Jacob Fowler: NHL’s third-best goalkeeping prospect

Yesterday, NHL prospect expert Scott Wheeler published his top-100 NHL prospects among skaters.

We note that the Habs still have six prospects in the top-80 (Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher, Michael Hage, Joshua Roy and Logan Mailloux) plus two guys (Owen Beck and Jayden Struble) who just missed the top-100.

And that, of course, doesn’t count all the youngsters already established in town.

Of course, guys like Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes couldn’t have had a place in such a top-100, since it’s only for forwards and defensemen.

But today, Wheeler’s top-20 goalkeepers are out.

We’ve seen that Dobes doesn’t make the expert’s top-20, but Fowler, not surprisingly, is favourably ranked. In fact, he ranks third overall.

Jesper Wallstedt (Wild) and Yaroslav Askarov (Predators) are the only two goaltenders ranked ahead of Fowler.

My annual top 20 drafted NHL goalie prospects ranking is out at @TheAthletic!

With full reports, tiers, our customizable user interface, and more: https://t.co/zIfqWd7Tmo pic.twitter.com/KdMyga7Mfs

– Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) July 17, 2024

For the past few seasons, he’s been having a good time in the USHL and NCAA. And even though he was playing for a good team in Boston in 2023-2024, Fowler was playing behind a big offense, but not necessarily a stellar defense.

He’s the kind of goalie who’ll make the save if he sees the puck and can get to it… and Wheeler sees big things for him.

He’s got a real chance not just to be an NHL goalie, but to be a really good NHL goalie.

And there aren’t many goalies his age (or even a little older than him) for whom I’m prepared to say that. – Scott Wheeler

Even if he doesn’t have all his qualities, the American is getting better every year and is clearly part of the Habs’ future plans. We’ll see what the future holds for him.

Will he be in Laval a year from now? Two years from now? Stay tuned.

Overtime

– Steven Stamkos has a fiery memory.

This is mind blowing to me. I’d seen Steven Stamkos in interviews recall goals he’d scored just by given the date and opponent. Wanted to see if he could still do it.

555 career goals later, he still has an insane memory.

(No I did not give him a heads up on this Q) pic.twitter.com/8g4Vdga2Kn

– Alex Daugherty (@AlexDaugherty1) July 16, 2024