38: Like last year, I ranked Villeneuve probably a bit higher than he deserves, a lot of that is because I can see him being the first call-up on defence in the case of an injury. I don’t see him developing into a every day player for the Leafs though, and I’d like to see one of the younger defencemen, hopefully Danford but maybe Chadwick or one of the college signings, have a monster season in the AHL and displace Villeneuve from his spot at presumptive first call-up.

Zone Entry: I’m not expecting Villeneuve to become a Leaf regular, and probably less of a call-up as other kids develop, but being a strong AHLer still provides value to the organization and is also a higher level than a lot of prospects reach.

Cameron: I was really high on Villeneuve after his final QMJHL season, then his stock started to drop and it seemed like he may not be qualified, and last season he brought his stock up enough to play in three NHL games followed by contributing to a Calder Cup championship. I’m not sure if he will ever be a full time defenceman for the Leafs, but I would like to see if he can make a push this season to be their 7th/8th dman. I still believe he has more to show.

This being Villeneuve's last year in the T25, let me share with you where he was ranked throughout his Leafs prospect career.

2025 - 17th
2024 - 21st
2023 - 16th
2022 - 14th
2021 - 25th
2020 - NR

That 2020 ranking had Villeneuve in the group of honourable mentions with Adam Brooks, Axel Rindell, Joey Duszak, and Kristians Rubins. What a group!

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