Back in February, shortly after the CHL had been given the green light to cross the border and play in the NCAA, RPI received commitments from multiple Canadian prep players slated to play in the CHL. One of those was Kamyl Chemrouk, a January ‘07 birth year who played for Stanstead College Varsity at the time.
Chemrouk was a 10th-round pick of the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL but surprisingly did not make the team out of camp this summer. He landed in the BCHL with the Brooks Bandits and has lit it up thus far with 14 points in 12 games. Chemrouk has a promising offensive package and figures to be one of the top players in the BCHL this season. Let’s break down more about his game and see where he fits into RPI’s roster puzzle:
Game Breakdown:
Kamyl is a talented offensive player with a potent shot and playmaking ability to go with it. His 89 points in Canadian prep hockey last year was one of the best tallies in the whole league, and he is already off to a terrific start this year. Most of his offensive output comes from his skating and IQ, and an ability to get to the right places on the ice consistently.
He mostly played center in prep but has found himself on the wing early in the season for the Bandits. I think his long-term position is on the wing, but it is clear Coach Lang values players that have flexibility at center.
Chemrouk has spent some time with the Algerian national team, including a very successful stint in the 2024 Dream Nations Cup where he put up 9 points in 5 games. We don’t have much information on the defensive side of his game as he is pretty early in his development, but it is worth noting that he has good size at this young age.
Kamyl will need some more time in junior hockey before coming to RPI, as he is still in his first full season at this level. Brooks is traditionally one of the best programs in Canadian junior for sending kids to the NCAA, but obviously this was before the CHL was allowed as a development path for college hockey. It is disappointing he didn’t make the Q this year, as he had an outstanding camp for Victoriaville yet was still cut. His most likely development path to RPI is a point-per-game year in Brooks, followed by a strong year in the Q next year before coming to RPI in 2027.
Now Chemrouk was recruited by Dave Smith’s staff, albeit there is some holdover with Matthias Lange still on board. He has produced much more than the litany of Smith recruits who were seemingly cut already, but he obviously was not originally recruited here by Coach Lang. We saw Smith retain some Seth Appert recruits like Cory Babichuk and Linden Marshall, so it’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out. We think that if any of them are to make it to RPI, Chemrouk is the most likely.
Hopefully Kamyl keeps up this hot start in the BCHL and finds his way to RPI very soon. Congratulations to Kamyl and his family and let’s go red!