Alexis Cournoyer was minutes away from going to Nashville. His bags were packed. He was about to head to the airport. Then, plans changed. Quickly.
This past weekend, 224 hockey players heard their names called at the 2025 NHL Draft. Held at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California, the draft decided the future NHL homes of the top prospects in the sport.
One of those players will be suiting up for the Red next season — incoming freshman goaltender Cournoyer was selected in the fifth round (145th overall) of the NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Hailing from Trois-Rivières, Quebec — just under two hours to Montreal by car — Cournoyer was selected by the team he grew up cheering for.
“I don’t really have any words. As you can tell, the Montreal Canadiens mean a lot to me,” Cournoyer said, pointing to the Canadiens’ branded scoreboard-style light and a Carey Price poster behind him. Price was Montreal’s goaltender for 15 years, from 2007-2022, and is regarded as one of the top goaltenders of the 21st century.
Cournoyer went in the fifth of seven total rounds, and was not present in Los Angeles. As a result, he learned that he was selected by Montreal from his home in Quebec.
Cournoyer was reportedly invited to the Nashville Predators’ development camp. NHL teams annually hold prospect development camps soon after the draft to see their newest picks and current prospects in action, and teams are able to invite a certain number of undrafted players to their camps. Cournoyer was ready to head to Nashville for their camp — which begins on Sunday — before he got a phone call that would change everything.
Had he gone undrafted, Cournoyer would have officially let the Predators know that he’d be attending their camp and boarded his flight to Tennessee. But then Montreal Canadiens general manager, Kent Hughes, made a leap and drafted Cournoyer, even after Montreal had already selected a goaltender in the third round.
“When I saw my name appear, I couldn’t believe it,” Cournoyer said. “I dropped my cell phone, it fell on the floor. I couldn’t believe it. I gave my mom a hug.”
Cournoyer becomes the first Cornell goaltender to be drafted into the NHL since David LeNeveu ’05, and the 13th drafted Cornell goaltender in program history. LeNeveu played two years for the Red before signing a professional contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, who had selected him 46th overall in 2002.
The 6’4” netminder also joins an exclusive pipeline of Cornell goaltenders to suit up for Montreal. Dave Elenbaas '73, Ben Scrivens ’10 and the legendary Ken Dryden ’69 played for the Canadiens after their time with the Red. Dryden was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame 1983 and was tabbed as one of the Greatest NHL Players of All Time.
This year marked the second year Cournoyer was eligible for the draft. The 2025 NHL Draft allowed players born between Jan. 1, 2005 and Sept. 15, 2007 to be selected. Born on Dec. 13, 2005, Cournoyer had a big 2024-2025 season that ultimately shot him up the draft rankings.
Tabbed as the No. 16 North American goaltender by NHL Central Scouting, Cournoyer split time between the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League last season, splitting an even 21 games in each league. With the Cape Breton Eagles in the QMJHL, Cournoyer posted a 13-6-1 record with a .942 save percentage, also collecting three shutouts along the way.
The QMJHL is a member of the Canadian Hockey League, an umbrella organization that holds the three major junior developmental leagues in Canada. The other two leagues in the CHL are the Western Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League — those, along with the QMJHL, produce a highly touted crop of NHL talent each year, and are regarded as some of the top developmental hockey leagues in the world.
Up until very recently, CHL players were not able to play hockey in the NCAA. Because CHL players receive compensation to cover their living expenses, this previously violated the NCAA’s rules around amateurism. That all changed on Nov. 7, 2024, when the NCAA Division I Council approved a rule that would lift the ban on CHL players effective the 2025-2026 NCAA season. Cournoyer will be among the first CHL players to play NCAA college hockey.
Cournoyer — who announced his commitment to Cornell via Instagram on June 1 — was a late addition to Cornell incoming freshman class, which is currently composed of 12 players. That excludes two transfers that will arrive in Ithaca with three years of NCAA eligibility. One other player in the class of 2029 — incoming freshman defenseman Xavier Veilleux — is drafted into the NHL, as he was selected in the sixth round (172nd overall) by the New York Islanders at last year’s draft.
The two incoming transfers — sophomore defensemen Michael Fisher and Luke Ashton — are also NHL draft picks. The addition of Cournoyer grows the number of total draftees on the 2025-2026 roster to nine, which is tied for the third-highest total in Cornell men’s hockey history.
Jane McNally is a senior editor on the 143rd editorial board and was the sports editor on the 142nd editorial board. She is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. You can follow her on X @JaneMcNally_ and reach her at jmcnally@cornellsun.com.
