Prospect Info: Zachary Fucale

[Le Tricolore]

If he's still with the Habs organization at the end of next season, I wouldn't be shocked if we just don't qualify him and let him become a UFA.

 

[Burke the Legend]

He's a long term project. He's 21 and a lot of goalies don't find their game until their mid-late 20s. In Montreal we've been spoiled by a history of guys like Roy & Price being impact NHLers at a younger age but look around the league and it's not like that for most of the top starters.

Doesn't hurt to have a few young goalies in the system, developing their pro game, even if they are longshots to really make a NHL impact, it's hard to predict goalies. At worst you can say he is holding a contract spot for a B or C grade prospect who will also probably never make the NHL.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

3.22 0.895 in the ECHL seems kinda bad...

It's middle of the pack among starters. Good enough to have them 3rd in the conference as their starter though.

He's a long term project. He's 21 and a lot of goalies don't find their game until their mid-late 20s. In Montreal we've been spoiled by a history of guys like Roy & Price being impact NHLers at a younger age but look around the league and it's not like that for most of the top starters.

Doesn't hurt to have a few young goalies in the system, developing their pro game, even if they are longshots to really make a NHL impact, it's hard to predict goalies. At worst you can say he is holding a contract spot for a B or C grade prospect who will also probably never make the NHL.

Very true. At his age, Condon was still in the NCAA and not even in the ECHL yet, for example. Fucale still might round out into a backup by 24/25, who knows.

 

[beowulf]

I still haven't lost all confidence in him. It's interesting to see that the most recent Hockey News prospect edition still has him listed as the teams top goalie prospect for what that's worth.

 

[montreal]

I still haven't lost all confidence in him. It's interesting to see that the most recent Hockey News prospect edition still has him listed as the teams top goalie prospect for what that's worth.

I don't read the Hockey News but it must be trash if that's the case. Don't see how in the world a rookie makes the AHL All Stars and plays great for us would be considered below a guy that struggles in his 2nd pro season in the ECHL.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

I don't read the Hockey News but it must be trash if that's the case. Don't see how in the world a rookie makes the AHL All Stars and plays great for us would be considered below a guy that struggles in his 2nd pro season in the ECHL.

Team is 2nd in their division, and Fucale is something like 23W-10L-3S/OL with a GAA and SV% in the middle of the road among starters. If that's "struggling" for one of the youngest goalies in the league, then maybe you shouldn't worry too much.

 

[FireBurningBin]

Team is 2nd in their division, and Fucale is something like 23W-10L-3S/OL with a GAA and SV% in the middle of the road among starters. If that's "struggling" for one of the youngest goalies in the league, then maybe you shouldn't worry too much.

I don't think it's a high expectation for him to be doing more than average in the ECHL in his second pro-year.

He statistically stagnated or declined every year in the Q since being drafted. And through ups and downs had at best a mediocre season last year.

I don't see how it's at all unreasonable to assume he's struggling especially in comparison to our three other goalie prospects who for the most part have excelled since being drafted.

In regards to the idea that goaltenders take longer to develop.. That's fine and certainly could happen. But for good reason Condon wasn't considered a good prospect when he was 21. If your standard for goaltender prospects is "anything can happen" regardless of whether they've been impressive as of late then what's the point in drafting them in the second round? Would Tampa be pleased with Vasilevski if he were mediocre in the AHL as we speak?

Frankly, there is zero reason to treat Fucale as more of a legitimate prospect than McNiven or Hawkey, aside from him having a pro-contract.

 

[montreal]

Team is 2nd in their division, and Fucale is something like 23W-10L-3S/OL with a GAA and SV% in the middle of the road among starters. If that's "struggling" for one of the youngest goalies in the league, then maybe you shouldn't worry too much.

Yes he's struggling for a 2nd round pick that's a 2nd year pro. In the last 7 games he's had 2 SO's and the other 5 games he let in 5 or 6 goals every time (26 ga) In his last 23 games since coming back from the Spengler Cup, he's had 12 games where he has given up 4 or more goals (57 ga in 12 games) and in the 11 other games he's had 20 ga.

He ranks 31st in the ECHL in save % and 23rd in gaa, I know he's still young but isn't not what you would want to see from a top 36 pick.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

I don't think it's a high expectation for him to be doing more than average in the ECHL in his second pro-year.

He statistically stagnated or declined every year in the Q since being drafted. And through ups and downs had at best a mediocre season last year.

I don't see how it's at all unreasonable to assume he's struggling especially in comparison to our three other goalie prospects who for the most part have excelled since being drafted.

In regards to the idea that goaltenders take longer to develop.. That's fine and certainly could happen. But for good reason Condon wasn't considered a good prospect when he was 21. If your standard for goaltender prospects is "anything can happen" regardless of whether they've been impressive as of late then what's the point in drafting them in the second round? Would Tampa be pleased with Vasilevski if he were mediocre in the AHL as we speak?

Frankly, there is zero reason to treat Fucale as more of a legitimate prospect than McNiven or Hawkey, aside from him having a pro-contract.

It's not reasonable to assume that a goalie that earns over 40 of his team's 60-some starts is struggling. Not at age 21, with a decent GAA and decent SV% (and yes, 14th or whatever out of 30 starters in both categories makes for "decent") and a 23-10 record. If he's there 5 years from now posting the same kind of stats, then let's talk. Otherwise your assumptions are making as ass out of you and you.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Yes he's struggling for a 2nd round pick that's a 2nd year pro. In the last 7 games he's had 2 SO's and the other 5 games he let in 5 or 6 goals every time (26 ga) In his last 23 games since coming back from the Spengler Cup, he's had 12 games where he has given up 4 or more goals (57 ga in 12 games) and in the 11 other games he's had 20 ga.

He ranks 31st in the ECHL in save % and 23rd in gaa, I know he's still young but isn't not what you would want to see from a top 36 pick.

That's a ridiculous way to look at goaltending draft picks, and someone like yourself should know better. I mean, you're talking like 36th is somewhere in the middle of the 1st round, and/or like you're used to seeing goalies fully develop by age 21...

 

[montreal]

That's a ridiculous way to look at goaltending draft picks, and someone like yourself should know better. I mean, you're talking like 36th is somewhere in the middle of the 1st round, and/or like you're used to seeing goalies fully develop by age 21...

it's 6 picks into the 2nd round, when you have one of the top scouts in the NHL, he should be hitting on those. No one said he was fully developed, no need to try and put words that aren't there. If you don't think Fucale is struggling, that's good, I don't agree.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

it's 6 picks into the 2nd round, when you have one of the top scouts in the NHL, he should be hitting on those. No one said he was fully developed, no need to try and put words that aren't there. If you don't think Fucale is struggling, that's good, I don't agree.

And if you really thought you needed to add to your organizational depth at goaltender and only saw two prospects in the entire draft class that you were interested in, you wouldn't sit back and watch them get picked before acting. It's really that simple. Not like they jumped up to 1st rounder urgency to do it, and it's hardly unique in the history of teams looking for goalies at the draft.

 

[FireBurningBin]

It's not reasonable to assume that a goalie that earns over 40 of his team's 60-some starts is struggling. Not at age 21, with a decent GAA and decent SV% (and yes, 14th or whatever out of 30 starters in both categories makes for "decent") and a 23-10 record. If he's there 5 years from now posting the same kind of stats, then let's talk. Otherwise your assumptions are making as ass out of you and you.

Is 40-some starts out of 60-some games supposed to be a heavy workload? How many goaltenders in the NHL had mediocre S% as a starter in the ECHL?

Again, if that's not troublesome for you then your standards for him are incredibly low. Which is fine, but I hope if you were a GM you wouldn't select a guy 36th overall and feel fine with him being mediocre in a league of which very few NHLers come out of, and the ones who do almost certainly have dominated as was the case with Condon.

 

[montreal]

And if you really thought you needed to add to your organizational depth at goaltender and only saw two prospects in the entire draft class that you were interested in, you wouldn't sit back and watch them get picked before acting. It's really that simple. Not like they jumped up to 1st rounder urgency to do it, and it's hardly unique in the history of teams looking for goalies at the draft.

Doesn't change the fact that they used a really high pick on him, from one of the top scouts, to see a 2nd year pro in the ECHL and among the worst starters in the league in save % is troubling.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Doesn't change the fact that they used a really high pick on him, from one of the top scouts, to see a 2nd year pro in the ECHL and among the worst starters in the league in save % is troubling.

Well, I feel bad for your peace of mind, then. Using the 2nd of three 2nd round picks to go after a target goalie shouldn't keep you up at night.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Is 40-some starts out of 60-some games supposed to be a heavy workload? How many goaltenders in the NHL had mediocre S% as a starter in the ECHL?

Again, if that's not troublesome for you then your standards for him are incredibly low. Which is fine, but I hope if you were a GM you wouldn't select a guy 36th overall and feel fine with him being mediocre in a league of which very few NHLers come out of, and the ones who do almost certainly have dominated as was the case with Condon.

Condon was in his 3rd year of the NCAA at the same age, just fyi.

 

[FireBurningBin]

Condon was in his 3rd year of the NCAA at the same age, just fyi.

To be honest I think you can make the argument that D1 NCAA is comparable in quality to the ECHL when you take a look at player success from senior graduates entering the league.

Without going off-topic, my point still stands. It's incredibly rare to see NHLers who have undergone significant development in the ECHL.

 

[jfm133]

Shutout for Fucale.

 

[pled]

Shutout for Fucale.

I don't know why people didn't want him to play

 

[Adam Michaels]

Lernout seem to look better today in the nhl than in the ahl. not sure who to blame

and first ahl goal for petti

I think we both know who to blame

Ice Caps win 5-0.

Farnham from Audette & Matteau from Parisi and De La Rose.

DLR with a goal and an assist. Redmond with a goal and an assist. Terry with 2 assists. And Fucale with the shutout.

1st Star: Fucale
2nd Star: Redmond
3rd Star: Terry


And Utica losing 5-0 to Rochester.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

So they finally give Fucale a game
and he gets a shutout

 

[Adam Michaels]

So they finally give Fucale a game
and he gets a shutout

I'm sure they played him tonight because they were playing Binghamton, the worst team in their division. And they probably wanted to rest Yann Danis for Utica tomorrow, which is as much a do or die game as there is for them now.

But with Lindgren done with Montreal, they may send him back down in time for the game tomorrow. Seeing as Price will obviously start and Montoya will be ready for the playoffs as the backup, no need to keep Lindgren for the moment. If anything, they can call him back up after tomorrow's game.

Detroit to Utica is only 3:30 train ride.

 

[jfm133]

We can see that Fucale, still only 21, is a very legit prospect. 21 is still very young for a goalie. Same thing for DeLaRose, still only 21 and showing signs that he is progressing offensively.

 

[jfm133]

He's got solid tools and hey, having Fucale as your #3 rated goalie prospect is damn good imo.

Before placing McNiven ahead of Fucale, you should wait to see him play at least one pro game.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Before placing McNiven ahead of Fucale, you should wait to see him play at least one pro game.

that's true but some are even putting McNiven ahead of Lindgren.

When rating prospects across two leagues of differing age groups it's hard to factor in BOTH upside/ceiling and nhl readiness.

I'm not hugely invested in a strict ranking of these 3. Who knows, Fucale could be the best of the bunch. Doesn't seem likely right now. I don't know too well how our goalie depth compares to other teams but i still do like it. It sure feels like at least one of these guys could turn into something promising. Gives us options.