The Wraparound takes a look at the Montreal Canadiens' goaltending issues. Jacob Fowler is a name that all Montreal Canadiens fans are familiar with. There were a lot of stories and reasons why he dropped to the 69th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Heading into the draft, I had Fowler tabbed as one of the top goalies in the draft. A lot of teams don’t like to draft goalies in the first round and then there were the murmurs about his fitness or lack of that. That scared off a lot of teams. This isn’t uncommon and many times it comes down to better nutrition at the heart of it. Fowler was very successful. He won a championship with the Youngstown Phantoms and that was a magic carpet ride for him leading into the draft. He was the best goalie in the USHL. I did get an interview with him hours before Day 2 of the draft and he was very positive about being drafted. My takeaway was the Canadiens got a steal with very little risk. I like Fowler’s development path. I covered him in the USHL and then during World Junior Camp where he was a part of the gold medal-winning roster. The one thing I love about him is his mental makeup. He likes to frustrate shooters. He gets in their heads. That’s one of his best traits. He recently got a one-game suspension for punching a UConn skater. I’m not a goaltending expert - few are. Having recently watched him again while he is in his sophomore season at Boston College. He’s tracking as one of the best goalies in the country once again. He was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award last season and I think he will be right there again this year. He has a lot of core strength and it shows when he goes up and down. His side-to-side coverage has been terrific and he anticipates with the best of them. His glove is fast and decisive. He’s on a great team but that doesn’t take away from his tremendous play. Now 20, he likely leaves BC after this season. After that, he should play for Laval. Maybe he gets in a few games. Then he needs to stay there for at least one full season and possibly two. I believe he’s their goalie of the future and there’s no reason to rush him.
