MONTREAL – Hockey careers are rarely linear.
If that were the case, you’d be your own Connor McDavid, I’d be my own Wayne Gretzky and we’d all have 24 Stanley Cups.
But it’s not – and Jacob Fowler would be the first to tell you that adversity is part of the game.
“I’ve been doubted, and I’ve had to prove people wrong my whole life,” said the 18-year-old.
Statistically, the Floridian netminder’s numbers have been unshakeable: with a goals-against average no higher than 2.28 and a save percentage no lower than .921 in his last four seasons, Fowler’s stats have never wavered far off the beaten path.
That, among other factors, contributed to the American’s beeline to the 2023 NHL Draft where the Canadiens selected him with the 69th overall pick on June 29.
“Your whole hockey career kind of flashes before your eyes. You kind of just get emotional thinking that, as much as it's just the beginning to your pro hockey career, it's an accomplishment of what you've done for your entire youth hockey to get to that moment,” Fowler recalled.
But that’s about as straight forward as hockey has come for the Melbourne, FL native.
When considering his resume, it’s clear that Fowler was stiff-armed by the constraints of linear thinking. Or, to challenge that thought, perhaps cheated by those who hadn’t scouted his potential at all.
Despite a proven winning pedigree, 36 teams in the United States Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League alike passed on the shot stopper during their respective 2020 drafts.