Samuel Montembeault's bid for Canada's Olympic team hits a turning point after a recent report

With his participation in the Four Nations tournament, the chances of making the national team for the next Olympic Games, which will take place in a few months in Italy, were good for Samuel.

However after a difficult start to the season, each game now seems to carry more weight than before.

This creates a tension that could easily affect his performances without anyone truly realizing it.

Even though nothing has been decided yet, he unfortunately continues to dig his own grave.

Samuel Montembeault knows that the Team Canada executives are watching each of his games closely.

On Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, Team Canada executives, such as Doug Armstrong, were in the stands to analyze his play, but also the play of his counterpart.

According to the Sportsnet article, this game against the Kings came at the worst possible moment for him.

He allowed several goals in a short span of time, and the game slipped away quickly, especially in the 2nd period with one particular play, when he handed the puck to Kevin Fiala.

Sportsnet notes that since the start of the 2025-2026 season, he has posted a save percentage of .861, which places him 51st out of 54 goalies who have played a minimum of five games.

The 5-1 loss to Los Angeles clearly did not help his case in the fight for his Olympic spot.

He recently said:

Nick Suzuki also supported his goaltender, stating:

These words show that the locker room remains behind him.

But the real challenge lies elsewhere.

The battle is mainly between the ears.

I sincerely believe that this pressure could block him instead of helping him.

But it's also in these situations that we can see a person's character.

We'll have to see how he responds in the coming weeks.

Personally, I believe his chances for team Canada have slipped away, but I know he has the tools to get out of this storm.