Canucks prospect Anthony Romani commits to Michigan State

Romani was the Canucks’ sixth-round draft pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He had spent the past four seasons with the North Bay Battalion and Barrie Colts in the OHL and is now set to begin a collegiate career with Michigan State.

As of barely six months ago, this is a move that Romani wouldn’t have been able to make, as the NCAA previously acknowledged the CHL as a professional league, which means that their players were not amateur and couldn’t play in the NCAA. However, that policy was changed in November 2024, and now CHL players like Romani have the opportunity to make the switch to college.

The winger suffered a broken clavicle early in the season after taking a hit from behind into the boards. This and a mid-season trade to the Colts led to a small step back for Romani during the regular season this year as he only had 21 goals and 35 points in 35 games between his time with the Battalion and the Colts, a far cry from his 111 points in 68 games in 2023-24. However, his play did improve in the playoffs, as he had 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points in 16 games with the Colts before they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Championship by the Oshawa Generals.

Michigan State will hope that the addition of Romani will push them closer to a national title in 2025-26. The team finished their 2024-25 campaign with a 15-5-4 record, good enough for first in the Big 10 Conference. However, after qualifying for the NCAA tournament, they were eliminated in the first round by Cornell University in a 4-3 loss. Romani will join a Michigan State roster including Detroit Red Wings top goaltending prospect Trey Augustine and 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Isaac Howard.