Marc Denis did not want to miss the game between the Boston Bruins and the Capitals, presented Monday night in Washington.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Because the RDS hockey analyst is of course a keen observer who never misses anything, but above all because he knew that this match would allow him to see something rare this season: a Quebec goalkeeper in front of a net from the NHL.
“When I knew that Zachary Fucale was going to be in net for the Capitals, it was clear that I was going to watch that,” Denis explained on the phone on Tuesday. I didn’t want to miss anything. ”
In the not-so-distant past, a Quebec goalie in net in the NHL wouldn’t have been an event, but nowadays, that’s exactly it. In addition to being a rarity.
Thus, Fucale became only the fifth Quebec goaltender to take part in an NHL game this season, out of a total of 98 goalies.
Of the five, only one, Marc-André Fleury in Chicago, is a starting goalie. Two others, Jonathan Bernier of the New Jersey Devils, and Samuel Montembeault of the Canadiens, are reservists. The last, Maxime Lagacé, appeared in two games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, after the club’s two goaltenders were added to the COVID-19 protocol.
PHOTO BRAD REMPEL, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Zachary Fucale
For Marc Denis, raised at a time when Quebec names were the norm in front of a net, this reality is hard to accept. And that is why, as president of the Quebec hockey development committee, he plans to focus particularly on the sudden disappearance of Quebecers from this position.
“In my draft year [en 1995], three Quebec goalkeepers were chosen in the first round: Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Martin Biron and myself, he explains. We arrived by following another generation, that of Patrick [Roy], by Martin [Brodeur]. It’s very different now. This year, when the Junior Team Canada training camp opened, there was no guest Quebec goalie. ”
A question of trends
It is this sudden disappearance of Quebec talent in front of the net that Marc Denis wants to tackle in his role on the committee, but he admits that it will not be so simple.
“Because there are several issues to this question,” he replies. Among other things, there is the age of the young Quebec and Canadian goalkeepers at the time of the draft; American and European goaltenders often have the luxury of being able to come into the NHL later, and in the case of Europeans, they often do so after playing at home in elite leagues.
“I’m not going to say that the committee is going to focus on goalies in particular, but it is sure that this is a situation that deserves our attention. The report we are going to submit will contain recommendations, and then we will need an action plan. “
It is clear that we must pay particular attention to the question of goalkeepers.
Marc Denis
In this regard, the figures do not lie, and by way of comparison, let us remember that 23 Quebec goaltenders took part in at least one game in the NHL in 2001-2002. At that time, about 25% of NHL goalies were from Quebec.
Marc Denis recognizes that it is sometimes a question of trends; 20 years ago, the fashion was with the Quebec keepers coming from the mold of François Allaire, the guru of Patrick Roy. Today, many recruiters only have eyes for 6’4 “or 6’5” Scandinavian goalies. “I have already heard that below 6 ft 2 in, some scouts do not even look at you, adds Marc Denis. We had a very good goalie in Chicoutimi recently in Alexis Shank, but he was not even considered in the professional ranks because he is 6 feet tall… ”
In the immediate future, Marc Denis and his colleagues on the committee will be working on a report that will be submitted to Minister Isabelle Charest at the beginning of April. Will that solve everything? Maybe not, but the former keeper is optimistic.
“It won’t be a report to shovel clouds or a report with unicorns,” he concludes. I am 100% optimistic about what we are doing. We want things to change for the right reasons. ”