Xavier Villeneuve has been an offensive force to be reckoned with since he joined the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League in the 2023-24 campaign.
Drafted seventh overall by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the 2023 QMJHL Draft, Villeneuve was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year after making an immediate impact with eight goals and 43 points in 54 games to lead all rookie blueliners.
The 5-foot-11 left-shot defenceman took his game to another level last season, recording 12 goals and 62 points with a plus-12 rating to finish second among QMJHL defencemen in scoring and won the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the defenceman of the year.
Villeneuve is going through his NHL Draft season this year and is continuing to dominate the league offensively, leading all QMJHL defencemen with five goals and 27 points through 23 games.
His play led to him being named as one of the first three roster players for the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, joining Ryan Lin of the Vancouver Giants and Ryan Roobroeck of the Niagara Ice Dogs.
“It was a big honour and I think it’s going to be amazing,” Villeneuve told TSN earlier in November. “I saw my friend [St. Louis Blues prospect] Justin Carbonneau play in it last year, and to play the Americans, I think it’s going to be amazing. [After it was announced] I just can’t stop thinking about that game and I’m just so excited.”
The CHL USA Prospects Challenge is a two-game series that pits the top NHL Draft-eligible players from around the Canadian Hockey league against the U.S. National Under-18 Team.
The CHL won the inaugural event last year 2-0 in London and Oshawa, Ont., and Villeneuve and the rest of the CHL are looking to repeat the feat in Calgary and Lethbridge, Alta., this year on Nov. 25 and 26.
Villeneuve describes himself as a hockey geek and watched previous CHL Prospects Games with great interest. The added element of the CHL going up against the United States is just another factor that pumps him up more for the series.
“It’s a great thing that the [CHL] created,” Villeneuve said. “Everyone gets a chance to play against the best prospects and, obviously, we want to prove that the CHL is the best development league, and we produce the best players. So, I think everyone’s going to be excited to go compete there.”
This isn’t the first time he’s faced international competition as he was a key cog in Canada taking home gold at the 2025 Under-18 World Hockey Championship.
The Les Cedres, Que., native was primarily used as a power-play specialist but still led all defencemen with four goals to go along with eight points in the tournament as Canada defeated Sweden 7-0 in the gold-medal game.
“That was probably the best hockey experience I’ve ever had – to be a gold-medal winner,” said Villeneuve. “The biggest thing I could take away was what it meant to be a champion. I always say you’re not born a champion, you gotta do it to be it.
“I think I gained that experience to know what to do in those clutch moments – where there’s two minutes left where either you can’t get scored on or you need to get a goal. All championship teams know how to do it and I think that’s something I learned how to do over there. I’m going to try to bring that to my CHL game and my team too.”
Despite growing up in Quebec, Villeneuve inherited his father’s fandom for the Boston Bruins, much to the chagrin to his childhood friends who support the Montreal Canadiens. However, he kept a close eye on Chicago Blackhawks legend and 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Duncan Keith as someone to model his game off of.
“He wasn’t as offensive as I am, but [I admired] the way he controlled the game and his leadership on the ice,” said Villeneuve. “It felt like he could play 30, 32 minutes a night and dictate how the game would go. That was something I really tried to do growing up.”
As Villeneuve prepared for his draft season, he spoke to teammates like Carbonneau and Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Bill Zonnon for advice on what to expect after both players went through the process last year.
He has also found that his path to major junior has also helped him in his preparations off the ice. Villeneuve played one season of Triple-A hockey away from home in Pittsburgh as a 15-year-old prior to being drafted by Blainville-Boisbriand.
During that he learned how to be more independent and improved his English, which helps him communicate better both on and off the ice.
Villeneuve says his main focus for improvement right now is on the defensive side of the ice because he wants to be known for more than just an offensive blueliner.
“Right now, I want to prove to everyone that I can be a real good defensive defenceman because we all know a lot of players have talent in the NHL, but if you can’t defend you can’t play there,” said Villeneuve. “I’m working on this every day in practice by getting the bigger guys on our team like Mael Lavigne and other guys on our team who are 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4 to work with me.
“I want to be good at killing plays and always having a good stick. I think that’s something that I can still work on and something I’m going to get better with as I mature. I’m not worried about it because I think my competitiveness and intelligence is going to help me get better.”
Even though the increased focus on his own game helps with his draft prospects, Villeneuve’s main goal is to help the Armada take the next step towards being QMJHL champions.
Blainville-Boisbriand finished fourth in the Western Conference last season with a 34-21-9 record but disappointingly lost to the Sherbrooke Phoenix in five games in the first round.
Leading up to this year, the Armada brought in experienced players like Zonnon, star defenceman Spencer Gill, and goaltender Jakub Milota as they try to make a run at representing the QMJHL at the Memorial Cup in Kelowna, B.C., in the spring.
The moves have paid off after 22 games as Blainville-Boisbriand is tied the QMJHL lead with a 14-5-3 record.
“I’m not afraid to say that I think we probably have the most talent in the league,” said Villeneuve. “I think we’re always playing the right way and that’s going to help us at the end of the year. I don’t think many teams are going to be able to play with us.
“[For myself], I just want to be a game changer every time I’m on the ice and lead this team to a championship at the end of the year. I think that will go way further than just scoring goals and having assists. I just want to compete as hard as I can and bring good leadership to the team so we can eventually win a cup at the end of the year.”
