We have not seen much of it so far, but Charlie Michaud is a rarity of players to leave from the NCAA for the WHL, with many players coming the other way in a fairly newer rule change.
With a major uptick in departures from Canadian junior leagues to the NCAA following rule changes this past year, there will be some interesting moves the other direction for some college student-athletes in the U.S
Denver, Colorado, native Charlie Michaud has signed with the Penticton Vees of the Western Hockey League. He spent his freshman season with the Redhawks of Miami Ohio, playing in just six games before making the decision to leave.
On record, Michaud, a born and raised American, has played just one season in Canada, back in 2020-21, with St. George’s Prep School. Since then, he has seen time with two seasons each at Little Caesars AAA and the Madison Capitols.
In the USHL last year, Michaud was teammates with Diego Johnson on the Capitols, who is having a stout season with the Vees, on pace for a 40+ point season.
Michaud seems to be quite the playmaker himself with 27 assists last season in 61 games from the blue line.
Johnson, interestingly enough, committed to the Hockey East’s UConn for the 2026-27 season before his first season in the WHL began back in April. He would have had one more year in Penticton if he desired.
Penticton resides in their 1st year in the WHL as an expansion team, standing in third out of twelve teams in the Western Conference for an impressive opening season. They are surely deepening the blueliner pool with this addition.