One of the top defensemen in this year's NHL Draft announced his commitment to BU.
Xavier Villeneuve is giving Ethan Belchetz a run for his money as the biggest NCAA commitment of the week. At 1 p.m. on Friday, Villeneuve posted to his Instagram that he will attend Boston University next year.
“I’m very proud and excited to announce my commitment to play NCAA D1 hockey at Boston University,” Villeneuve wrote. “I would like to thank my family, all of my coaches and teammates for everything they’ve done for me over the years. It was an honour to bleed black for the past three years with the @armadablb. Pumped for that next step. Go Terriers!”
Villeneuve is a 5-foot-11, 157-pound left-shot defenseman. He might be undersized, but he’s highly effective. Villeneuve spent the past three seasons with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL, who drafted him 7th overall in 2023, racking up points and awards.
This year, the Laval, Quebec, native was limited to just 37 games, missing nearly three months of the back half of the season due to suffering an injury in early January. Despite that, he was still a point-per-game player, with six goals and 32 assists in 37 games.
Last year, he scored at the same pace with a staggering 50 assists and 12 goals in 61 games played, earning himself QMJHL First All-Star Team and Defenseman of the Year — just the third defenseman ever to do so as a 17-year-old. In that 2024-25 season, Villeneuve also won a gold medal with Team Canada at the U18 WJC, where he scored eight points in seven games.
Even in his first year, when he was just below PPG with 43 points in 54 games, his performance was still good enough to earn him QMJHL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a spot on the CHL All-Rookie Team.
Villeneuve is a small but fast puck mover who is highly impactful on any team he’s a part of. Some scouts have had issues with his compete level while others believe it’s fine. He’s a very smart hockey player and should be a first-round pick this season. Villeneuve will be a great addition to a Terriers team attempting to replace the likes of Cole Hutson and Sacha Boumedienne on their back end and return to the NCAA Tournament.