Stéphane Waite has made no secret of the fact that he’s a big fan of Cayden Primeau. He loves his game and still believes in his chances of breaking into the NHL once and for all.
But the team’s former goaltending coach seems to have changed his mind. Not that he’s given up on Primeau, but he does have a new “favorite goalie”.
Jacob Fowler is in Waite’s good graces. He’s confident that Fowler will be the team’s number one goalie in the future.
He told Hockey 360.
“I’m confident that Jacob Fowler will be the Canadiens’ #1 goalie of the future!” – Stéphane Waite pic.twitter.com/EVmEItZqo2
– Field hockey 360 (@hockey360) November 2, 2023
Fowler is a third-round draft pick by the Montreal team.
In his USHL career and this season in the NCAA, he has maintained excellent numbers.
(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});
Not for nothing was he named goalie of the month in his conference.
A 5-1-0 record, a .919 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average…
Jacob Fowler is killing it in his very first NCAA season 😱😱 pic.twitter.com/wFLsdAmSTt
– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) November 1, 2023
This season, in his first season at the university, he boasts an efficiency average of .919 and a goals-against average of 2.15.
But beware: success in the NCAA doesn’t necessarily reflect his future numbers in the NHL. Cayden Primeau and Jakub Dobes did well in the NCAA, and let’s just say that the start of their professional careers is not a shadow of their university successes.
The same goes for Zachary Fucale and Michael McNiven, who maintained good numbers in Canadian junior, without looking like they were going to the Bettman circuit.
But hey. As for Fowler, there’s reason to be optimistic about his chances of breaking through. Losing nearly 20 pounds, being a future crowd favorite, being a working man (with Quebec origins), he has assets that the others didn’t necessarily have…
He also has a destiny that has always linked him to Montreal.
Waite isn’t the only one who thinks he’ll be a number-one goalie in Montreal one day. Now, let’s hope he doesn’t become just another flop who lives up to expectations.
In gusto
– What a sequence for him.
Passing perfection from the @OHLRangers 🧑🍳🤌@CanadiensMTL prospect Filip Mešár finishes off a tic-tac-toe play to bring the visitors within one! pic.twitter.com/sDXA2pybXf
– Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) November 3, 2023
– He’s right.
André Tourigny manages Logan Cooley who, at 19, is one of his team’s main offensive weapons.
André often mentions that the NHL is not a development league.
So I asked him what showed that a player wasn’t ready for the Bettman circuit. pic.twitter.com/cli43IgWRP
– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) November 3, 2023
– Interesting.
“100% of NHL players” are in favor of fights, according to a Quebecer who plays there 👇 https://t.co/5Tngsl2T5Y
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 3, 2023