Jeff Gorton Breaks Silence on Jacob Fowler and Reveals Striking Detail About Young Goalie's Future

In a new interview, Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton agreed to speak candidly about his young goaltender, and his response is very interesting.

Jacob Fowler was selected by the Canadiens in the 3rd round, 69th overall, at the 2023 draft.

In the months leading up to his selection by the Montreal organization, the native of Melbourne, Florida had an exceptional season with the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL and earned major honors.

The goaltender represents the future in net for the Canadiens, and his numbers speak for themselves. Before joining the Laval Rocket for a few games, he had never posted a goals-against average above 2.28 in a regular season since 2018.

In 2024-25, Fowler finished with a 1.63 GAA and .940 save percentage in 35 starts with Boston College in the NCAA. The previous year, he had a 2.14 GAA and .926 save percentage in 39 games with the same team.

Recently, The Hockey Writers shared their ranking of the best young goaltenders in the NHL, and he sits in 2nd place, just behind Yaroslav Askarov.

We also notice that, on the list, Jakub Dobes is ranked 8th, ahead of Leevi Merilainen and Joel Blomqvist. Jesper Wallstedt and Devon Levi, whose names have been widely talked about in recent years, are ranked 5th and 6th respectively.

In a recent interview, Montreal Canadiens Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton discussed young Jacob Fowler and did not hesitate to praise him.

During the conversation, he notably highlighted the poise Fowler displays, as well as the great confidence the young man has in his own abilities. Furthermore, Gorton is impressed by how Fowler handles things the right way.

He also adds an interesting point by saying that his goalie knows the path he must take to be successful.

His comments draw comparisons to Carey Price in his early NHL days: a calm young goalie, very confident, and who doesn't seem to put any pressure on himself about the future. We love to see it!