Vincent Sees Fowler As a Captain Material

He praised the Habs’ top goaltender prospect for his overall attitude and ability to fit in immediately with any group that he joins. Fowler also knows when to speak and when to take a step back, according to his AHL coach. Vincent claims that the leadership skills that Fowler brings are extremely rare, especially for a goaltender. 

This praise from his coach is a huge compliment to Fowler as the way he gets talked about shows that Fowler really is the gamer that Habs scout Billy Ryan so hard pushed for at the 2023 NHL draft meetings. Ryan went out of his way to explain why he believed Fowler was the best goalie, and as of right now, it is looking like it may be true. 

It should also be noted that the last time the Habs had a goaltender who was praised for such great leadership skills, it was none other than Carey Price. 

If there is anything that we have learned about Carey Price over the years is that his leadership also exuded confidence, which translated regularly on the ice. This is something that helps put his teammates at ease, no matter how rough the actual game is going. Now, Fowler likely won’t be as dominant as Price was in his prime, but this confidence could eventually make him among the top goaltenders in the NHL someday, hopefully. 

For that confidence and leadership traits to continue building, Pascal Vincent will need to trust Fowler, allowing him to make mistakes at the pro level for the next year or two. This will ahelp him grow into the starting goaltender that he is expected to be. 

I also think because of the way Cayden Primeau was developed, the Canadiens will be more careful in developing Fowler so that his attitude and confidence don’t get destroyed. It seems like watching Primeau last season, it became clear that he lacked confidence in his ability to be an NHL goalie. Primeau’s overall development had him bounce between the NHL and AHL for a few years. At first, it was ok because he could learn from his first few games in the NHL and go back to be a better goaltender in the AHL.

However, the way the Habs handled the 2023-24 season, starting the year with 3 goaltenders, destroyed his development. It was probably time to show that he could be a permanent backup, and during that season, when he played, he was successful. Unfortunately, the times he wasn’t playing 2+ weeks at a time hurt his game in the long run, and it hurt him once he became the official backup in 2024-25 to start the year. 

This is why with Fowler, the Canadiens need to choose only one of Jakub Dobes or Sam Montembeault to be around once Fowler is ready to be a full-time NHLer. 

Of course, this upcoming season, it would be much more favorable for Fowler’s confidence to stay the full year in the AHL as the team’s starter and develop his game in a league with less pressure on him. Maybe during the 2026-27 season, he gets a few games in the NHL to see how he does and learn the NHL game, before becoming the full-time backup in 2027-28 to eventually become the starter the year after. This would be an ideal development plan for the goalie, deemed the netminder of the Canadiens’ future. 

Hopefully, Fowler keeps his leadership traits and gains the confidence needed to be the guy in Montreal down the road. It is definitely a good sign that he is already looking like a team leader at the age of 20, and Fowler’s future is looking extremely bright. 

Do you see Fowler’s leadership skills helping him develop into an NHL starter?