Boston College and Michigan Front Runners For Projected 2027 First Rounder

Reported by Anthony Smith of the Boston College beat, projected first-round pick Alexis Joseph has two frontrunners in his NCAA recruitment with the Michigan Wolverines and the Boston College Eagles. 

The six-foot-five, 203-pound center from the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs is one of the most coveted players in the 2027 NCAA recruiting cycle, and it's no shock that these two blue-bloods are heavily recruiting him. 

Joseph had an amazing rookie season in major junior, where he posted 24 goals and 60 points in 54 games and was looked at as a top-three player in the 2027 NHL draft. 

With that said, his stock has since fallen, and that fall started in August at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, where Joseph was on the fourth line and had a tough time bringing true impact to the team for Canada. 

But he was still an A-rated player on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary draft rankings, but he’s still not the player many projected him to be right now. 

His combination of size and skill is very rare. He has really slick hands, a good shot, and can drive the play down the middle. The main issue at the Hlinka was his pace and overall skating. It seemed he was a step behind those in his age group and might not be the player many expected.

As of right now, Joseph has six goals and 14 points in 14 games for the Sea Dogs and has been pretty solid. 

Michigan has been very interested in big players over the last few seasons, and Joseph would fit the style they like their middle-six lines to play and would be an overall great team for him to learn and develop with.

Boston College has proof of succeeding with the development of very big players, most recently the six-foot-seven Dean Letourneau, who had a very tough freshman year, but then dominated his sophomore season and looked like a lock to make the NHL

This commitment could start a domino effect for other teams to start going after these top 2027 draft eligibles before they all get swooped up.