The third episode of this season of The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens is now available on Crave, and it's another interesting one.
On Tuesday, Crave released episode three of its docuseries on the Montreal Canadiens, The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens, and it was a rather interesting episode. Not only because it was centered around Jacob Fowler’s recall in early December, but also because it gave us a bit more information on how that decision came to be, and it allowed the public to find out a little bit more about the Habs’ mentor trip and who the players decided to invite.
As you will recall, the call-up came on the back of a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, one in which both Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes allowed three goals on 11 shots or fewer. The show shows Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes watching the game before heading down to ice level to meet the coaching staff, where Gorton told Martin St-Louis and co. that Adam Engstrom, Owen Beck, and Fowler had been called up. No one discussed the possibility of a call-up; the coaching staff was simply told it was happening.
Gorton also expressed his disappointment not only about the goaltending in that game but about the rest of the team’s performance in the third frame. Down 4-1 after 40 minutes, the Habs put up a less-than-satisfying effort in the last 20 minutes, only managing to take five shots on net and taking two early penalties, which certainly didn’t help matters. Speaking to St-Louis, the president of hockey ops was clear about his dissatisfaction and used a few choice words to get his message across.
Later in the episode, we were also given a peek inside the Canadiens’ dressing room in a road game against the Boston Bruins. After 40 minutes, the teams were tied at 2-2, and nobody wanted to lose the last game before the Christmas break. In a silent room, it wasn’t a veteran who spoke up to motivate the troops; no, it was the young Fowler who did, and it worked like a charm. The Habs ended up scoring four unanswered goals in the third and won the duel 6-2. This says a lot about how comfortable the 21-year-old was in the room and how much of a leader he can be. To feel comfortable enough to do that after just two weeks with the big club is quite a feat.
Fowler was sent back down to Laval in mid-January after a loss to the Buffalo Sabres, but he was called up again before the end of the season and served as backup for the duration of the playoffs. If it weren’t for Montembeault, it would be a foregone conclusion that Dobes and Fowler would be sharing the net this season, but since the Becancour native is still a member of the organization, it’s likely that Fowler will get another taste of the AHL. Still, what he showed last season, not only on the ice but behind the scenes, no doubt pleased the organization.
As for the mentor trip, the episode revealed that Alexandre Carrier and Cole Caufield invited their brothers to join them, while Lane Hutson chose his first-ever coach: his dad. Montembeault and Noah Dobson had their fathers along for the ride. As for Dobes, he asked his billet mom, Stacie Mullen. The netminder explained that he was lucky to have her and that she’s part of his second family in the USA. Dobes goes back to St. Louis every Summer to train and as often as he can during holidays. Mullen was honored to be invited and added that she thought she was the only lady on the trip; clearly, at that point, she didn’t know that Arber Xhekaj had invited his sister Sophia to tag along.
The fourth episode of the Rebuild will be out on Tuesday, September 15th, the day before the Canadiens’ training camp officially opens and the day after the golf tournament. It’s truly starting to smell like hockey…
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