BROSSARD, Quebec -- Jacob Fowler is as excited about his potential to one day play for the Montreal Canadiens as they are to have him as their top goalie prospect.
"It just gives you goosebumps just to imagine that," the 19-year-old said during Canadiens development camp in July, "so I try not to think about it too much, but just go back to school and do my job there."
Fowler, selected in the third round (No. 69) of the 2023 NHL Draft, will return to Boston College for his sophomore season. He was sensational as a freshman, going 32-6-1 with a 2.14 goals-against-average, .926 save percentage and three shutouts, breaking the NCAA record for wins by a first-year player.
"He's a very dialed-in kid, he's got all the things you'd want in a goalie," Canadiens executive vice president, hockey operations, Jeff Gorton said. "He's got the right size, he's quick, he has the head for it, nothing really rattles him, so I think for him it's just to keep playing.
"It's great for the Montreal Canadiens that he goes to Boston College and plays at one of the best programs there is. He plays every night and plays against really high competition."
After being named the USHL Goaltender of the Year with Youngstown in 2022-23, Fowler came within one win of a national title in his debut collegiate season. He had a 32-save shutout in a 4-0 win against Michigan in the Frozen Four semifinal before losing 2-0 to Denver in the final.
"I think my game got a lot calmer this year if you kind of watch my progression," Fowler said. "And turning toward the end of the season, when it came time for the Hockey East championship and the regional end of the Frozen Four, I felt way more calm, way more comfortable. Playing in the national championship didn't feel like it was the biggest game of the season, which looking back, that couldn't have been a better feeling.
"So I think for me it's going back and doing everything I can away from the rink that I'm ready, not just for that one game, but the rest of my career after that."
And with the form Fowler displayed in development camp, he's clearly showing the Canadiens he's serious about digesting feedback that can improve his performance and putting in the work to bring about their mutually desired positive results.
"When we drafted him, I would say the biggest thing he had to work on was just training like a pro, the nutrition part of it," Gorton said, "and from one year to the next, his work that he's done on that has been great.
"He's much fitter. He's quicker off the ice. Our trainers are all saying at development camp this year, like from one year to the next, how much his body has changed. It's amazing. Everything you ask him to do he's going to do."
