Canes See Legault As 'Ready For The Next Challenge'

"His ability to play fast offensively, end plays off the rush, and then get up in the play, that’s exactly what we want of our defensemen."

By Walt Ruff

@WaltRuff Hurricanes.com

July 20, 2024

RALEIGH, NC. - Right-handed defensemen are not always easy to come by, but one major takeaway from Prospects Development Camp is that the Carolina Hurricanes have a lot of promise at the position.

Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, and Sean Walker are set to have things covered for the upcoming season, and Scott Morrow (21) got a taste of the league this spring after turning pro in March. Beyond that, the team has Aleksi Heimosalmi (21), Anttoni Honka (23), and Joel Nystrom (22) all under contract and playing at the pro level.

There's also Charles-Alexis Legault, whose stock continues to do nothing but rise.

After being passed on by all 32 teams in the 2022 NHL Draft, the Laval, Quebec-born product won a national championship as a freshman at Quinnipiac University the following fall, alongside fellow Canes prospect Yaniv Perets and Skylar Brind'Amour. Playing 40 games that season and showing strong defensive abilities, the Canes wouldn't let him slip all the way through again, nabbing him in the fifth round in 2023.

Returning to school for a second season, this time without Brind'Amour and Perets, Legault's game continued to grow.

Already revered as a blueliner who almost always has his own end taken care of and uses his 6-foot-3, 208 lbs. frame well, the 20-year-old had a massive finish to his campaign offensively, producing 16 points in the team's final 11 games.

“It felt good. The whole year I felt like I was doing the little things right and the bounces just weren’t going my way, but in the second half everything seemed to drop," Legault said of his run. "It was a good second half, but I trusted the way I was playing (all along). I felt like I was playing the right way, and I felt like it paid off in the end.”

Charles gave us the lead...#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/4uEKHzuvPl
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) February 11, 2024

In part because of that stretch, the Canes felt that Legault had showcased all he could at the collegiate level and it was time for the next step - the pro game.

Signed to an entry-level contract in May, it was an easy decision for Carolina Assistant General Manager Darren Yorke.

"If you go back to where he was when he could have been drafted the first time around, to where he was when we drafted him, and then another step further in college, he’s just been able to adapt his game. His ability to play fast offensively, end plays off the rush, and then get up in the play, that’s exactly what we want of our defensemen," Yorke offered during last week's Development Camp. "We felt like he’s done everything he’s needed to in college and he’s ready for the next challenge.”

Legault's self-analysis falls pretty in line with the organization's assessment.

“I think I’m a physical defenseman. I close gaps early. I think my skating is one of my best attributes, I can move pretty well out there. I feel explosive, that’s how I close gaps. I think I can defend well," he humbly shared. "My defensive game is my strong suit. I can chip in offensively, putting pucks on net and joining the rush, but I feel like I'm going to find my niche defensively, whether it be on the penalty kill or at five-on-five, at the next level.”

Charles-Alexis Legault catches Jake Wise with a massive hit in the neutral zone@QU_MIH #NCAATournament #MFrozenFour pic.twitter.com/AI7pf3OzXT
— EP Rinkside (@EPRinkside) March 26, 2023

Possessing the necessary snarl to start playing against grown men, Legault cited Chatfield and Jaccob Slavin, and their ability to "play mean" as two players who he'd like to emulate his game after.

Expected to be developing his game in either Chicago of the American Hockey League or with a yet-to-be-announced ECHL club which the Canes will have a working agreement with, the big defender is ready to accept the role head-on.

“It’s not going to be easy. There are going to be setbacks and those challenges are going to come, whether it’s battling for ice time, learning new systems or just taking the time to get up to speed. But I feel like if I keep a positive attitude, keep pushing and working like I’ve always done, I feel like I’m going to find a way to get (my game) to the next level."