Montreal Canadiens Suddenly Have Plethora Of Great Goaltending Prospects

The Montreal Canadiens did not need to draft and develop goaltenders for the past decade. Everyone knew the crease belonged to Carey Price, and whichever veteran backup was brought in that season could handle the rest of the games.

Even when they drafted Zach Fucale in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft, it seemed unlikely he would ever be able to usurp Price and steal the number one job. Aside from Fucale, goaltending was not a focus at the draft for a very long time.

So, when the Canadiens lost Price to injury before his contract was up, they had nothing in the system to replace him. Cayden Primeau was coming along after being a seventh round pick but was not NHL ready. Jake Allen was the veteran backup and continued in that role but they had to grab Sam Montembeault off waivers to fill the gap.

Jakub Dobes and Frederik Dichow were recent fifth round draft picks, but neither projected to be star NHL goalies. Dichow has since been released as the team did not sign him, and Dobes joined the Laval Rocket this season after two solid college seasons at Ohio State.

Things have not been going great for Dobes since turning pro, as the 22 year old has a 4.50 GAA and a .862 SV% in nine games so far. He has had a couple of strong games recently, so you hope he has turned a corner.

Even looking beyond Dobes, further into the system, there are a trio of 2023 draft picks who are playing extremely well this season. Picking three goaltenders in the same draft seemed like a bit of an odd strategy, but with one playing in the Canadian Hockey League, one playing college hockey and another developing in Russia they will take drastically different paths toward the NHL.

Let’s check in on each of the three goaltenders drafted by the Canadiens in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Yevgeni Volokhin

One of the biggest surprises at the Habs 2023 NHL Draft was them taking a third goaltender in the same draft. Yevegeni Volokhin was taken in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick which was a bit of a surprise as the team had already taken a pair of goaltenders.

Volokhin played the 2022-23 season in Russia’s MHL, which is their top Junior Under-20 league and he had impressive numbers. He posted a 2.12 GAA and a .927 SV% in 31 games with Mamonty Yugry and then had a 2.52 GAA with a .931 SV% in five playoff games.

Volokhin has been ever better this season. The 18 year old netminder has posted a ridiculous 1.57 GAA with a .937 SV% in 15 games to begin this summer. He leads the league in GAA among regulars and also has the fourth best SV% in the MHL.

The bonus to drafting a player out of Russia is that the NHL team retains their rights basically forever. There is no rush to sign him and bring him to North America and the Canadiens can just allow him to continue developing in Russia for several years if they choose. He will eventually take on a role in the KHL, which has proven to be a great development league for goaltenders recently.

Of course, there is also the risk that the player just decides to stay in Russia forever as many players have done in the past. But, if he is the third goalie you are drafting, you can afford to roll that dice.

All we know for now is that Volokhin is absolutely dominating the top Junior league in Russia and that is fantastic.

Jacob Fowler

The best of the three goaltenders that Canadiens drafted was also the first one off the board. Jacob Fowler was selected in the third round with the 69th overall selection. He was one of the top ranked goalies in the draft, and slipped just a bit into the third round and the Canadiens were happy to grab him where they did.

Fowler had posted a 2.28 GAA with a .921 SV% with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL in 2022-23. He also helped them win a championship and earned a reputation as a fierce competitor and winner at a young age.

He has done nothing at Boston College so far this season to shake that reputation. The 18 year old has been incredible and is backstopping one of the top college hockey teams in the country. He just showed up for his first game and looked like a three year veteran at the NCAA level.

In 12 games this season, Fowler has posted a 9-2-1 record with his 2.14 GAA and .926 SV%. His first ever college game was against Quinnipiac, the defending national champions, and he stopped 28 of 29 shots as Boston College won in extra time. His most recent game was a 31 save shutout against Connecticut and he has been sharp every night in between.

Fowler greatly trimmed down his weight over the offseason and is a quick, explosive goaltender but he rarely needs to be diving all over the net. He is a very controlled, centered goaltender who reads the play well and is almost always in the right spot, square to the shooter and making it as difficult as possible for the opposing team to put the puck behind him.

Seeing him dominate at the college level immediately has been extremely exciting for Canadiens fans, and of the three goaltenders that the Habs drafted last spring, he is the most promising.

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