Samuel Montembeault | “I’m so happy to be here”

(St. Louis) And if the goalkeeper of the future of the Canadiens was… Samuel Montembeault?

Don’t throw tomatoes at me. Save them for your Provencal pies, you’ll thank me.

Look, yeah, I watched Habs games last season. Even the last ones, when there was no more stake. Like you, I saw the young Quebec goalkeeper get fucked up, night after night. Six goals against the Oilers. Seven against the Jets. Eight against the Capitals. Except remember the rest of the team too. A rowboat without a rower in the heart of a derecho. In addition, Samuel Montembeault suffered from an injury to his right wrist, on the blocker side. “I never knew if a throw was going to hurt me or not,” he explained to us on Friday. “Want, don’t want, I always had that in mind. »

Now that he’s been operated on, and “100%” healthy, we can finally see his full potential.

And it’s exciting.

Montembeault has just lined up three great outings in a row, against the Capitals, Penguins and Sabers. Although the sample size is small, he still finds himself among the top 15 NHL goaltenders for average (2.32), save percentage (93.1%) and goals saved (3). Quite a contrast with last season (3.77; 89%; -14). And as he prepares to celebrate his 26^e birthday on Sunday, he remains one of the youngest goalkeepers on the circuit.

Thanks to his recent performances, Samuel Montembeault is cementing his place in the NHL. With the Canadian, in addition. It exceeds all his expectations, he told me on Friday, on the sidelines of a press briefing.

“It took me a long time to realize that a career in the NHL was possible. In minor hockey, I had always played at the highest possible level. But in my first season in the QMJHL, I only played about ten games. It was only the following year, when recruiters started talking to me about it, that I realized it was becoming a possibility. »

If you doubted it, yes, there are still Quebec hockey players who want to wear the CH jersey.

Samuel Montembeault is realistic. He knows that the life of a goalkeeper in the National League is like that of a feline in the jungle. There is little territory, too many suitors. “Today, good goalkeepers come from everywhere. We all have to work very hard to keep our jobs. »

He speaks knowingly. In 2018-2019, the Florida Panthers relied on three goalies: James Reimer, Roberto Luongo and him. Of the three, Montembeault had the best average. Three years later, the three were gone, to be replaced by Sergei Bobrovsky and a young American prospect, Spencer Knight. Montembeault was claimed off waivers by the Canadian, at only 24 years old.

“When I was chosen, I jumped for joy,” he told me. I was not expecting it at all. I was happy. My whole family too. Because of COVID-19, my dad hadn’t come to see me play for almost two years. And there, I found myself in Montreal, just 1 hour 45 minutes drive from Sainte-Gertrude and Bécancour! »

A few hours later, Carey Price announced his membership in the NHL aid program. Against all odds, Samuel Montembeault finally spent the whole winter with the Canadian. It was, by his own admission, a “not easy” season, with many “ups and downs”. Several veterans left. There was also COVID-19, which forced the Habs to play games with an American League roster. Then this wrist injury, which bothered him in the second half of the season. He could have had surgery sooner. But as I explained earlier, when you finally settle in the jungle, you protect your place.

“It was tough mentally,” admits Canadiens goaltending coach Éric Raymond. “You wonder if you are correct or not. If you can do some exercise. We sat down. We talked about it. He was told that this is not a league in which you can take a break. You have to be 100%. Either we go or there is an operation. He is on board. We resumed training. the focus returned. »

After the season, Samuel Montembeault found himself without a contract. The club management let him know that they wanted more consistency from him. “Martin [St-Louis] told me that I had put a foot in the door. Now I had to go to the kitchen. And it was consistency that would allow me to get there. »

Later in the summer, when it became clear that Carey Price would not return to the game anytime soon, the Canadiens presented a new contract to Samuel Montembeault. A two-year deal. “A first for me,” says the young goalkeeper, who received it as a great mark of confidence after his bumpy season.

At the moment, he makes his bosses look very good.

“He has made great progress since his arrival in Montreal,” agrees Éric Raymond. “He plays more behind the puck. He is more in control. Much more on his feet, too. He plays bigger. He is more patient. When you play like that, it’s easier to move from left to right. »

“Before, adds Montembeault, I was perhaps playing a little too much outside my semi-circle. In the NHL, things go so fast. The games are so fast, I started running. I try to play a little more hollow, to beat the passes, to arrive in advance and to play bigger, to better cover the top of the net. This is where players like to throw. »

Three games don’t make a season. Much less a career. And it is true that Samuel Montembeault was inconsistent last year. But if he continues to shine as he has since the start of the season, he will deserve to be considered for a long-term starting position with the Canadiens.