By Mike MacLean in Draft Prospect Profiles — Jun 21, 2013 —

2013 Draft Prospect Profile #31: Zach Fucale

Our next draft profile is on Halifax Mooseheads goaltender Zach Fucale, who'll likely be the first goaltender taken in this year's draft.

Zach Fucale

Position: Goaltender
Team: Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
Age: 18
Date of Birth: May 28, 1995
Place of Birth: Rosemere, Quebec
Ht: 6'1" Wt: 176lbs
Catches: Left

My Halifax Mooseheads season tickets are in Section 15, the lower bowl end in the defend-twice zone of the Halifax Metro Centre. This vantage point gives me an excellent view of Fucale, and like all the experts out there, two things are obvious- he's incredibly cool under pressure, and always makes the important save.

He's the top-ranked North American goaltender, and there's a good chance he'll go in the first round this year. He has the potential to be the next great Quebec goaltender, and the NHL team that drafts him will be getting a true winner.

Fucale is a cool and calm, poised goalie that is incredibly athletic. He shows high-end reflexes and is never out in a play. He has elite level mobility and incredible quickness within the crease. He shows very impressive footwork and can get to almost any puck. He possesses an impressive glove hand that is flashy and able to rob some of the QMJHL’s heaviest shooters. He also possesses a good blocker hand and strong control with its rebounds. He plays with great positioning and is always square to shooters. He’s aggressive and enjoys challenging shooters. Fucale is competitive and focused goalie that has an incredible compete level and shows great determination. - See more at: http://futureconsiderations.ca/playerprofiler/Zachary-Fucale/#sthash.QPKIN7da.dpuf

Scouting Reports:

Fucale burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old for Halifax, taking on an unusual amount of CHL responsibility for such a young goaltender. This year, he was one of the top goalies in the QMJHL, and he certainly has several interesting qualities, such as his hockey sense and panic threshold. For a U-18 goaltender, he looks very advanced and collected in net. His movements are very subtle, and he squares up pucks well. He has quick, powerful feet that allow him to move across the crease and position himself efficiently. Fucale's game, however, is called into question by some scouts who do not believe he has a game-breaking ability to make a high-athleticism second or third save. Some believe he has that ability, and others agree, with the caveat that it is not top end. I am somewhere in between, as I see reasonable arguments for both sides.
- Hockey Prospectus

Zach is the type of goalie who wins games. He has excellent sense, awareness and understands the situation his team is in at any given moment and he responds with play that stymies opponents and buoys the confidence of his team. His skills are very good with skating, lateral mobility and a very good positional approach to the game. He excels mentally in that he makes the saves when it matters and is outstanding at 'parking mistakes' and learning from them at the same time. Has all of the qualities of number one, workhorse goaltenders who help teams win championships!
- Craig Button, TSN

Why he'd be a good fit in Columbus:

The goaltending depth in the Columbus organization is better than ever, but with doubts surrounding Martin Ouellette's future as a pro, and with no confirmation that Joonas Korpisalo plans on coming to North America, adding a high-end goaltender like Fucale to the mix would stabilize the future of the position. With three first round picks, the Jackets have flexibility to take a risk on a first-round goaltender.

Fucale in Action:

Video courtesy of YouTube user DumbassShello

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