Jacob Fowler: Rising Star Goalie and Potential World Junior Championship Phenom

2023-11-22 12:30:13

At the last draft, the Canadian had a clear objective: not to draft Matvei Michkov to replenish his bank of prospects in front of the net. The club has selected three goalkeepers: Jacob Fowler, Quentin Miller and Yevgeni Volokhin.

Speaking of Miller, he had another good night of work last night in a victory for the Remparts.

The Remparts win 3 to 1. 28 saves for Quentin Miller, still very good this evening. #lesoleil

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) November 22, 2023

That said, when we look at the profiles of the three guys, we realize that Fowler is the gros hope among the three. Without taking anything away from the other two, Fowler has a better track record and he was seen in the category of the best goalies in the auction.

He fell a bit behind guys like Adam Gajan, Trey Augustine and Michael Hrabal, but before the draft he was in their class.

And this season, Fowler is playing like a goalie on a mission. The Cerberus, who disputed all his team’s games at Boston College, has a 9-2-1 record, a 2.14 goals-against average and a 0.926 save percentage.

You will understand that he is a gigantic piece of his team’s success, having been named goalie of the month for his conference in the NCAA in October. He may be a rookie in the NCAA, but he still plays like a veteran of the circuit.

Habs prospect 18 year-old Jacob Fowler in his freshman year with Boston College so far:

9-2-1
1 shutout
2.14 GAA
.926 save percentage

Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for October.

He has started every game for BC so far this season. pic.twitter.com/H9UmBgz9Sk

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 20, 2023

Obviously, such a season earns him points in the hierarchy of prospects at the CH as well as among the Hobey Baker Trophy contenders… but he also gains points in view of the World Junior Championship, which is fast approaching.

Yesterday, the guys from The Athletic took part in the exercise of imagining what the formations of the four great powers (Canada, United States, Sweden and Finland) will look like, and what we notice is that not only does Fowler seem to have a guaranteed place , but Corey Pronman even sees him being the team’s #1 goalie.

Scott Wheeler still sees Trey Augustine (the favorite from the start) being the starter, but he sees Fowler being his backup.

Our 2024 World Juniors preview at @TheAthletic.@coreypronman and I pick rosters and make cuts for ????????, ????????, ????????, and ????????, plus prospects of notes for the other teams and more: pic.twitter.com/Q9bTaZysky

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) November 21, 2023

In any case, what seems certain is that Fowler will be there. That said, even if Augustine has the same record as him this season (9-2-1), his goals allowed average (2.99) and his efficiency rate (0.913) are much less solid than those of Fowler.

Those are still excellent numbers for Augustine, obviously… but Fowler is in a class of his own.

This summer, I wrote that Fowler could aspire to be part of the American team at the WJC if he had a big start to the season in the NCAA. That said, he didn’t just have a great start to the season, he had a phenomenal one.

And with Augustine pulling a bit of a leg, that means that the goalie drafted in the third round by the CH this summer has a serious chance of being the #1 in front of the United States net.

We will therefore see if Fowler will be able to build on his enormous start to the campaign to seize the starting goalkeeper chair for the United States at the next WJC, but clearly, this is a more likely scenario than ever. And when we think that his presence at the tournament was not even assured this summer, it demonstrates to what extent Fowler has gained ground since the start of the season.

A lot of

– The practices have attracted attention at the CH since the start of the week.

We’re talking about practice.

Inside two days of singular focus at Canadiens practice on opposite coasts, and the extent to which Martin St. Louis’ attention to detail was particularly evident today:

— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) November 22, 2023

– Speaking about Team USA at WJC, Rutger McGroarty may not be available due to injury.

Per Brandon Naurato, Rutger McGroarty will be out for the remainder of the first half for Michigan, but beyond that, the timeline isn’t yet clear. Hopeful but uncertain about his chances of being back for Team USA at the WJC

— Sam Stockton (@_samstockton) November 21, 2023

– Nothing less.