Many Montreal Canadiens fans, including myself, were disappointed to see picks 31 and 37 traded by Kent Hughes and his team, even though they brought back a nice project in Alex Newhook.
Why were they disappointed?
Well, because in those waters, several solid prospects were still available, which would have allowed the CH to leave the draft with two other top prospects, in addition to David Reinbacher.
The CH could very well have picked up another Owen Beck, another Filip Mesar or even another Lane Hutson with those two picks.
What’s more, it wasn’t just on offense and defense that good prospects were available at picks 31 and 37.
In fact, solid goaltenders were available, and considering the CH’s lack of top-notch prospects in front of net, it would have been a great opportunity to add one with one of these two picks.
I really expected Kent Hughes to find a way to get a second-round pick, especially after seeing so many goalies selected in the second round.
In the end, the CH only spoke again in the third round, at No. 69, where they drafted goaltender Jacob Fowler.
The Montreal Canadiens subsequently drafted two other goaltenders.
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Fowler clearly wasn’t the prospect in net that CH fans were waiting for, but in the end, he’s a very nice project, just like the other goalies drafted at this auction.
And in his post-selection interview, Fowler charmed everyone with his smile and relaxed manner.
Of course, Fowler has qualities other than his charm.
He’s a solid goalie who represents a great future project for the CH.
In fact, we learned a little more about Fowler’s NHL potential in one of Marc Dumont’s recent articles.
#GoHabsGo goaltender Jacob Fowler was one of the most interesting players added to the team’s prospect pool at the 2023 Draft.
Thanks to @chrismpeters, we have a better idea of what the Clark Cup MVP brings to the table for the Montreal Canadiens.⬇️https://t.co/UyhA15V36Q
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) July 7, 2023
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In this article, Marc Dumont reports what NCAA and USHL prospect analyst Chris Peters has to say about Jacob Fowler.
When asked about Fowler’s NHL potential, Peters said he saw Fowler becoming a solid tandem goaltender in the NHL.
At first glance, this may seem disappointing to fans considering that Fowler is probably the organization’s best prospect in front of the net.
But when you analyze the current NHL, you realize that this is solid potential and a very realistic projection.
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Indeed, today’s NHL seems to be turning more and more towards the idea of having a solid tandem and not just an excellent first goaltender.
As we’ve seen in recent years, many teams use two goalies, giving just a few extra games to one.
Then, once they reach the playoffs, teams no longer hesitate to change goalies if things aren’t going their way.
In the recent playoffs, a total of 28 goalkeepers took part in at least one game.
This means that virtually all the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs used more than one goalkeeper.
What’s more, most of the teams that didn’t use more than one goalie didn’t last long.
I’m thinking of the Tampa Bay Lightning with Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Winnipeg Jets with Connor Hellebuyck and the New York Rangers with Igor Shesterkin.
So, getting back to Fowler, the fact that analyst Chris Peters gives him the potential to become a solid tandem goalie is not a bad thing.
In today’s NHL, you need at least two solid goalies, not just one.
Peters explains that Fowler clearly has the skills and talent to become a starting goalie, but that it’s still too early to predict such things.
In short, the CH could very well end up with a tandem of two solid goaltenders like Samuel Montembeault and Jacob Fowler.
Jakub Dobes could very well be part of the Montreal tandem in the future.
Stay tuned.
To find out more about Fowler and Chris Peters’ analysis of him, here’s Marc Dumont’s excellent article.
En Rafale
– What a beautiful moment.
When rivals trash our fans, just know they could NEVER do this. pic.twitter.com/M91OTkAong
– Habs Fan TV (@habsfantv_) July 8, 2023
– Listen now.
🚨New Episode🚨@StuCowan1 joins @MatthewOhayon to discuss:
🔵Fans reaction to Reinbacher
🔵Locker room the #Habs are building
🔵Draft
🔵& more!Full pod👇🏻
Watch: https://t.co/vy4oGp34Gh
Listen: https://t.co/z6ClcyfamB#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast pic.twitter.com/Z2wAP6gblL– The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) July 8, 2023
– Check it out.
Today’s #GoHabsGo Daily:
– The Atlantic Division arms race is great news for the Montreal Canadiens.
– A nice look at the 69th overall pick at the 2023 Draft, Jacob Fowler.
– David Reinbacher’s emotional call to his parents.Plus more NHL news:https://t.co/WYWx2hlDtS
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) July 8, 2023
– Coming up.
Rain at Silverstone, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc ahead of https://t.co/tLto4NpSYB
– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) July 8, 2023
– Canada in the semi-finals.
AmeriCup | Canada advances to semi-finals https://t.co/avD1tP5OGU
– La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) July 8, 2023