The Canadian | Guardians: The Year of the Reboot

It’s been a long time since so many young Canadiens goaltenders sparked so much intrigue at a summer camp.

It starts with Jakub Dobes, the one who is currently closest to the NHL among the next generation. Drafted on 5^e turn in 2020, the great Czech left the school benches last spring, and to see his mask in the colors of the Rocket, we can expect to see him in action in Laval this season.

Jacob Fowler also caught the eye. Drafted at 69^e rank, he is the first goalkeeper that the Habs select in the top 100 from Zachary Fucale. In addition to his interesting potential, Fowler exudes a certain charisma.

Quentin Miller has also been added to the nursery, as a pick of 4^e round last week. This Montrealer, member of the Quebec Remparts, will also be followed over the next few years.

Throughout this world, Emmett Croteau goes a bit unnoticed, despite a surname that will remind the most nostalgic of the ancestor of the Aubainerie stores.

“It comes from my father’s side. His father was French-speaking, and they moved to British Columbia when my father was little, ”says the young goalkeeper.

The hope of the Canadian, however, does not speak French, despite the sound of his name. “I was enrolled in kindergarten in French, but I must have gotten angry or something. Having known, I should have continued in French! Now, at school, I would like to learn another language. »

Drafted on 6^e turn in 2022, Croteau will not be far from Francophone communities over the next few years. He will be admitted this summer to Clarkson University, in upstate New York, an hour’s drive from Quebec, but a long way from his native Bonnyville.

“It’s a village in northeastern Alberta where everyone knows each other,” he explains. I figured Clarkson’s kind of atmosphere, a small college, a smaller faculty-to-student ratio would help me with my studies. »

Croteau is coming off a good season with the Waterloo Black Hawks. His average of 2.46 was the 4^e of the USHL, and his efficiency of .917, the 2^e of the league. He now sees himself spending “two or three years” at university before trying his luck in the professional ranks.

Congestion

Preparation for post-Carey Price accelerated from 2017. That year, the Habs claimed Cayden Primeau, flamboyant in the NCAA, who is still looking for himself among the pros. From 2019 to 2022, Montreal demanded one goalkeeper per year, before choosing three last week.

How does a prospect react in front of the net when he sees such internal competition suddenly appear? “If the leaders think they need three goalkeepers, so be it. I met them, they are good guys. I hope they help us win a Stanley Cup one day,” Dobes said.

Cohabitation, at the very least, does not seem problematic. “We get to know each other slowly. We get on very well. We make jokes, we try to have fun together, ”summarized Miller.

In the last decade, Zachary Fucale, Charlie Lindgren and Primeau have succeeded in the skates of the one who could potentially ensure the transition with Price. The first two have left the organization, and the third could do so in the coming months. If he does not dislodge Jake Allen or Samuel Montembeault and he is transferred to Laval, Primeau will have to go on waivers. A team that still believes in its potential will be able to claim it, as CH did with Montembeault in October 2021.

Preparing for succession

Five goalies participate in this camp. Samuel Urban, an 18-year-old doorman present by invitation, completes the quintet. Only absent among the succession: Yevgeni Volokhin, choice of 5^e tour last week, which evolves in Russia.

The team has definitely given itself the means to evaluate all these beautiful people in this summer development camp. Monday morning, at 9 a.m., the five were invited to a session for their position only. They then took part in the sessions in separate groups (attackers on one rink, defenders on the other). The icing on the cake: keeping the goals for the last session of the day, the one where the 37 players are all grouped together.

Result of the races: three good hours of work, without a break to change.

“When I was younger, I did a few sessions like that. The ice is getting bad and you’re all wet, but that’s okay”, says Croteau.

“We did three hours on the ice. At the end, my skates were filled with water. I emptied them, it was disgusting! adds Miller.

For Croteau and Fowler, this week’s experience will be their only experience in the big club environment this season; NCAA rules prevent them from participating in the main camp in September.

Miller should meanwhile rush to the next camp, since he should theoretically play the next two seasons in the QMJHL.

Dobes will attend camp while waiting to join the Rocket. It remains to know with whom he will be paired in Laval, and how the work will be shared between him and his assistant, whoever he is. “I spent a month in Laval at the end of the season, I was good friends with Cayden and he really helped me a lot. We will see what will happen,” said the Czech.

If ever Primeau were to be claimed, the Canadian has an alternative solution by granting a contract to Strauss Mann on Monday. This 24-year-old American spent the last season in the ECHL and in the American League, with San Jose. So we’re not talking about an American League veteran either.

For Fowler, Croteau and the others, we will have to wait a few more years. But with the arrival of Dobes in Laval, the possible departure of Primeau and the addition of three goaltenders in the pipeline, this year 2023 looks like that of the restart in net.