After ‘surreal’ summer, Hurricanes defensive prospect knows there’s more work to do

When the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team went into overtime in the NCAA Championship game, freshman defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault said he blacked out.

It was one of the shortest overtimes in an NCAA Championship game, lasting just 10 seconds before Jacob Quillan scored the game-winning goal. What Legault did remember from the chaos was the pure euphoria he felt in Tampa, and then back in Connecticut with the student body.

“The program wanted it for a while, and just being able to accomplish that for them, for the school as a whole, was great,” Legault said, adding it was also his first championship of any kind. “And after, the experience with the whole campus with the feeling of being a national champion, it was just surreal.”

Legault had no idea then that he’d win a national championship, visit the White House and get drafted all in the same summer. But, fast forward to July, Legault had already stuffed all of that into a shorter-than-usual postseason before returning to campus for his sophomore season — this time, as a future Hurricane.

Biding his time

The Canes selected Legault No. 139 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, and he was one of five 2023 draft picks that attended Hurricanes’ development camp July 10-13. Legault waited two years before hearing his name called in the NHL Draft after first becoming eligible in 2021.

Whether it was pure patience or just a gut-check, Legault said he knew his time would come eventually. He spends every chance he can on the ice, by himself or with his teammates.

“He works at his game, almost too much,” Quinnipiac assistant coach Mike Corbett said. “He’s one of those guys, we almost have to take his skates away from him, because he always wants to skate. He always wants to do something.”

That never-ending work ethic benefited Legault in his first collegiate season. While already NHL-sized at 6 feet, 3 inches and 216 pounds, he was still a freshman and had to prove himself early and often.

“Charles is built like a Greek god,” Corbett said. “At the college level, obviously he has a size advantage on (them), and he can kind of just throw them around.”

Fast friends with Skylar Brind’Amour

Corbett said Legault blended in with the mature Bobcat lineup quickly, and kept climbing. There wasn’t a magical moment of, “this is the kid,” Corbett said, but Legault continued playing well, both in preseason workouts, and through the regular season.

Legault often relied on Skylar Brind’Amour, both as a mentor and a friend, adjusting to college. Legault said he looked up to Brind’Amour, especially when building his own routine those first few weeks at Quinnipiac. If Brind’Amour was putting extra time on the ice, so was Legault. If Brind’Amour was the first one in the gym, Legault was right behind him, he said.

It turned into a close friendship, Legault said. The two invited each other to workouts, dinner, whatever they wanted to do. So it was no surprise when his teammate “blew up” his Legault’s phone when he was drafted.

“He’s just a guy that works extremely hard,” Legault said of Brind’Amour. “He’d always ask me, ‘Charlie, do you want to join in?’ and I’d always be willing to do it. So that’s how we bonded and as the year went on it just friendship and relationship just got stronger and stronger.”

Despite knowing Brind’Amour well, Legault said he didn’t know his father, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, until after he was drafted.

The Canes’ coach spent time with the prospect during development camp, where Legault got a chance to gain an important piece of advice — keep up with the Canes this season.

Looking forward to bigger role

Legault’s personality on ice isn’t one-sided, Corbett said, and he’s still developing his identity. He’s been working on increasing his physicality, limiting penalties and keeping a “mean streak,” throughout his freshman year. Now, Corbett wants Legault to continue that pattern but with more minutes. Legault said he’s hoping to have a similar style as Jaccob Slavin.

The sophomore defender also said he’s expecting to take on a larger role this season, particularly after being drafted and having championship experience — and ring to go with it.

“I’m looking forward to stepping into a bigger role,” Legault said. “I’ll try to make the best out of it. I’m just trying to focus on keeping my game simple. Keeping it going and yeah, just controlling what I control and try to win again.”

Legault still has at least one more season, perhaps more, before taking a shot at professional hockey, but Corbett said he’ll make sure Legault celebrates his successes while continuing to work toward his goals in a crucial sophomore season.

Even if that means reminding Legault to take some breaks.

“We have a long season, and this is where I want to see how much he’s learned from last year,” Corbett said. “I don’t care about winning the July 17th skate. I care about winning the game in February, in the dog days and it’s hard and guys are banged up a little bit, and those types of things to make sure that the batteries are charged up.”