St. Louis Blues First Round Pick Chooses QMJHL Over Boston College

For at least the past month, Boston College mens hockey coach Greg Brown has likely been wondering whether or not Justin Carbonneau, the 19th overall pick in the 2025 National Hockey League Draft, would choose to leave the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and play for the Eagles next season.

Carbonneau partly resolved the rumor talk connecting him with BC when, at the draft, he said that discussing his future with the St.

Louis Blues management would be his next step.

Thats one of the topics to talk (about) with the Blues, Carbonneau told The Athletic on draft night.

Boston College is a great option for me to develop with older guys, or in Blainville.

Two good options, but some talks that Im going to do with St.

Louis and decide in the next few days.

As of Friday, it appears that Carbonneau made his decision.

According to a post on the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada Instagram account, Carbonneau will stay with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for another season after finishing second in the QMJHL in scoring in 2024-25 with 46 goals and 43 assists.

While this does not sound like a major deal to some, it actually is quite a surprise considering the sheer amount of Canadian Hockey League talent which is choosing to leave for the NCAA after recent legislation made it possible for CHL players to do both and still be draft eligible.

The Western Hockey Leagues Medicine Hat Tigers lost the projected 2026 NHL Draft No.

1 overall pick in Gavin McKenna to Penn State on Thursday and more than 150 additional CHL players from 2024-25 have committed to play in the NCAA next season.

Caleb Desnoyers, the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft (Utah Mammoth), is another Canadian forward playing in the QMJHL who is a target for BC but has yet to make a decision about committing to any program just yet.

Players who sign entry-level contracts with NHL franchises are not eligible to play in the NCAA, but this is a third possibility which exists that has the potential to strip players away from the NCAA and the CHL entirely.

Now that Carbonneau has returned to the Armada, it is highly unlikely he will suit up in the maroon and gold everas a first-round pick, one more year in the QMJHL should give Carbonneau plenty of time to develop for one more year before signing an entry-level deal and progressing his skills further through the American Hockey League (AHL) and, later down the line, the NHL.

His decision also shows that playing in the NCAA does not appeal to every high-level player in the CHL, even if they are considered to be or became a first- or second-round pick this year or in the future.

The CHL-to-NHL pipeline extends back for years with numerous cases of successall the way back to future NHL Hall of Famers such as Sydney Crosby, who played in the QMJHL as well..

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