Kent Hughes' Smartest Move at the 2023 Draft Confirmed? Jacob Fowler Looks Like the Real Deal

It's quite surprising that the Canadiens were able to draft such a promising goalkeeper at the 69th pick, especially since Fowler was selected after other goalies like Adam Gajan, Michael Hrabal, Trey Augustine, Carson Bjarnason, and Damian Clara.

Despite many goalkeepers being drafted ahead of Fowler, his recent performances have been extremely impressive, as he ranks 6th in the DailyFaceoff ranking of top goaltending prospects.

DailyFaceoff Ranking:

1- Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild)
2- Dustin Wolf (Calgary Flames)
3- Yaroslav Askarov (Nashville Predators)
4- Alexei Kolosov (Philadelphia Flyers)
5- Trei Augustine (Detroit Red Wings)
6- Jacob Fowler (Montreal Canadiens)
7- Michael Hrabal (Arizona Coyotes)
8- Arturs Silovs (Vancouver Canucks)
9- Sergei Ivanov (Columbus Blue Jackets)
10- Vadim Zherenko (St. Louis Blues)

It's really impressive and promising for the future of the club to see a Canadiens' goalie ranked so highly among the best prospects at the position. It also shows that the Montreal management made a great pick by selecting him late, as he is now, according to this ranking, the second-best goaltender of the 2023 draft class.

In his first season in the collegiate ranks, Jacob Fowler immediately took on the starting role. He won the goaltender of the month title twice in the H-East division, with an impressive record of thirteen wins, three losses, and one overtime defeat, while recording a goals-against average of 2.16 and a save percentage of 0.925.

It will be very interesting to follow his progression over the next few years, as he could form an excellent duo with Samuel Montembeaut in the future.

Note that Yaroslav Askarov, the Russian goaltender for the Nashville Predators, was notably available on the trade market last June. Moreover, according to numerous sources, Barry Trotz offered the prospect to the Montreal Canadiens in a trade involving the fifth overall pick, which was used to draft David Reinbacher.