Jacob Fowler : the injury of Connor Hughes opens the door to the prospect

The Laval Rocket is certain to make the playoffs in the AHL. And even if the top of the AHL is not yet a certainty, there’s a good chance it will happen.

Result? The club can afford to rest some guys and bring in prospects and have them play games.

Just in case, without thinking too much about it, we’re going to bring up the name of American goalie Jacob Fowler in the conversation this morning. We’re saying it just for fun, of course.

Of course, we all know that the Canadiens wanted to send their prospect to Laval for the playoff run. The plan wasn’t to make him the team’s #1 goalie, but anything can happen in the AHL.

And that brings us to the fact that Connor Hughes got injured yesterday in a Rocket game in Western Canada. We saw him struggling to get up at one point during the game.

#Rocket Connor Hughes left the game with what appears to be an injury. In the sequence prior to exiting, Hughes looked uncomfortable after making this breakaway stop. As the play was heading the other direction, the official went to check on the goalie. #GoRocket #AHL #Hockey… pic.twitter.com/KAOEcAmiUj

— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) April 7, 2025

Does this mean Hughes will be injured for a few days/weeks? Nobody knows. All we know is that he wasn’t able to finish yesterday’s game.

We’ll have more details in the coming days.

And that brings us back to Fowler. The goalie has been in Montreal for a few days, taking shots from the Canadiens players, and he will practice with the Rocket on Wednesday.

If Hughes can’t dress for the Rocket’s games on Friday (in Rochester) and Saturday (in Syracuse), it’s logical to think that Fowler could.

I obviously expect to see Primeau play at least one of the two games this weekend. Would it be too early, no matter Hughes’ health, to have Fowler play?

Would the Rocket/CH rather wait until next week? Because yes, in my eyes, Fowler will play at least one game by April 19th.

Hughes’ playing time wasn’t going to increase with Fowler’s arrival, and more than ever, Dobes isn’t about to return to Laval. If Fowler does well in his audition during the regular season, who knows what it could lead to.

To be continued, then.

Overtime

– $500 million for Vladdy in Toronto.

– Note.

– Good listening.