Screen cap: Plan de Match
Next up in our annual Washington Capitals prospect review and forecast series is Antoine Keller, goaltender for Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). (You can access all of our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page in the top menu or right here.)
VITALS
Keller, 19, is listed at 6’3” and 176 pounds, according to Elite Prospects, (the Acadie-Bathurst Titan website lists him as 6’1” and 172 pounds), and was born in Dijon, France. The Capitals traded their seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to the San Jose Sharks for their seventh-round pick (206th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft. The Capitals used that pick to choose Keller, who played for Geneve-Servette in the Swiss League.
Keller was the second French-born goaltender to be selected in an NHL Draft, following Cristobal Huet (No. 214 by LAK in 2001). He came over to North America to play with Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the QMJHL for the 2023-24 season. He remains unsigned by the Capitals.
CAREER SUMMARY
Keller played at various age group levels for Genève-Servette since 2018-19. He also represented France internationally at various age group levels.
During the 2022-23 season, Keller played for Genève-Servette, winner of the Swiss championship. He did not play any games with the professional team, but played 25 games with the U20 Elite, with a 3.40 goals against average, posting a record of 8-13-2.
Keller also played in five games with HCV Martigny, a club in the Swiss third division – to which he was loaned, and which won a championship.
In addition, Keller also played for the French team at the World Junior Championship, where he played in three games, earning a 2.70 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.
During the 2023-24 season, Keller played with Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL. For the regular season, he played in 37 games, posted a 17-17-0 record and had two shutouts. His GAA was 3.05 and his save percentage was .897. He saved 919 of the 1025 he faced.
During the playoffs, where his team swept the first round but were swept in the second round, he played in 7 games and posted a 4-3 record. His GAA was 2.35 and he had a save percentage of .925. He saved 211 shots out of the 228 shots he faced in the playoffs.
2023-2024 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS
The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Antoine Keller during the 2023-2024 season. You can find all monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.
October
Before October, Keller played one game in September and was the winning goaltender.
He played in eight games in October, winning four games and losing two games. His overall record was 5-1.
Keller made 220 saves, had a save percentage of .900 and a goals-against average in October was 3.08. His best game came against Cape Breton on October 21 when he made 38 saves and posted a save percentage of .947.
November
In November, Keller played in seven games, winning three and losing four. On Nov 10, he made 26 saves in 27 chances for a save percentage of .962. On November 26, he made 27 saves in a win as he recorded a save percentage of .926. He made 222 saves, had a save percentage of .896, and a goals-against average in November was 3.27.
December
In December, Keller played in four games, winning three and losing just one. In a 4-3 win against Chicoutimi Saguenéens on December 1, he made 38 saves out of 41 chances, compiling a save percentage of .927. He even scored the first goal of the game while his team was short-handed. He was voted as third star of the game.
1/2 Le but un peu moins glorieux alloué par les Saguenéens et crédité au gardien du Titan Antoine Keller 😬 #LHJMQ pic.twitter.com/mqs137LRJ9
— Jonathan Hudon (@johudon) December 2, 2023
Keller won again on December 4 in a 3-2 overtime win over the Cape Breton Eagles. He made 19 saves out of 21 chances. Once again, he was voted third star of the game. He was the losing goaltender on December 6 in their 3-2 overtime loss against the Quebec Ramparts. He made 30 saves on 33 chances.
Keller did not play again for Acadie-Bathurst until December 31 where he was the winning goaltender in a 4-2 win against the St. John Sea Dogs. He made 25 saves in 27 chances.
During December, he made 122 saves, had a save percentage of .918, and a goals-against average of 2.46.
January
Keller played in four games in January. He was the winning goaltender in a 2-0 win against the Shawinigan Cataractes on January 5 where he made 26 saves and was awarded the first star of the game. He then lost his next two games, a 6-2 loss to the Drummondville Voltigeurs on January 6 and a 3-1 loss to the Cape Breton Eagles.
Keller did not play again until January 28 when he played the last two periods of a 5-3 loss to the Charlottetown Islanders and was charged with the loss as he gave up the game-winning goal during the second period.
During January, he made 100 saves, had a save percentage of .900, and a goals-against average of 2.75.
February
Keller played in five games in February, losing each of his first three games. His first appearance in February was a rough outing against Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on February 9 where he gave up three early goals and was pulled after just 4:36. Acadie Bathurst went on to lose 11-0.
His next appearance was on February 16 against Blainville-Boisbriand Armada which was a 4-1 loss. In this game, he made 25 saves out of 29 shots. He then was the losing goaltender on February 22 in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Moncton Wildcats. He made 23 saves in 25 shots.
He finally got a win on February 25 in a 5-2 victory over the Cape Breton Eagles where he made 25 saves on 27 shots. He closed out the month with a win on February 29 as he was in net for a 2-0 shutout against the Halifax Mooseheads. He was the first star of the game as he made 25 saves in his shutout effort.
He closed February with a 2-3 record in five games. During the month, he made 113 saves, had a save percentage of .903, and a goals-against average of 2.67.
March
Keller played in seven games in March and posted a 3-3 record with 24 goals against and a save percentage of .873. His game performances in March ran the gamut. He performed well during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Camp Breton Eagles on March 3 where he made 28 saves and a save percentage of .929.
On March 8, in a 3-1 win against the Halifax Mooseheads, he made 23 saves in 24 chances for a save percentage of .958.
But in his next four games, he had save percentages below .900 with a particularly bad game against Camp Breton on March 16 when he gave up six goals in 26 shots and was pulled after the second period.
Playoffs
During the first round of the QMJHL playoffs, Keller was in goal for all four games in the series between Acadie-Bathurst and the Halifax Mooseheads as Acadie swept the series in four games.
The first game on March 29 was a 2-1 victory where Keller made 26 saves in 27 chances. The second game on March 30 was another 2-1 win, where made 35 saves in 36 chances. He was voted first star of the game in both those games which were played in Halifax.
The game of April 2 was a more decisive 7-2 victory where Keller made 23 saves out of 25 shots. The final game, on April 3 was another close game, a 3-2 win. Keller made 25 saves in 27 chances.
Photo: Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Acadie-Bathurst then played Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the second round but was swept in four games. He played well during their first two losses, which were 2-1 and 4-2 decisions on April 12 and 13 where he posted save percentages of .926 and .938. He even earned third star of the game on April 13 when he made 45 saves out of 49 shots. But then he gave up six goals during a 6-5 loss in Overtime on April 16. He did not play in the fourth game of that series on April 17 which was also an Overtime loss.
For the playoffs, he played in seven games, had a goals-against average of 2.35. and a save percentage of .925.
Summary
His final record for the regular season was 17-17-0. His statistics for the regular season were a save percentage was .897, with him making 1025 saves and a goals-against average of 3:05.
PLAYER FORECAST
Keller is young enough to return to junior hockey for one more season. He could also start his professional career and play at the ECHL level.
RELATED ARTICLES
Capitals Goaltender Antoine Keller Is Ready For Move To North America And Challenges Ahead
Capitals Trade 7th Round Draft Picks With San Jose Sharks, Select Goaltender Antoine Keller
Monthly Report For Capitals Prospects Playing In The CHL: Cam Allen Returns, Brett Hyland Named Captain, Andrew Cristall, Patrick Thomas Continue Impressive Scoring Pace
Capitals CHL Prospects Monthly Report: Andrew Cristall Continues Scoring Pace,
Monthly Report For Capitals Prospects In The Canadian Junior Hockey Leagues — December 2023
Monthly Report For Capitals Prospects In The Canadian Junior Hockey Leagues — November 2023
By Diane Doyle
