Samuel Montembeault’s path to the Canadiens has been shaped by more than talent. It’s been built on timing, sacrifice and a family that kept finding ways to make hockey work.
The Montreal goalie grew up in Bécancour, about 150 kilometres northeast of Montreal and across the St. Lawrence River from Trois-Rivières, in a household where money was tight and the sport kept getting pricier. His father, Mario, worked in a wood shop building furniture, and his mother worked at a local pharmacy, where she is now a manager.
Montembeault said he was a late birthday - Oct. 30 - and that detail helped shape his early hockey path.
"I'm a late birthday (Oct. 30)," Montembeault said in a one-on-one interview Monday after the Canadiens practised in Brossard ahead of their home opener Tuesday at the Bell Centre against the Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS)."I was supposed to do MAHG for a second year, but they were missing a goalie to go novice, so I went up and played three years novice."
His family had to make do with used gear, often pieced together and mismatched, because goalie equipment was far from affordable.
"My family wasn't rich at all," Montembeault said. "They made so many sacrifices for me.
I wouldn't be here today without them. I didn't have new gear until I was like bantam or midget.
We always had to buy some pre-used gear before that."
Montembeault also had to climb the hockey ladder the hard way. He played bantam Double-B, then in his first year of midget didn’t even receive an invitation to a Triple-A tryout camp. He spent that season at the midget Espoir level and wasn’t listed as a prospect for the 2012 junior QMJHL Draft before breaking through with the Triple-A Trois-Rivières Estacades the next season.
When he was drafted by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the third round of the 2013 QMJHL Draft, the moment brought relief as much as excitement.
"It's a rich sport, I feel like," Montembeault said about minor hockey. "Not only the equipment is super expensive, but all the programs.
I remember my parents were so nervous after I got drafted in junior (by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the third round of the 2013 QMJHL Draft). Because if I had to go back to midget Triple-A, and they had to pay for school and everything for another year, they didn't know how they could make it.
They would have found a way, for sure, but they were so stressed. Everything is so expensive. ...
They just wanted me to be happy and enjoy the game and play it."
He was the first person in his family to learn how to skate, and he had to persuade his parents to cover summer hockey and goalie school in Sherbrooke, where former Canadiens goalie coach Stéphane Waite ran the program. The family even turned those trips into a summer camping getaway in Sherbrooke.
In Other News...
Canucks Already Have An Aatu Rty Problem To Sort Out
Aatu Rty has barely gotten a foothold to start the 2026-27 season, sitting out the first two games as a healthy scratch and averaging just 9:43 of ice time when he has dressed. Before the Canucks headed out on their road trip, he was the extra forward at Tuesdays practice, which is not exactly the kind of usage that suggests a growing role. For a young player still trying to carve out a place in the lineup, it is already a delicate spot.
The bigger issue is what comes next, because the Canucks do not have many easy options if they decide he is not fitting cleanly into their system. Rtys path to a more secure role may involve a shift to wing, but even that comes with its own challenges, and the club cannot simply tuck him away in the AHL without risking losing him on waivers. For a team that would rather keep developing depth than giving it away, that makes his situation one to watch closely. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Loss Exposed The Early Problem Fans Were Worried About
Ottawas season opener had the kind of uneven start that can follow a team for a while, especially when the first period gets away from it early. The Senators fell 5-3 to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena, and while there were positives on the scoresheet, the broader concern was familiar: Ottawa spent too much of the game on the back foot and had to chase after a rough opening stretch.
Tim Sttzle, William Eklund and Drake Batherson each chipped in with a goal and an assist, so the offense did show life. Samuel Ersson also settled in for his first start with Ottawa and made 31 saves, but the Senators were still dealing with early pressure and penalty trouble, the sort of issues that can quickly turn a tight game into one that feels like a scramble. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Schenn Knows What This Canucks Road Trip Could Really Build
On the eve of a long road trip, Luke Schenn was talking less about matchups and more about the small routines that can hold a team together when it leaves home. The veteran Canucks defenseman has spent years around different NHL rooms, and he said the culture around bonding has changed over time, but the purpose has stayed the same: team dinners, time away from the rink and a chance for players to connect and unwind.
For Vancouver, that matters now because the next stretch will keep the group away from home long enough for those habits to matter. Schenn framed the road as a place where a team can build something beyond the standings, and the Canucks are about to find out how much of that chemistry carries through a demanding trip through Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Florida and Tampa Bay. [Read more 🡒]