Northeastern secured the future of its goaltending position on Friday afternoon with a late Christmas gift in the form of a verbal commitment from Louka Cloutier, a goaltender currently playing for the Chicago Steel of the USHL. He had recently decommitted from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Cloutier hails from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, a province that Northeastern has had many years of success recruiting from, including current senior transfer forward Cristophe Tellier who also is from Sherbrooke. Cloutier stands 6-foot-2, catches traditionally with his left hand, and is a 2006 birth year, turning 18 just before the hockey season. He is in his second season with Chicago after being named to the USHL All-Rookie Team in his first season, where he had a .904 save percentage and 3.68 goals-against-average with one shutout in 34 games. After a successful debut season, he was drafted in the fifth round by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2024 USHL Draft. His second USHL season has been more of a struggle, with his statistics falling to a .871 SV% and 4.54 GAA in 14 games. He was drafted by his hometown Sherbrooke Phoenix in the 2023 QMHJL Entry Draft. Prior to Chicago he played for the Magog Cantonniers in Quebec junior hockey where in two seasons he had save percentages of .908 and .916.
Cloutier is scouted as a “highly talented goalie with the ability to make the big save in the big moments” according to Steel head coach and general manager Mike Garman. “He has great balance and control while being extremely explosive. Louka’s mindset and approach are his greatest assets.” Other evaluators commented on his ability to use his athleticism to make difficult and spectacular saves, as well as his ability to steal games- one even went so far as to say he “has some Devon Levi in his game,” which is both high praise and also may even be a little unfair to the young goaltender considering what Levi has been able to accomplish in his young career. This same evaluator echoed Garman’s sentiments that Cloutier has very good hockey sense and moves well, ultimately calling him a value pick for Colorado in the draft. He was named by Mile High Hockey as the 21st-best prospect in the Avalanche’s system in their annual prospect rankings this past summer, and the fourth-best goalie under 25 years old in the Avalanche system.
Cloutier is someone that we project to enroll in 2026, which may seem unusual for a draft pick to enroll 2 years after they were selected however given his age (late ’06 relative to other draftees) and the fact that this year in the USHL has been harder for him than year one, I would expect him to play one final year of junior hockey before arriving to college. With the new CHL eligibility rules, he may even look to go to Sherbrooke in the QMJHL next season ahead of enrolling to Northeastern. Should this be the plan, it would line up well for him to assume the throne vacated if/when Cameron Whitehead signs with Vegas, which we project to happen after Whitehead’s junior season.
Congratulations to Louka on his commitment to Northeastern!
As always, go Huskies!