Tommy Bleyl's high-powered offence has him ready to realize NHL Draft dream

There aren't many better examples of a 2026 NHL Draft prospect taking the bull by the horns and boosting their stock than Moncton Wildcats blueliner Tommy Bleyl. That's what a QMJHL-leading 81 regular-season points among defencemen and a leading role on a long playoff run will do for a prospect.

Of course, for all their effort, Bleyl and the Wildcats couldn't get their fairytale ending. The 6-foot blueliner reflected on as much with Elite Prospects, saying, "It ended pretty tough, but I think we got a lot better as a team. We got a lot closer as a group of brothers throughout the season. I think overall the season went pretty well. We finished first in the league going into the playoffs. So that was a huge positive.

“I think we were kind of underdogs going into the season because some other teams stacked up a lot. We had a lot to prove, and I think we proved a lot of it going into the playoffs. We started really strong by sweeping really good Saint John [Sea Dogs] and Val d’Or [Foreurs] teams. Then we went to seven games against Blainville[-Boisbriand Armada], and that was super exciting and, you know, kind of a teeth-clenching experience. It was a really fun series to play in, and that went seven games, and then against Chicoutimi Saguenéens we played six, and unfortunately we weren't able to pull that one out, but we were really close, and I think we should be really proud of ourselves.”

Unfortunately, the QMJHL Playoffs can prove every bit as punishing for their participants as the Stanley Cup Playoffs can for theirs – which is to say, very. The longer you play, the more damage you accrue. Because of this, Bleyl is going to be limited at the NHL Scouting Combine.

“I'm not able to do my upper-body exercises at the combine. Just from an ongoing injury, from playoffs, that's slowly healing, but it won't be healed in time," Bleyl said. "So, I'm going to have to skip out on the upper-body exercises, but as far as the lower-body exercises, I have been working on them here and there. I rested a little bit since I got home, but I knew it was kind of right back to training.”

Giving it his all and doing whatever he can – even if that's just the lower-body work – will serve him well in the eyes of NHL stakeholders. Little surprise here, but Bleyl is back in contact with many of the NHL's 32 teams who've kept tabs on him throughout his draft year, after they gave him the necessary space to focus on his QMJHL Playoff run.

“Scouts didn’t really reach out to me during the playoffs. They didn’t want to distract me. It’s a little bit of an unwritten rule," Bleyl said. "After the playoffs, it’s been pretty busy talking to scouts. A bunch of them reached out before the playoffs, and then it slowed down as soon as the playoffs started, and now it’s kind of sped back up a little faster than before.”

Bleyl is known for his offence, and with good reason. His point totals were elite – league-leading among defencemen, regardless of age. There's a lot more than meets the eye on the stat sheet, though, as far as the 18-year-old rearguard is concerned.

“Yeah, I would say I'm kind of a two-way defender. Obviously, a lot of people think of me as an offensive defenceman. I can see where they get that," Bleyl told Elite Prospects. "I'm always joining the rush and using my feet to get the puck out of the zone. I'm a defenceman, and that's my main priority. So, I always valued being good on the defensive side of the puck. I would say I'm more of a two-way defenceman. Like you said, Shayne Gostisbehere and some players like that are good comparables for me. I love to watch guys like Quinn Hughes and Lane Hutson, obviously, for their offensive play.”

He then broke out a few other defencemen who were interesting.

“I like guys like Adam Fox, Mike Matheson, [I'm] just kind of a two-way type player because I'm not the biggest guy, but I'm able to use my body a little bit as I'm, as I'm gaining weight to make defensive plays.”

His skating is above average. His escapability will be elite, and his edge work is going to be elite as well if it isn’t already. That's going to help him make up for any of the drawbacks of not having shutdown defender size.

“Yeah, I pretty much grew up working on my edges. I worked with this coach named Dave Randall, pretty much, my whole hockey career. I worked with him for about 10 years on my edge work, and he works in a little barn in Troy, New York,” the Glenville, New York, resident said proudly.

According to InStat, Bleyl has been winning puck battles to the tune of 59 percent. That will get better over time. He earned reps on Moncton's penalty kill this season, where his skating and, again, his puck-moving and offence will kick in.

“Playing the penalty kill is honestly one of my favourite things to do, just because it's a chance to be able to make those reads in anticipation plays that you might not be able to get 5-on-5, and it's always been something that I feel like I'm pretty strong at,“ Bleyl said. “Honestly, it's nice because you're, you are down a man and stuff, but you have a nice position that you're playing, and you're able to cut those plays off and get the puck deep, and it's definitely different than playing 5-on-5 and power play because obviously you're not looking, you're not looking for offense, which is, like I said, a lot of people think of me as an offensive defenceman. So, they might not imagine me doing well.”

Whether or not he’s a first or second-round selection later, some prospects feel like it’s a pins-and-needles situation waiting to hear their name called. To say nothing of the time between the end of the season and getting to the draft in June.

“It would be exceptional if I were able to go on Day 1. It's always been a dream of mine to get drafted in general, but then going in the first round is a whole new level of excitement. And Day 1 being like, pins and needles is a good way to put it,” Bleyl agreed. “I think I'll just really be hoping my name gets called, and I'm not going to deny that I won't be slightly disappointed if it doesn't, but you know, I would just be really happy to get drafted in general, and then, Day 2, if my name gets called, it's going to be super exciting. No matter when, but obviously, I'm hoping, I'm hoping my name gets called day one, but if it doesn't happen, I won't be too upset. I'll be slightly disappointed.

Bleyl is ready for this. I bet he has charmed quite a few teams. Can't imagine there's a single one in the NHL that couldn't use a player like this in their system.