Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Jacob Fowler’s goaltending numbers at Boston College just pop.
This season the sophomore went 25-7-2 with a 1.63 goals-against average, a .940 save percentage and seven shutouts. He won the Hockey East conference’s Goaltender of the Year award for the second season in a row, and was a runner-up for Player of the Year. He also secured a nomination as a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, given to the top goaltender in Division I men’s college hockey.
After reaching the championship game as a freshman in 2024, Fowler helped take Boston College back to the NCAA tournament this year. They came just one win short of returning to the Frozen Four.
Last week, Fowler decided to turn pro, and signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs, who selected Fowler in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft, also gave Fowler an AHL contract for the rest of this season, allowing him to begin his pro career with the league-leading Laval Rocket.
Life can change quickly in this business. It has been a hectic few weeks, to be sure, with more to come.
Fowler could get his chance in the Rocket crease sooner than expected. Connor Hughes was injured in Sunday’s game at Abbotsford, and Jakub Dobeš has been in Montreal – where the Canadiens are on the brink of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs – since Dec. 27. Cayden Primeau has been outstanding with Laval, going 19-2-2 (2.00, .924) in 24 appearances. Add the 20-year-old phenom coming off two decorated seasons of college play, and head coach Pascal Vincent has decisions to make ahead of a critical weekend with road games in Rochester and Syracuse.
With the availability of Hughes unknown and a demanding end-of-season schedule, any help that Fowler could provide in spelling Primeau would be welcome. It would also provide the organization a chance to see a top goaltending prospect get his first shot at pro competition – something that has paid immediate dividends for the organization not once but twice in the past. Patrick Roy joined the Sherbrooke Canadiens as a 19-year-old at the end of the 1984-85 season and took then to a Calder Cup championship. In the spring of 2007, Carey Price was also 19 when he was added to the Hamilton Bulldogs’ roster; he went on to win the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the Calder Cup Playoffs after posting 15 wins, a 2.06 GAA and .936 save percentage.
In Laval, a quick trip up Autoroute 15 from downtown Montreal, Fowler’s arrival provides a jolt of excitement for Canadiens fans who have a team positioned to return to the NHL postseason and a deep base of young talent with the first-place Rocket at the AHL level. It’s a frenzied environment even in less-eventful times, and the intensity level in Montreal is even higher this week.
For Fowler, this isn’t college anymore. Wherever the Rocket finish in the standings, they are bound for the postseason and expectations are there for a long run. They can clinch the North Division title this weekend, and the overall league crown is within their sights. With five games to go – including three against the rival Belleville Senators to finish the regular season – the intensity will only increase from here.
Fowler participated in his first practice with the Rocket on Wednesday and spoke with local media afterward.
“It’s bittersweet to leave (Boston College), but I’m excited to be here and start the next chapter,” Fowler told reporters. “It’s going to take a little bit more than one practice to get used to, but I’m pretty confident that I’ll get adjusted soon.”
Place Bell is one of the AHL’s most difficult venues for visitors, especially in the postseason. With spring here and the potential for both Montreal and Laval competing for championships, Fowler has arrived at a special time for the organization.
“I’m just getting my feet wet here and enjoying it. I’m really happy to be part of this group.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
