ReimanSum1908
Registered User
With the way in which some people speak of prospects, I half expected that post to end with "he's running out of time to prove himself."
Prospect Info: [2023 - 69th] Jacob Fowler (NCAA - Boston College)
- Thread starter Adam Michaels
- Start date
With the way in which some people speak of prospects, I half expected that post to end with "he's running out of time to prove himself."
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
He doesn't have the height threshold some teams have when selecting goalies, that's IT.
1909
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Are Fleury or Bobrovski giants ? Gajan and Augustine are also 6’1-6’2 like Fowler.
- Aug 22, 2006
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True, they aren't giants. But for as long as I can remember. The NHL teams have always favoured bigger goalies.
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
No but there's draft biases vs what happens when they've established themselves. Saros got drafted later. Bobrovsky was never drafted.
1909
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MTL Dirty Birdy
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When scouting becomes that archaic, it disheartens me. I’m really stoked we have Fowler. The kids interview was what sold me most
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
Yeah its a really annoying thing, but goaltending scouting has always been a bit behind. We are seeing some smaller goalies come through now and it's really about the mental game and skating ability.
Like Skinner is a terrible mover in net but he's so big he's afforded a bigger margin of error that smaller goalies have. Fowler isn't even a "small" goalie but some teams are very rigid in their parameters and may literally have knocked him to their bottom of a tier based on other prospects being a little taller.
Gaylord Q Tinkledink
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Each of those teams could have labeled him as their 2nd, or 3rd best goalie prospect just there was a guy always higher.
So far none of them have done anything in the NHL, so being high and mighty on anyone compared to the others at this point is pointless.
I like Fowler and what he's done and hope he's the Habs future, but I'm not going to act like it was a mistake at this point for other teams to pass over.
Moot point to draw a comparision with goalies who got into the NHL 15 or 20 even seasons ago. The infatuation for 6'4"+ goalies had not set in at that point.
I do believe that Fowler 'only' being 6'2" (absurd, I know) allowed him to slip through the cracks until the early 3rd round. We can only be thankful for that.
BLONG7
Registered User
This kid, is motivated to be a Star!!!
Good times ahead boys!
Good times ahead boys!
Pay attention to Jakub Dobes this year. 6'5 athletic goalie is about to break out!
- Aug 22, 2006
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lol Dryden actually came to mind while I was typing that post.I blame Dryden for this . Shouldn't have been so good
That's an aspect I really liked about Fowler. He has a kind of a "Me against the world" type of attitude.
Gajan is 6'3 and had the WJC-20 hype of carrying Slovakia.
Hrabal is huge and had WJC-18 hype.
Augustine has been the American darling.
Bjarnason is 6'3.
Clara is huge and carrying Italy.
Goalies are voodoo though, so even with Fowler and Clara having the better seasons, who knows ends up on top.
Mike Richter and the Beezer probably would have trouble starting in the NHL today, Beezer for certain. Richter was today’s Saros, size-wise. But still would be an outlier today. Which is crazy because he was ridiculously good.
HuGort
Registered User
If he good season I think Habs will sign him. Play handful games Laval end of season.
If Fowler has good year, what's he got left to prove Boston College? Next step pro. Better for his development
If Fowler has good year, what's he got left to prove Boston College? Next step pro. Better for his development
It's more like he would need an awful year to not get signed.
He already has nothing much left to prove in the NCAA. He's going back this year because it's more convenient in our contract/cap/roster structure.
danboulie
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Weren’t there also questions about his conditioning/fitness level?
Similar to how Joshua Roy fell to the 5th round in his great year.
Pompeius Magnus
Registered User
There was to a degree, he's got a heavy built and he's not the most athletically gifted guy. He's a lot like Montembeau in that aspect, he doesn't quite fit the modern goalie mold teams are always looking for now, i.e., the 6 ft 4 super athlete.
I know it’s sacrilege, but Dryden’s numbers were so great because he was on a crazy good team. He was really good, but if you watch those old games or especially his international games, he really doesn’t look as good as his numbers would indicate. Of course, the same is true for all goalies of his era. I think there really was next to no goalie development back in the day. I mean, scoring from the blue line on the fly with zero screen? Can you imagine that today? At the time I loved the guy, but looking back, he wasn’t as great as I rememberI blame Dryden for this . Shouldn't have been so good
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
Always good to have a goalie go back to that level and try to dominate it again when teams have more scouting and knowledge of you. If he has a second dominant year at that level, he will definitely be signed. He will tandem with Dobes the following year and then get the starter net in year 2 in the AHL while Dobes kicks Primeau or Montembeault out.
He had baby fat still, you can see it in the draft video. I'd say the height thing and not being drafted in any league previously also plays into the bias
I agree, it's perfectly fine for him to go back and as I said it fits the Habs plan better.
I was just saying he's already done pretty much all there is to do in the NCAA.
WeThreeKings
Demidov is a HAB
Knowing Fowler, I bet not winning that final game is burning him up.
