The day before the preseason turned out to be a busy one for the Habs.
First, they had their intra-squad game at the Bell Centre, a sold out affair to
benefit Lac-Mégantic relief, which Team White won 2-1. They also made
their first cuts following the game while Montreal also inked goalie Zach Fucale
to a three year, entry-level contract. As always, financial terms of the
deal were not disclosed.
Fucale was the 36th overall pick in last June’s draft, the first goalie taken
off the board. It was a surprise to some that he slid to the second round
especially after coming off a dominant season where he posted a 61-6-3 record
(regular season and playoffs combined) with Halifax, who won the QMJHL and
Memorial Cup titles. In total, he has a 77-32-4 career junior record with
a 2.76 GAA and a .900 SV%.
As he is 18, the contract will slide unless he plays in more than nine games
this season (and at least 30 minutes in each of those) and it remains highly
likely that the Rosemère native will return to the Mooseheads for his third
junior season. Fucale’s contract also won’t count against the limit of 50
unless he surpasses the nine games played mark this season.
Three cuts were made following the intra-squad game. Tim Bozon (Kamloops),
Connor Crisp (Sudbury), and Jeremy Gregoire (Baie-Comeau) were all returned to
their respective junior teams. 52 players now remain in camp.
One-Timers
– Scoring in the scrimmage for Team White were prospects Martin Reway and
Stefan Fournier while Tomas Plekanec replied for Team Red. Our Matt
Macaskill live-tweeted throughout the game and has lots of details on his
Twitter page.
– Jacob de la Rose, selected two spots ahead of Fucale in June, made his SHL
debut today on the third line for Leksand playing against Brynas, where former
Hab Petteri Nokelainen signed a few weeks ago. He played 12:02, recorded
four hits, and was a -1.
Fucale’s Stats
