William Lacelle is a goaltender from Gatineau who stands 6’1 and weighs 176 pounds. Born on December 26, 2007, he began the season with the Rimouski Océanic before being traded to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Next season, Lacelle is expected to play for the University of Nebraska Omaha in the NCAA. Appearing on a few public rankings, though generally near the bottom, William Lacelle is ranked as the 7th-best North American goaltender by NHL Central Scouting.
The TSLH Prospect team will provide numerous prospect profiles for the 2026 Draft over the coming weeks. The analyses from all of our scouts will be compiled in the TSLH Prospect 2026 Draft Guide in scouting report format. The 2026 Guide and all archives of previous Guides are available on the TSLH Podcast Patreon!
2025-2026 Statistics
William Lacelle has shown strong statistical consistency between last season in Rimouski and his performance in 2025–2026. In 24 games with the Océanic at the start of the season, Lacelle posted a 2.82 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage, along with a 14–8–1 record. With the Armada, the Quebec goalie maintained a 2.11 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 21 games (13–7–1). However, he experienced a slight drop in performance during the playoffs, with a 2.83 GAA and a .909 save percentage. This season, according to Hudl/InStat advanced statistics, Lacelle was expected to allow 125 goals (xG), but he actually conceded a total of 153.
TSLH Prospect’s Notes
Here is the analysis of William Lacelle’s season through the eyes of our scout Martin Therriault from TSLH Prospect. All of our scouts’ analyses will be featured in the TSLH Prospect 2026 Draft Guide.
Of course, William Lacelle stands 6 feet 1 inch, which is often considered a disadvantage for goaltenders in the draft. Those who succeed usually compensate with other qualities, and that is the case for the Gatineau native.
He is a very intelligent goaltender. He anticipates opposing teams’ plays very well, which allows him to be set before the shooter even releases the puck. Lacelle is particularly strong with his glove hand. His hands are quick, and he can occasionally flash some sharpness in key moments. The goalie, who will play in the NCAA with the University of Nebraska Omaha next season, is also very competitive. He likes to come out of his net when possible and challenge shooters. This helps him play bigger and offset his lack of size.
However, Lacelle will need to control his movements. He is sometimes so aggressive that he leaves his crease area exposed or gets pushed out of position, which can work against him. The former Rimouski Océanic and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada goaltender is also beaten on direct shots, partly because he lacks net coverage due to his size. That said, at 176 pounds, he could still improve in that area by adding muscle mass.
William Lacelle could follow a similar path to Lucas Beckman in 2025. Smaller in stature but coming off a strong season, Beckman had to wait until the fourth round to be selected. The team that drafts Lacelle will be taking a gamble, but one that could pay off in the long run.
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Martin Therriault collabore avec le TSLH Espoirs et se spécialise dans les espoirs du repêchage de la NHL. Il partage avec nous ses profils de repêchage et sa liste annuelle. On le retrouve également au Podcast La Relève, dans le podcast Processus et sur BPM Sports
Depuis plus de 15 ans, l’équipe de TSLH couvre l’actualité du hockey de la NHL avec rigueur. En tant que média accrédité, nous avons un accès privilégié aux activités de la AHL (Rocket de Laval) et des circuits juniors pour vous offrir une analyse d’experts sur les espoirs de la NHL.
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