The undrafted forward attended Maple Leafs development camp in July 2023.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly interested in locking up another college free agent.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts, Toronto is one of the teams looking at signing 21-year-old undrafted Dartmouth College forward Luke Haymes.
"This was a name I heard some of the heavy hitters were going after and targeting and going to talk to," Friedman reported on Monday.
"I think Toronto's one of them. I've heard the Maple Leafs are interested. I assume that Ottawa is around there too. But, I just heard to keep an eye on this name because there's going to be some action around him in the near future."
Some background on Haymes: He's a 6-foot-1, 200-pound forward with seven goals and three assists in 10 games this season. The forward missed the first 11 games of the season with an injury after leading the team in scoring last year.
Haymes had 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points in 31 games with Dartmouth during his Sophomore year. The center played one season in the BCHL with the Cowichan Valley Capitals—scoring 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 points in 52 games—before going to college in the United States.
The Ottawa, Ontario, native attended Maple Leafs development camp in 2023 and participated in the Tampa Bay Lightning's camp last summer.
"Some players, I think they kind of look at it and say, 'Okay, where's my clearest path to the NHL?'" Friedman continued. "Even teams without as many obvious paths start chasing after them, saying, 'Get in our system and we'll give you the opportunity.'"
Toronto made a similar move last spring, signing Quinnipiac University center Jacob Quillan to a two-year entry-level contract.
Quillan played seven games with the Toronto Marlies last season while on a professional tryout before beginning his NHL contract this season. The 23-year-old has seven goals and 10 assists in 38 games with the Marlies this year. Quillan made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in Ottawa on Jan. 25.
Haymes has played 73 games with Dartmouth over three seasons and has 36 goals and 26 assists for 62 points.
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