William Belle – Scouting Report | 2025 NHL Draft
Throughout the 2024-2025 season, TSLH Prospects will be sharing scouting reports, rankings, and profiles of prospects eligible to the 2025 NHL Draft. Continuing our work of the past five years, our analysts will provide insights on numerous prospects to give you a comprehensive overview of the draft class and their progress. Today, the spotlight is on William Belle, a winger playing in the U.S. National U18 Team Development Program.
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William Belle’s NHL Draft Season
William Belle hasn’t generated much buzz since the start of the season. In fact, almost no one from the USNTDP has stood out since the fall. This year’s team isn’t particularly impressive in terms of talent. As a result, in the lineup, the focus has shifted to other types of profiles for later rounds, which is quite different from past years when prospects were projected to go high in the NHL Draft.
William Belle has never been a prolific point producer in his hockey career. His 7 points in 28 games with the U.S. National Under-18 Team Development Program speak to that. At 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, the winger likely won’t ever aim for a top-6 role in the NHL. Fortunately, he compensates for his lack of offensive talent with other skills that NHL decision-makers value.
2025 NHL Draft Scouting Report: William Belle
It’s impossible to say that William Belle isn’t effective for his team. He’s a power forward who specializes in defensive play. Averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time with the USNTDP on the third line, Belle is heavily used by his coaches on the penalty kill. Alongside Landon Hafele and Andrew O’Neill, the winger keeps things simple. His role is to engage physically, apply pressure on opponents using his athleticism, and create chaos around the net. He is also expected to be reliable in all three zones.
So far, Belle has been one of the most consistent players on his team in terms of effort and execution. While his mobility isn’t elite, he’s an unstoppable freight train. At present, forechecking and puck retrieval in tough areas are William Belle’s bread and butter. These strengths are bolstered by an endless motor and impressive physical strength for his age.
The American already has the build of an NHL player. This allows him to frustrate opponents and make a significant impact at the junior level. However, if he can improve his finishing ability around the net—since his shot and playmaking are major weaknesses—and develop more explosiveness in his initial strides, William Belle could translate his game to the professional level.
2025 NHL Draft Ranking
I don’t expect to see William Belle in first- or even second-round rankings. In my opinion, even though his skill set translates well to professional hockey, his lack of offensive talent will likely limit him to the third or even fourth round. Of course, we’ve seen bigger surprises in NHL Drafts, but I believe this is a fairly safe prediction when considering his overall strengths and weaknesses.
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