The Montreal Canadiens are expected to announce the signing of star goalie prospect Jacob Fowler to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season on Friday. The move was first reported by Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gaming. It was seconded by PuckPedia and sources available to ProHockeyRumors. The move was also mentioned as the likeliest outcome by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on Wednesday. In alignment with LeBrun’s thoughts, PuckPedia has added that Fowler is expected to finish the season on a try-out agreement with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
Fowler is near the very top of the list for best goalie prospects outside of North American pros. He’s been a terror in every league he’s played in, dating back to his juniors debut with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms. Fowler moved to the USHL after growing up through Florida Alliance AAA and Selects Academy AAA — two programs with little in the way of superstar alums during his tenure. But he came into the USHL with full force, recording a tremendous 11-4-1 record and .927 save percentage in his first 18 USHL games playing in the latter half of Youngstown’s season. That mark continues to stand as the highest save percentage of any U18 goalie in USHL history, among those with more than 15 games played.
Fowler followed up his record-breaking introduction to the USHL with a legacy season in 2022-23. He posted an incredible 27-9-3 record and .921 save percentage through 40 games that season, while leading Youngstown to a clear spot in the USHL playoffs. Not to be outdone, Fowler became a Youngstown legend in the postseason — recording an incredible 8-1-0 record and .952 save percentage in nine games played to lead the Phantoms to the first Clark Cup Championship in franchise history. He earned the USHL’s Goalie of the Year and Playoff MVP awards for the performances. More importantly, the Montreal Canadiens also landed Fowler with the 69th overall pick in the ensuing 2023 NHL Draft. He was the sixth goalie off the board that year, after the second-round saw Adam Gajan, Michael Hrabal, Trey Augustine, Carson Bjarnason and Damian Clara all taken off the board.
With this move, Fowler becomes the third goaltender of his class to sign their first pro contract. He earned that deal with two fantastic seasons behind a loaded Boston College after his draft selection. Fowler stepped immediately into the Eagles’ starting role as a freshman last season, and made them look genius for the decision. He only lost seven games on the season — posting a 32-6-1 record and .926 save percentage in 39 games played. That performance earned Fowler the Hockey East Goaltender of the Year award, making him the first freshman to take home the hardware since Cayden Primeau in 2017-18. Primeau was himself the first freshman to win since Connor Hellebuyck in 2012-13 and Thatcher Demko in 2013-14.
