Fowler vs. Primeau

[REV-G]

For those who follow college hockey, how would you compare Jacob Fowler at this stage in his college career with how Cayden Prime did when he was in college hockey?

 

We all know it takes goalies longer to develop in many cases. Obviously Carey Price didn't take that long but Jordan Binnington spent 7 years in the minors before St. Louis brought him up and he's obviously done really well. Charlie Lindgren did very well in college hockey, did ok for a few years in the AHL and NHL with Montreal, but now 8 years after making his NHL debut in 2016, he seems to have developed enough to have carved out an NHL career. 

 

Success in college or junior for a goalie doesn't always translate into success at the NHL level and I remember Primeau did very well in US college hockey but since turning pro has probably underachieved for the most part, even though he has had some good stretches. 

 

So the question is, are we being fair comparing their college careers and extrapolating that to the NHL? It probably varies from player to p[layer so it may not be a worthwhile comparison. 

 

What do you think, is it fair to compare and draw any conclusions with Fowler now compared to Primeau when he was in college?  

 

 

[BCHabnut]

I'm not comparing, but I am definitely tempering my excitement.  I am very hopeful about fowler, but whenever I get too excited, I remember that Cayden Primeau had a fantastic career in college, and it brings me down. But as you say, goalies are weird. They are two different people. Heck, Primeau shows the tools of a good goalie now. I swear a lot of his issues are confidence. With our luck, we let him walk and he puts it all together, gets some confidence and turns into Tim Thomas. For now, there is some strong hope that the Habs have a starter or two in the prospect pool in Dobes and Fowler.

[huzer]

Fowler had a stronger draft year than Primeau, which obviously is accounted for in their draft position. 40 games for Youngstown backstopping them to a Clark Cup championship. USHL goalie of the year, Clark Cup most outstanding player. Fowler is also benefiting playing on a strong BC team. I remember the excitement around Primeau once he started putting up good numbers in the NCAA (and winning the Richter award) about potentially finding a steal. 

 

Interesting parallel with a couple of Northeastern goalies, Primeau and Devon Levi. Both Richter winners, both 7th rounders, both (although Levi is 3 years younger) haven't quite but it together at the pro level yet. Curious to watch Levi some more. Primeau really did have an outstanding career at Northeastern, so just to compare them based on college wouldn't really accomplish much, as both are/have succeeded. 

 

Back to Primeau/Fowler. Very different goalies stylistically though, Primeau appears to rely on his athleticism/aggressiveness which can get him in trouble and out of position. He needs to work harder mentally to be "on", as that isn't his strongest attribute as a goalie. Fowler appears to be better at reading the play which helps him overcome some of his less than stellar footwork. Just my very amateur opinions. And of course, Primeau observations have been at the NHL level, can't say I went back and watched any vintage college footage. Can Primeau flip that mental switch to match his athletic ability? Can Fowler continue to improve his lower body mechanics? Time will tell!

[TurdBurglar]

I remember seeing the pre draft video that Montreal published after the draft every year, the scouts said Fowler doesn’t blow them away with any aspect of his game except for his ability to win.  They were all impressed with how well he performs when he needs to and he’s won at every level he’s competed at.

[GHT120]

6 minutes ago, TurdBurglar said:

I remember seeing the pre draft video that Montreal published after the draft every year, the scouts said Fowler doesn’t blow them away with any aspect of his game except for his ability to win.  They were all impressed with how well he performs when he needs to and he’s won at every level he’s competed at.

 

*** NOT *** comparing styles or making predictions, but that was always Grant Fuher's strength

[DON]

Just for NCAA comparison, thats all.

Primeau 70gms 44-18-6 2.00 0.932%

Fowler   39gms 32-6-1  1.51  0.947%

 

Fowler seems a more cocky kid.

[Commandant]

Primeau was a very good college goalie. 

 

Fowler is one of the best college goalies we have seen in the last decade. 

 

There is a big difference between the two, and that's it. 

 

That said, goalies are voodoo. 

[BCHabnut]

57 minutes ago, Commandant said:

Primeau was a very good college goalie. 

 

Fowler is one of the best college goalies we have seen in the last decade. 

 

There is a big difference between the two, and that's it. 

 

That said, goalies are voodoo. 

This is nice to hear. I dont watch much ncaa now. I did when hutson was playing. I've been a hutson fan boy since the day he was drafted.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

All I know is that we need an NHL backup. Primeau blows chunks 

[Butterface]

13 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

All I know is that we need an NHL backup. Primeau blows chunks 

🤣🤣 The chunks he’s blowing are substantial. You have to give him credit for the size of those chunks. Elite level chunk blowing.  

[GHT120]

23 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

All I know is that we need an NHL backup. Primeau blows chunks 

I agree ... but not certain anyone has an extra goalie that is both better (i.e., not great but a decent backup) and would be likely to be traded (i.e., don't want to "spend" a lot to get a backup goalie).

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

48 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

I agree ... but not certain anyone has an extra goalie that is both better (i.e., not great but a decent backup) and would be likely to be traded (i.e., don't want to "spend" a lot to get a backup goalie).

 

That’s the dilemma. I honestly don’t know enough about other teams’ goalie depth to know if there is some guy burbling around the fringes of the league who might be had for relatively low cost. 

 

We’ll probably need to sign one as a UFA. I don’t blame HuGo for assuming Primeau could be competent, but it’s a pity in retrospect they couldn’t sign a Lankinen or something.

[alfredoh2009]

On 12/12/2024 at 10:02 AM, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

All I know is that we need an NHL backup. Primeau blows chunks 

 

Montembeault was waived and took a long time to establish himself as #1. I remember because I defended him back then.

 

Primeau may take as long as Lindgren to establish himself. He will be fine for a few years at his peak. He is just not there yet.

 

As far as I can tell, Dobes would be on-par with Montembeault if he was in the NHL. But he will suck at the beginning, Fowler is like 5-6 years away.

 

UNfortunately, Dobes is hurt at this moment (he was day-to-day recently)

[tomh009]

If it's a short-term fix we want then Hughes is a better option than Dobes, who needs to get more reps yet at the AHL level.

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Montembeault was waived and took a long time to establish himself as #1. I remember because I defended him back then.

 

Primeau may take as long as Lindgren to establish himself. He will be fine for a few years at his peak. He is just not there yet.

 

As far as I can tell, Dobes would be on-par with Montembeault if he was in the NHL. But he will suck at the beginning, Fowler is like 5-6 years away.

 

UNfortunately, Dobes is hurt at this moment (he was day-to-day recently)

Primeau likely clears waivers at the moment ... but I want Dobeš playing half or more of the game sin Laval ... would like the Habs to give Hughes a chance to backup for a few weeks and see how he handles the odd game in that stretch.

[illWill]

Primeau the last couple of seasons looked like a promising young goalie with a couple weaknesses to work on. The Primeau we are seeing this season is the worst Habs goalie that I have ever seen. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

23 minutes ago, illWill said:

Primeau the last couple of seasons looked like a promising young goalie with a couple weaknesses to work on. The Primeau we are seeing this season is the worst Habs goalie that I have ever seen. 

 

I remember Red Light Racicot, young grasshopper. 🫠 But point taken.

 

In a weird way he is of a piece with Dach, Newhook and Slaf - the most extreme example of regression from Habs’ young players this season. 

[Lanes World]

Confidence is a funny thing

[sbhatt]

34 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I remember Red Light Racicot, young grasshopper. 🫠 But point taken.

 

I also remember Red Light Racicot, and after I read your comment this little voice in my head told me that Primeau is just as bad...if not worse.  I decided to fact-check that little voice, and it turns out that Red Light played 11 games in his last season with the team and his stats were better than Primeau's

 

 

Primeau   11gp   41 goals against,  4.70gaa  ,  .836 save%

Racicot    11gp   37 goals against,  4.44gaa ,  .850  save%

 

 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

12 minutes ago, sbhatt said:

 

I also remember Red Light Racicot, and after I read your comment this little voice in my head told me that Primeau is just as bad...if not worse.  I decided to fact-check that little voice, and it turns out that Red Light played 11 games in his last season with the team and his stats were better than Primeau's

 

 

Primeau   11gp   41 goals against,  4.70gaa  ,  .836 save%

Racicot    11gp   37 goals against,  4.44gaa ,  .850  save%

 

 

 

Yaaagh

[tomh009]

On the other hand,Racicot never had an NHL save percentage of .900 (or better), at least Primeau achieved that last year.

[alfredoh2009]

5 hours ago, illWill said:

Primeau the last couple of seasons looked like a promising young goalie with a couple weaknesses to work on. The Primeau we are seeing this season is the worst Habs goalie that I have ever seen. 

 

I do not think Primeau's development has been well handled in the HughGort era. He seems confused like if the goalie coach has changed his positioning or mechanics and Primeau has lost his on-ice marks. He is "off" and gets beaten on angles that he should have covered.

[dlbalr]

31 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

I do not think Primeau's development has been well handled in the HughGort era. He seems confused like if the goalie coach has changed his positioning or mechanics and Primeau has lost his on-ice marks. He is "off" and gets beaten on angles that he should have covered.

 

The odd-angle shots have always been a problem for him, not just under this management regime.  And if you're thinking back to his time in Laval, the goalie coach there is from the Bergevin regime.

[GHT120]

34 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

I do not think Primeau's development has been well handled in the HughGort era. He seems confused like if the goalie coach has changed his positioning or mechanics and Primeau has lost his on-ice marks. He is "off" and gets beaten on angles that he should have covered.

The "HughGort era" got him to a .910 Sv% and 2.99 GAA last season, better than Montembeault and Allen

[alfredoh2009]

1 hour ago, dlbalr said:

 

The odd-angle shots have always been a problem for him, not just under this management regime.  And if you're thinking back to his time in Laval, the goalie coach there is from the Bergevin regime.

 

still, something is off. Maybe is the adjustment of not playing regularly. Like Allen who had consistentcy problems when going long stretches without playing. Wasn't he playing lots in Laval?