Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Prospect Montembeault ‘has all the talent’ in goal
The expectations placed on Sam Montembeault are grand. He is the Florida Panthers goaltender of the future, the man set to replace Roberto Luongo in net and the top goalie prospect in the organization.
Now, he’s cleared one more hurdle: his first professional season. Montembeault graduated from junior hockey and spent this year in the American Hockey League with Springfield, the Panthers minor-league affiliate.
Montembeault played in 41 games, posting a .896 save percentage and 3.25 goals against average. He earned his first NHL callup in January when the Panthers were ravaged by injuries, but did not play in a game.
Panthers assistant general manager and Springfield general manager Eric Joyce said Montembeault’s first professional season was a good one.
“Sam has all the talent in the world,” Joyce said. “It’s up to him, just like it’s up to a lot of our guys, to put the time in in the offseason and make sure he’s committed to doing the things we told him. If he does those things, the sky’s the limit for him.”
Montembeault’s numbers this year can be an eyesore. Among 51 qualified AHL goalies this season, his .896 save percentage was the sixth-worst in the league. His 3.25 GAA was better than only two AHL goalies.
Springfield — which finished 32-37-7 and 11th place in the 15-team Eastern Conference — also allowed the fifth-most shots in the league. Opponents peppered Thunderbird goaltenders with 31.57 shots on goal per game.
Montembeault faced 1,142 shots on goal, the 11th most in the AHL. Of the 10 goalies that faced more shots, only one played fewer minutes than the 21 year old.
“The statistics, I don’t really look at that,” Joyce said. “I look more at the volume of shots he faced. We gave up a lot of shots last year. It’s a situation where we’re going to try to get a little bit better on the back end. I think he had a great first-year pro. But that also means this is the biggest summer for him. We told him he’s got to get bigger, stronger, faster, more consistent. Most the time with players in the minors, it’s about consistency.”
The Panthers’ goaltending situation is an interesting one. Luongo is under contract for four more seasons at a cap hit of $5.33 million, though he has played 75 combined games the last two seasons. Backup James Reimer is signed for the next three seasons at a $3.4 million cap hit, but has mostly been a career backup.
Montembeault is the long-term solution, but may take some more time to develop in the AHL. This season provided an opportunity for Joyce to judge Montembeault’s habits, both on and off the ice.
“What does he consistently do well in terms of controlling the play when the puck’s in our zone?” Joyce said. “Does he freeze a lot of plays? Does he control rebounds well? Does he put the puck in areas where teammates can retrieve it when it’s a dump-in? What are his habits there?
The jump from junior hockey to the AHL can be a tough one sometimes. Players go from being the old, trusted veteran in juniors (in Montembeault’s case, Blainville-Boisbriand of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) to being rookies again.
“All of a sudden, you get a new coach, a new system, the game’s a hell of a lot faster,” Joyce said. “Guys are coming at you with a lot more tenacity, a lot more urgency. They’re digging for rebounds. They’re ripping shots harder and higher. It’s a shock for kids.”