This next entry in the miniseries on 2028 NHL Entry Draft prospects swings us over to the other side of North America. With the first two installments having focused on future/soon-to-be WHL talents, we will now concentrate on an early 2010 birthday who is expected to make a big splash in the QMJHL starting next calendar year. He initially carved himself out in his home province, but now is making himself known in New England. This one will be somewhat short due to a dearth of available biographical information. However, I hope I can make up for it somewhat with qualitative analysis. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Zaac Charbonneau was born in Quebec, Canada (a municipality is not listed on his Elite Prospects) on January 18th, 2010. Not much information is immediately available about his early minor hockey career. However, we do know that immediately before him landing where he is now, he had a pretty strong campaign on Quebec’s U15 AAA circuit. With Outaouais Intrépide M15 AAA E, he racked up 17 goals and 24 assists in 31 games played. This season, he is playing out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island with Mount St. Charles U14 AAA. He has had an incredible campaign with the Jr. Mounties, with 65 goals and 66 assists in 47 games to his name at the time of writing. The Eastern Exposure Cup in October of 2024 also saw him put up 10 goals and 6 assists in 6 games in a terrific showcase for his abilities. In January, Charbonneau also tallied 9 goals and 4 assists in 6 games at the Florida Exposure Cup. He has had a couple of opportunities to get eyes on him and made the most of them.

As it stands, Charbonneau is anticipated to be a big presence in the QMJHL’s 2026 draft, and some anticipate that he’ll even go #1. It is easy to see why he is so coveted. He has a large frame and has filled it out pretty well already for his age. Beyond just the power and overwhelming shot yielded by that that observers have appreciated, though, there are other, more granular and cerebral aspects of his game that I appreciate. “Off-puck offense” is a tool often not coveted enough. Watching Charbonneau’s tape had me primarily admiring how terrific he is at finding the soft, high danger spots in the OZ. He has tendencies akin to the ones Cole Eiserman has wherein he is terrific at getting to the most high percentage areas before teeing off and using his excellent shooting mechanics. Beyond just that, though, he exhibits the vision that makes that possible. It’s easy to identify his sniping abilities but he always sees the passing lanes using his processing ability, giving him playmaking ability to exploit when the situation calls for it. Additionally, he doesn’t need to play a possession dominant style to make those attributes work, either, and that’s not just because of the work he puts in away from the puck, either. He makes sure to make every individual puck touch as efficient and effective as he possibly can, which leads to a lot of touch plays. This combination of highly skilled and highly intelligent play coupled with his impressive physical build opens up many possible paths to success for the youngster. Whoever gets Charbonneau in the Q next year will be quite fortunate. It should be even more interesting, however, to see how he carves himself out over the next few seasons. He has a diverse set of attributes already, and uses them to great success. Imagine where a few more years of cooking will have him land when his NHL draft eligibility rolls around.