At the end of the handset on this little Thursday, Quentin Miller’s voice was that of a pleasantly surprised guy. And for good reason.
It’s that the young 18-year-old goaltender expected to be drafted, of course, but not now, not immediately, during this fourth round of the National Hockey League draft presented in Nashville.
But that’s what happened: Quentin Miller was drafted by the Canadian, with the 128e overall picks in this draft.
So, to the usual question, whether things are going well, the young man was quick to answer.
“It’s going well, absolutely!, he began by saying. Am I surprised? I would say that I am extremely surprised. It’s an incredible feeling right now… I knew the Canadiens were interested in me, I thought I was going to be drafted, but I was thinking more about the seventh round, the sixth round. Maybe in the fifth round…”
This way of defying all odds is starting to become a habit for the young Miller. This proud Ahuntsicois, a former Notre-Dame college graduate, has just spent the last season with the Quebec Remparts, in the QMJHL, where he had to settle for only 20 games behind the club’s first goaltender, William Rousseau.
He wasn’t much busier during the playoffs, as he didn’t play a single minute and barely 14 minutes in the Memorial Cup tournament, which was presented afterwards. But obviously, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the leaders of the Montreal Canadiens towards him, who did not hesitate to speak to him on the sidelines of the repechage, in order to learn a little more about him, the player, but also on him, the young man.
In Quebec next season, he will have the chance to be seen a lot more often, since he will be the starting goaltender for the Remparts.
This is in addition to the very good news he received on the phone on Thursday… Hence this huge smile that can be seen even through the handset.
“It was often like that with me, he explained. There have been setbacks over the years, and I haven’t played in the elite categories very often. I played a lot in the CC, in the BB too. Finally, in the midget, I was able to play in the AAA…
“So this is all special to me, really. It’s the Canadian and more! This is the team I watched on TV when I was young…it’s a childhood dream. Carey Price was my role model growing up, and much like him, I’m a calm, confident, athletic keeper…I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I hope I can! »
This call from the Canadian, on a long-awaited afternoon in June, is undoubtedly only the beginning for Quentin Miller, who is already thinking big enough. Does this mean that we will see him, one of these days, in front of one of the Bell Center nets, the same nets that his idol Price protected for several years?
He, in any case, he believes in it. He believes in it because he has always believed in it, and he believes in it even more now because the dream, his dream, hangs at his fingertips.
And it is with optimism that he thinks about the future.
“You will see me one day at the Bell Center… I don’t know when, but you will see me. My story is already very beautiful, but it is not over…”