Freshly landed in Laval, Jacob Fowler is not shaken by the pressure of the series

Laval – Jacob Fowler could not have asked for his first departure in Laval in a playoff match.

Before him, the Rocket was intractable. He quickly took the lead 3-0 against the Monsters From Cleveland, and he never left the visitors to return to the match.

It’s a bit like a goalkeepersaid the 20-year-old goalkeeper at the end of the 4-1 victory of the Rocket. You make the stops when necessary, but [les Monsters] did not have much tonight. The team has played well from one end of the ice.

On the occasion of his first eliminatory series in the professional ranks, fate wanted Fowler to find on his way a player whom he considered his brother when he was a child.

From as far as he remembers, from the moment he put on his leggings for the first time, Fowler played alongside striker Gavin Brindley, who in 2023 became a second round of the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

His father was our coach and I was a sort of part of the family, said Fowler. We have always stayed in touch. And when he went to university, I went very close to going to the University of Michigan too, and it was largely because of him.

Fowler and Brindley were both born in Florida, about five hours away from each other. Since there was only one AAA team in Florida, players had to cover great distances not only to participate in tournaments, but simply to meet and train as a team.

It was not easy because we had to practice the weekend, remembered Brindley. People from all over the state gathered and Jacob spent its weekend with us. His parents dropped him off on Friday and came to get him on Sunday. For me, it was like having a brother in the house.

This is how Seamus Casey [un défenseur de l’organisation des Devils duNew Jersey]Fowler and I grew up together. We played together for a very long time.

Needless to say, Fowler and Brindley were excited to compete for the first two games in the series. Cayden Primeau, however, took over from Fowler in front of the net of Rocket For the third match in the series, while Brindley was left out during the two games in Laval.

Even if Tuesday’s match was not busy in Fowler’s career, Brindley was still able to see the same goalkeeper he has always known.

He’s a reliable goalkeepersaid the little attacker of Monsters. He made the big stops. He is confident, calm and placed in front of his net. He finds a way to make stops. I think what is cooler in his game is that he is ultra-competitive. It may not always be super beautiful, but he is an athlete and he will find a way to keep the washer outside the net. It’s fun to watch.

I watch him go since I was five years old and all my life he impressed me. I am very happy for him.

Brindley added that Fowler’s family had insisted for him to practice other sports, so that the goalkeeper of the Rocket is a formidable basketball player and he plays baseball too. Being such a complete athlete helps to explain the success he had in his journey.

There are no limits to what he can accomplishadded Brindley.

Nothing to remove her net

The course of events was not ideal for the primer in the last days. Until proven otherwise, he was the trust guard of Rocket And the one who was going to undertake the series.

However, Samuel Montembeault’s injury during the Canadiens’ first round series required his recall in Montreal, so that Fowler took the ball and defended the cage of the cage Rocket For the first two games in Cleveland.

When the primer came back to the net, with a file of 21-2-2 in the regular season which made him the most dominant goalkeeper in the American League, the Rocket has experienced a collective relaxation and it is a primer, in spite of itself, which paid the price.

What reflection brought in Fowler in front of the net on Tuesday?

He had won the first two games, first replied the head coach Pascal Vincent. We knew that the next series would start a little later – it will be a longer break than I would have liked – and we knew we would need the two guards. Primeau had not kept the goals for a while, and we didn’t want him to wait too much.

And we also knew that if it didn’t work [dans le troisième match]we would put Fowler today.

Fowler conceded to Monsters Three goals in three games in addition to keeping an efficiency rate of, 953. Primeau is undoubtedly the goalkeeper who allowed the Rocket To rise to the level where he is currently, but Fowler does nothing to be removed from him.

Ultra-competitive, said Brindley.

He is young and he has not played many professional matches, but he is confident in front of his net, it’s beautiful to seenoted defender William Trudeau about Fowler.

He has audacity, added David Reinbacher. He is great.

Unusted

It is still unknown if Vincent will have recourse to a real alternation in the series against the Americans of Rochester, but the head coach already knows that his two guards will see action.

Note however this: Vincent observed that the third match in the series, the one where the performance of his team has fallen, was above all the result of an overflow of exuberance, of a difficulty in managing the enthusiasm of playing a first series of series at home.

Tuesday evening, it was Fowler’s turn to go back to school in Place Bell … and he never seemed stirred.

Vincent has already laid down at him this attitude which makes Fowler able to evolve under pressure. Evolving on a large scene does not seem to shake the former goalkeeper of Boston College.

The cameras, the noise, that does not impress him, said the coach of Rocket. It is calm and posed. I also think he has the personality to be a leader. He arrives early in the morning, he knows the game… He’s a young person who is impressive.

This is his first professional year, he knows the expectations, but it feels like he was here all year round.

After the match, Fowler did not want to make believe that he had ice in the veins. You have to be excited to play this kind of match, if not what good is it to do what we do?

Being excited is one thing. Letting yourself be dominated by your emotions is another.

The crowd was incredible, said Fowler after pushing 18 throws and obtained the third star of the match. The support here does not compare to anything I have seen before. It’s not bad to play here.

He will continue to do it for a while, even if it may not be all games.

One can nevertheless imagine that Fowler will eventually move in the place Bell with eyes closed in the next year or two.

For the time being, the Rocket and continue to him while the Monsters fold luggage for good.

Too bad for his friend Gavin.

It’s flat for his season to be over, said Fowler with a big smile, but as well as he is his and not mine!