G Zach Fucale (2013, 36th, MTL)

[Redwingsfan]

Yeah yeah yeah go look at Patrick Roy's SV% from when he was playing in the Q.

Really? you're serious right now? That was 30 years ago. You think thats relevant today?

There's not a single goalie in the NHL today who played in the CHL, that has a worse or the same career SV% as Fucale. I think thats a lot more relevant than something that happened 30 years ago. During Roy's years in the Q, one guy had an 89.5 one year, other than that, no one even came close to putting up 90%. This was the early 80's and it means absolutely nothing today.

 

[Whitesnake]

For what it's worth, I have the most posts in this thread, and I criticized him when he won his Q title in 2013. In 2012, you can see I'm a huge Fucale fan actually. I watched him all season & in the playoffs and the guy won me over in a huge way, hell I was comparing him to #1 overall pick MA Fleury (not in style, in junior hype).

My criticism started in May of 2013 leading up to the 2013 Memorial Cup. I wasn't calling him a bad goalie but I could see that he was getting overrated big time. His role on the team was being blown way out of proportion and I wasn't buying it at all. I took it on the chin for a while as Fucale walked to a Memorial Cup Championship but his lack of improvement over the last 2 years hasn't drawn me back in. Most of the accomplishments he has are team accomplishments (wins, championships, gold medals, etc.) while his individual play hasn't been improving.

I'm not directing this 100% at you because your post wasn't directed at me. There's always someone who acts like the posts in here are reactionary to a loss or Hab haters but my praises & criticisms go well beyond his draft day, his memorial cup, his second memorial cup appearance, his U20 performances, etc.

Well if you're talking results vs actual "goaltending"...I will say you might be true. I never was that big of a fan. Especially when the report of his play was "He rebounds well when he gives a bad goal". That means that to know something like that, you had to see him giving quite a lot of bad goals first.....And I also do not believe in the "Well he doesn't give THE goal that would really hurt his team, he's like Grant Fuhr" I mean...come on. You win 5-4....okay so he didn't give the 5th goal....but maybe if he would not have given goal 2 and 3, it would have been an even easier win. And Grant Fuhr was playing in an era when 8-7 was a great defensive game...(yeah I know, I do exagerate sometimes....)

Anyway, I never overrated him 'cause I'm not that big of a fan. But what I'm mostly again are guys who are only waiting for 1 bad game to have an overall view of a guy. Obviously not talking about you. Just like we saw these "Price isn't good after all" after 1 bad playoff performance from a guy who is about to win the Vezina and the Hart trophies. That's so simplistic....

So first, I would not have picked him. But now that we did, yes, I would have hoped that we could have deal him before. Now? I think it's too late for that. Only thing left to do is stick with him for at least 3 years in the AHL. 1 year as the back up of Mike Condon. And when Condon will be with us in the NHL in year 2, he becomes the starter. And then you hope he racks up the stats. And THEN you bring his value back up for a trade.

 

[Menzinger]

He's remarkably consistent at being a below average goalie.

 

[Romang67]

Yeah yeah yeah go look at Patrick Roy's SV% from when he was playing in the Q.

http://hockeygoalies.org/bio/roy.html

Draft season below average, draft+1 and draft+2 way above average.

And this was while playing for a truly horrible team in the Q.

 

[LastWordArmy]

Save percentage overall in the OHL and WHL is a lot higher than it is in the QMJHL.

I've noticed in a lot of OHL rinks that the shot totals are very inflated at the end of the game.... I swear there are things they count as shots on goal that in the NHL they would say was going wide and not add to the total...

 

[Plante]

LOL... the Justin Pogge of our generation just keeps Justin Poggeing

And with that... you should probably just stop trying to scout goalie ability from this point of your life onward.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

Save percentage overall in the OHL and WHL is a lot higher than it is in the QMJHL.

I've noticed in a lot of OHL rinks that the shot totals are very inflated at the end of the game.... I swear there are things they count as shots on goal that in the NHL they would say was going wide and not add to the total...

You don't have to go to the OHL or WHL when you have Jonathan bernier, Jaroslav Halak, Roberto Luongo, MA Fleury, Jake Allen, Ondrej Pavalec, Corey Crawford in the NHL as comparables.

 

[Mathletic]

You don't have to go to the OHL or WHL when you have Jonathan bernier, Jaroslav Halak, Roberto Luongo, MA Fleury, Jake Allen, Ondrej Pavalec, Corey Crawford in the NHL as comparables.

and how many of them played 58+ games at 16 years old? His 17 year old season is just as good as any of those guys.

 

[Plante]

It's pretty obvious to determine who has NHL potential even in junior. Among the recent prospects, goalies like Calvin Pickard, Skapski, Bartosak would manage to keep decent numbers and save % dispite being peppered with shots every game playing on average or less teams. Others like Fucale would face 19 shots and allow 4 goals or get 15 sv shutout. It's prety obvious he has great defense in front of him bailing him out and he couldn't do the same for his team even when facing limited chances.

You should be making bank being an NHL scout then because none of them seem to have the science down.

 

[Redwingsfan]

You should be making bank being an NHL scout then because none of them seem to have the science down.

The point is that if you don't have good stats in juniors, its highly unlikely that you'll make the NHL. If you do have good stats, you're not a lock, very few are, but at least you have a chance. Every goalie currently in the NHL that came from the CHL had a good to great save percentage in their last year. And everyone had a better career Save percentage than Fucale. Its not impossible for him to make it, but the odds are definitely against him at this point.

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

You should be making bank being an NHL scout then because none of them seem to have the science down.

He doesn't mean by the time they are 18 (unless they are a superstar), he means by the time they have played their draft+2. Anyone can make close predictions on a players abilities when the player has played 4-5 years in the CHL.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

and how many of them played 58+ games at 16 years old? His 17 year old season is just as good as any of those guys.

What does that have to do with his development? Actually, the fact that you have to resort to his 16 & 17 year old season pretty much sums up his career.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

This guy will replace Price one day.

No he won't. He will be long gone from Montreal by the time a successor to Price is needed.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

He's remarkably consistent at being a below average goalie.

Neither his stats, nor his accolades, nor his overall body of work could be summarized as "below average".

 

[Mathletic]

What does that have to do with his development? Actually, the fact that you have to resort to his 16 & 17 year old season pretty much sums up his career.

people were referring to his career SV%. Age kinda plays a big role in that.

 

[S E P H]

I think yesterday proved how strong the past Canadian junior team was, because Fucale sure didn't look sharp in this tourney at all except the first game against Kelowna.

The problem which has plagued Canadian goalers is the mental side of the game, and I think that is Fucale's main problem. He has the technique and calmness down, but the mental side looks very fragile to me. He also some sizing issues as well and doesn't even come close to the talent Mike Ritcher had, being on the smaller side.

Though with this said, I do think a lot of people saying he sucks is hyperboling it. Yes he was bad yesterday, but that whole Rempart team was dreadful, that was a team loss, and not an "individual one".

Montreal did not make a mistake picking him in the 2nd, but I never believed he is going to be the goaler he was hyped to be (still has NHL potential though IMO).

 

[wings5]

I think yesterday proved how strong the past Canadian junior team was, because Fucale sure didn't look sharp in this tourney at all except the first game against Kelowna.

The problem which has plagued Canadian goalers is the mental side of the game, and I think that is Fucale's main problem. He has the technique and calmness down, but the mental side looks very fragile to me. He also some sizing issues as well and doesn't even come close to the talent Mike Ritcher had, being on the smaller side.

Though with this said, I do think a lot of people saying he sucks is hyperboling it. Yes he was bad yesterday, but that whole Rempart team was dreadful, that was a team loss, and not an "individual one".

Montreal did not make a mistake picking him in the 2nd, but I never believed he is going to be the goaler he was hyped to be (still has NHL potential though IMO).

It's pretty much the opposite, he has the mental makeup but not the skills to go along with it, his technique is the main problem, gives up big rebounds and very below average glove hand. Also doesn't read the play that well.

 

[Foltronic]

It's pretty much the opposite, he has the mental makeup but not the skills to go along with it, his technique is the main problem, gives up big rebounds and very below average glove hand. Also doesn't read the play that well.

His mental make up is exactly why I think he'll succeed. Pro level goalie coaches can help with his technique and he's already quite agile to begin with.

If he continues to have the same attitude going forward he's got a good chance to improve his overall game and professional seasoning will greatly help him, besides it's still way too early to write off a goalie of his age.

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

And for how big of "hater" I am I'd like to point out that he still has NHL potential.

 

[ginopuck]

I'm confused. All this talk about how Fucale doesn't have mental toughness, how he sucks, etc. If it wasn't for Fucale they wouldn't have made it to the semi-final. You have to remember the Remparts had no right being at the Memorial Cup. With a team like that playing in front of him I think he did a great job and has lots of mental toughness. By the way, against Russia you could say he almost lost the game but you need to remember...in the 3rd period he shut the door.

 

[S E P H]

It's pretty much the opposite, he has the mental makeup but not the skills to go along with it, his technique is the main problem, gives up big rebounds and very below average glove hand. Also doesn't read the play that well.

No, I definitely gotta disagree with this, I think his mental game is pretty horrible. When one weak one goes in, then two, and then three.

I do agree that his glove hand is below average, but I also disagree about not reading the play. I believe he reads it at a fairly normal level for junior hockey.

 

[Emerz]

I'm confused. All this talk about how Fucale doesn't have mental toughness, how he sucks, etc. If it wasn't for Fucale they wouldn't have made it to the semi-final. You have to remember the Remparts had no right being at the Memorial Cup. With a team like that playing in front of him I think he did a great job and has lots of mental toughness. By the way, against Russia you could say he almost lost the game but you need to remember...in the 3rd period he shut the door.

Why didn't the Remparts have a right to be at the memorial cup? They took Rimouski to game 7 in the QMJHL finals and lost in overtime, could've easily went either way.. its not like they were a host team that got bounced in the 2nd round or something

 

[DonskoiDonscored]

You have to remember the Remparts had no right being at the Memorial Cup.

Well they were the hosts of the tournament. They had every right to be there.

 

[Sweech]

I'm confused. All this talk about how Fucale doesn't have mental toughness, how he sucks, etc. If it wasn't for Fucale they wouldn't have made it to the semi-final. You have to remember the Remparts had no right being at the Memorial Cup. With a team like that playing in front of him I think he did a great job and has lots of mental toughness. By the way, against Russia you could say he almost lost the game but you need to remember...in the 3rd period he shut the door.

Excuse me? That's laughably inaccurate.

They have one of the best rosters in the QMJHL.

Not to mention they hosted the tournament, so they were going to be there one way or the other this year. I think your knowledge of junior hockey team rules and their rosters could use some updating.

 

[montreal]

Some really seem to hate this kid. I can understand not thinking too highly of him since his rebound control can be a hot mess, his glove needs work. I don't know what happened in the final game, I thought he was a big part of the Remparts success. Maybe he was wearing down physically as he's not the biggest guy. I know I didn't hear much about him during the playoffs when he went on a run that saw him go 13-0-1. It just seems like when he wins it's from being on a good team and when he loses it's cause he's terrible.

It's going to be interesting to see where he ends up playing next season, I don't see him going back to the Q as an overager (though it would be funny if he did since he would add to his already impressive win totals of 183 wins in regulation and playoffs). Most likely he'll be in the AHL but there's already a good goalie in front of him in Mike Condon who is coming off a really solid rookie year on a bad Hamilton team. So they could send him to the ECHL if they want him to play a lot. I am interested to see how he does after working with the Habs AHL goalie coach Vincent Riendeau who has had 2 of the better AHL goalies in the last 2 years with Condon and Tokarski while playing in front of teams that have the worst PP in the league and struggle to score goals.

I think that article by Gare Joyce was total bull **** and highly unprofessional.