Prospect Info: [2023 - 69th] Jacob Fowler (NCAA - Boston College)

[ReimanSum1908]

Too bad Fowler turns 20 in November,.

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]

That doesn’t explain why five other teams chose other goalies

He doesn't have the height threshold some teams have when selecting goalies, that's IT.

 

[1909]

He doesn't have the height threshold some teams have when selecting goalies, that's IT.

Are Fleury or Bobrovski giants ? Gajan and Augustine are also 6’1-6’2 like Fowler.

 

[Habs10Habs]

Are Fleury or Bobrovski giants ? Gajan and Augustine are also 6’1-6’2 like Fowler.

True, they aren't giants. But for as long as I can remember. The NHL teams have always favoured bigger goalies.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Are Fleury or Bobrovski giants ? Gajan and Augustine are also 6’1-6’2 like Fowler.

No but there's draft biases vs what happens when they've established themselves. Saros got drafted later. Bobrovsky was never drafted.

 

[1909]

True, they aren't giants. But for as long as I can remember. The NHL teams have always favoured bigger goalies.

Yes they are… But they should not.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

He doesn't have the height threshold some teams have when selecting goalies, that's IT.

When scouting becomes that archaic, it disheartens me. I’m really stoked we have Fowler. The kids interview was what sold me most

 

[WeThreeKings]

When scouting becomes that archaic, it disheartens me. I’m really stoked we have Fowler. The kids interview was what sold me most

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]

That doesn’t explain why five other teams chose other goalies

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.

 

[Meat Wave]

Are Fleury or Bobrovski giants ? Gajan and Augustine are also 6’1-6’2 like Fowler.

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]

This kid, is motivated to be a Star!!!
Good times ahead boys!

 

[Tyson]

This kid, is motivated to be a Star!!!
Good times ahead boys!

Pay attention to Jakub Dobes this year. 6'5 athletic goalie is about to break out!

 

[ZUKI]

True, they aren't giants. But for as long as I can remember. The NHL teams have always favoured bigger goalies.

I blame Dryden for this . Shouldn't have been so good

 

[Habs10Habs]

I blame Dryden for this . Shouldn't have been so good

lol Dryden actually came to mind while I was typing that post.

This kid, is motivated to be a Star!!!
Good times ahead boys!

That's an aspect I really liked about Fowler. He has a kind of a "Me against the world" type of attitude.

 

[Treb]

I still think Habs were very lucky to draft Fowler in the 3rd round. FIVE other goalies were drafted ahead of him in the 2nd. How come Fowler stayed under the other clubs’ radars ?

Are Fleury or Bobrovski giants ? Gajan and Augustine are also 6’1-6’2 like Fowler.

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.

 

[The Last Red]

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.

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]

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

 

[Treb]

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

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]

He doesn't have the height threshold some teams have when selecting goalies, that's IT.

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]

Weren’t there also questions about his conditioning/fitness level?

Similar to how Joshua Roy fell to the 5th round in his great year.

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.

 

[schwang26]

I blame Dryden for this . Shouldn't have been so good

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 remember

 

[WeThreeKings]

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.

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.

Weren’t there also questions about his conditioning/fitness level?

Similar to how Joshua Roy fell to the 5th round in his great year.

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

 

[Treb]

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]

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.

Knowing Fowler, I bet not winning that final game is burning him up.

 

[Treb]

Knowing Fowler, I bet not winning that final game is burning him up.

For sure, and that's part of why I'm so high on him.

That guy is a winner.