The Minnesota Wild will lose a core piece of their scouting room before the NHL Draft. Director of Amateur Scouting Judd Brackett has left the club for an assistant general manager position with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The news was originally reported by Michael Russo of The Athletic. Brackett was previously granted permission to speak with the Toronto Maple Leafs regarding an assistant general manager position per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Brackett has built a strong reputation across USA Hockey – one honed since his move to the Minnesota Wild in 2020. He holds a strong voice in the Wild’s draft and prospect development conversations and played a role in the team’s connection to promising draft picks like Zeev Buium, Charlie Stramel, and Adam Benak.
Before his time with the Wild, Brackett spent seven seasons as an amateur scout and five seasons as Director of Amateur Scouting with the Vancouver Canucks. He was, again, a strong voice in the rooms that drafted Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, and Thatcher Demko. Brackett was also a strong advocate for the 2019 U.S. National Team Development Program that produced Jack Hughes, Cole Caufield, Matt Boldy, and Trevor Zegras – though none found a home in Vancouver.
His accolades with USA Hockey extend beyond recognizing strong, NTDP talent. He was a scout for Team USA’s 2024, 2025, and 2026 World Junior Championship rosters. The Americans won Gold in two of those tournaments but fell to Finland in the quarterfinals this year. He also won a QMJHL championship in 2008 and two USHL Clark Cups in 2009 and 2014.
A step up in the hierarchy seems well-timed on the other side of Brackett’s sixth year with the Wild. His insight could be the final push needed to encourage Toronto to draft perennial star Gavin McKenna, or begin honing in coverage of a loaded 2027 draft class.
The Maple Leafs have also hired Freddie Hamilton as their Chief of Staff. Hamilton, the brother of New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton, earned his MBA from Yale University and began a career in private equity following the end of his playing career in 2018. The former San Jose Sharks draft pick will now turn his focus back to hockey in a role that will support Toronto’s strategic initiatives and alignment within the hockey operations department. Hamilton totaled 75 games and six points in his NHL career, spanning tenures with the Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, and Arizona Coyotes.
Canucks “biggest front office shakeup in recent years” may technically be correct, but they have hired no – ZERO – new people. While Brackett could easily refit into the organization, I doubt he’s looking for a pay cut, & that’s what the “rebuild-on-the-cheap” Canucks are doing…
Would love for guy like Brackett to take a position with the Preds. Mediocre (at best) drafting is a big reason why the Preds perpetually exist in the mushy middle.
This guys seems to have won a lot of championships. Would be a shame to waste that talent on the Leafs.
Great point. No one would want to work for the most valuable franchise in the NHL, and become the Theo Epstein of hockey.
Seems to be a lot of buzz around Brackett and David Carle going to the Leafs. The latter would be shocking. But if true, wow. What a transformative offseason in Toronto this would be.
Why would Carle leave a great situation in Denver for the unorganized train wreck in Toronto?!
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a team hiring someone as a “chief of staff” before.