hockeyrealist Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Title sums it up, but curious as to the thoughts from the board on this. I am a late convert to believe Montembeault is a legit NHL starter, and with his current trajectory I can see him being in contention for a spot on Olympic roster. He did a great job at world’s last year if I am not mistaken. The options for goalie as forecasted by various reporters is quite weak, I recall Carter Hart was always touted on national scene, and who knows how that shakes out long term but the talent pool is surprisingly thin at goal for team Canada, popular names lately include: Adin Hill, Logan Thompson, Tristan Jarry, Stuart Skinner, Devon Levi, Darcy Kuemper i see Montembeault being at or near the level of most of these names already and has steadily improved since he arrived in Mtl, if he keeps that up I don’t see how he isn’t a viable option. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Do I think he's a likely option? No. And to be clear, he wouldn't be top three on my list today. But is it out of the realm of possibility that he gets considered for a #3 role? Probably not at this point. (Doing well at the Worlds last year will score him some points with Hockey Canada.) He'd need a really good couple of years and some others to struggle to be in the mix though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IN THE HEARTS OF MEN Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 He has the rest of the season and next to earn a spot on Canada. He needs a solid +.920 for serious consideration. Habs will need to be a playoff team as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Wow, we have the worst goalie pool in Canadian hockey history (I thought Demko was Canadian for some reason). Only Sweden perhaps of the top 5 nations has it worse at the moment. Helps to have the reigning Cup winner though, and it's a short tourney where you only need to get hot for 3 elimination games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I heard Jason Woodley, goalie expert, on the radio talking about Canada's options at G. He went through several names. Monty's was not mentioned even once in the conversation - not even in order to be dismissed. He was simply irrelevant. I'll be honest, I'm a bit surprised by this, because to my mind Monty has built a strong case for himself as a serious NHL starter over the past two seasons. I'm not saying he's a front-runner, just that I'd think he should be in the discussion as a second-tier possibility among people "in the know." It just goes to show how under-the-radar he is...or maybe how we as Habs fans tend to overrate our guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I think we are two full seasons before the games. Given the state of Canadian goaltending, I certainly thinks he has a chance. It would take him playing at his current level for that time though (and likely the Habs improving just to get attention on him). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 1 hour ago, Commandant said: I think we are two full seasons before the games. Given the state of Canadian goaltending, I certainly thinks he has a chance. It would take him playing at his current level for that time though (and likely the Habs improving just to get attention on him). The two season’s thing is why I can see him working his way into the convo. Apparently Jason Bourne also sees this potential, article came out one day after my post, somewhat related, but even closer than Olympic dates iirc. https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/projecting-team-canadas-2025-four-nations-faceoff-roster/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: I heard Jason Woodley, goalie expert, on the radio talking about Canada's options at G. He went through several names. Monty's was not mentioned even once in the conversation - not even in order to be dismissed. He was simply irrelevant. I'll be honest, I'm a bit surprised by this, because to my mind Monty has built a strong case for himself as a serious NHL starter over the past two seasons. I'm not saying he's a front-runner, just that I'd think he should be in the discussion as a second-tier possibility among people "in the know." It just goes to show how under-the-radar he is...or maybe how we as Habs fans tend to overrate our guys. Regarding your last statement, likely a little of both. Late blooming goalies are not overly uncommon, I’m optimistic he will work his way into convo given his progression and the team should be better overall in two seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 18 hours ago, Neech said: Wow, we have the worst goalie pool in Canadian hockey history (I thought Demko was Canadian for some reason). Only Sweden perhaps of the top 5 nations has it worse at the moment. Helps to have the reigning Cup winner though, and it's a short tourney where you only need to get hot for 3 elimination games. True, good point re getting hot for a tourney style event versus 16 playoff wins after 82 game season. how old will fleury be by then, 50? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 19 hours ago, dlbalr said: Do I think he's a likely option? No. And to be clear, he wouldn't be top three on my list today. But is it out of the realm of possibility that he gets considered for a #3 role? Probably not at this point. (Doing well at the Worlds last year will score him some points with Hockey Canada.) He'd need a really good couple of years and some others to struggle to be in the mix though. Think you summed up my beliefs in a realistic view, he’s caused me to become optimistic regarding his future oddly enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurdBurglar Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I don't understand how Levi, with less than 30 games of NHL experience is being considered right now as one of the 3 goalies for Canada over Montembeault. A lot can change from now until the Olympics, but from common trends, he will be in his first or second full season as an NHL goalie. Those 2 years typically aren't great years for goalies, with few exceptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyrealist Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 19 hours ago, TurdBurglar said: I don't understand how Levi, with less than 30 games of NHL experience is being considered right now as one of the 3 goalies for Canada over Montembeault. A lot can change from now until the Olympics, but from common trends, he will be in his first or second full season as an NHL goalie. Those 2 years typically aren't great years for goalies, with few exceptions. Dang, that is a good point. Not justifying it, but only reason I can think of is that I recall Levi being a starter for Canada at juniors, they seem to like the legacy type players who came up through Hockey Canada, but in saying that I would think Monty’s performance at worlds against men and more recently would be a feather in his cap. Think Monty is generally being overlooked, took me this season to finally believe he is a number one on middling team/has number one potential on good team. Levi has been completely underwhelming in NHL and part of reason Sabres have underperformed expectations, I recall not liking his playing at world juniors back in the day as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 20 hours ago, TurdBurglar said: I don't understand how Levi, with less than 30 games of NHL experience is being considered right now as one of the 3 goalies for Canada over Montembeault. A lot can change from now until the Olympics, but from common trends, he will be in his first or second full season as an NHL goalie. Those 2 years typically aren't great years for goalies, with few exceptions. I expect they were projecting where he will be in late 2025, when the Olympic team is picked; not where he is now ... and Team Canada has a history of taking a "young" #3 goalie as part of planning for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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