Florida Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky is the Perfect Mentor for Sam Montembeault

All young backups need a mentor of some kind. Florida Panthers’ Sam Montembeault will have Sergei Bobrovsky to lean on this season.

As easy as it may sound or seem, being a backup isn’t an easy role to perform, let alone when you’re 22-years-old and only have eleven NHL games under your belt.

For the first time in his career, goaltender Sam Montembeault will play full-time with the Florida Panthers this season as their second-stringer.

For someone as inexperienced as Montembeault is, he will need a mentor of some kind to guide him, teach him, and show him the ropes. On the active roster currently, there’s only one individual who can do that from a goaltender’s perspective, and that’s none other than Sergei Bobrovsky.

At 30 years of age with two Vezina Trophies on his resume, the experience is endless for Bobrovsky. Featuring in a total of 457 NHL games, Bobrovsky is no stranger to the everyday NHL life.

He’s been through it all; the ups and downs, good teams, bad teams, and even underdog teams. But the one thing that is missing on his resume is the Stanley Cup, which he hopes to obtain in the foreseeable future with the Cats.

But back to the question: how will Sergei Bobrovsky provide the perfect mentorship and guidance for the young Sam Montembeault? Well, that’s easy to answer right off the bat: he will do such with his experience alone.

It’s not every day that you have a 2x Vezina winner as your mentor at such a young age. Having one Vezina is already impressive enough, but having two is the icing on the cake.

Whether it be on the road (traveling), practicing during practice time, or even just in warmups before a game, Bobrovsky is going to develop a tight relationship with Montembeault and one where they lean on one another for confidence and competition.

For Montembeault, though, he will be doing more of the leaning, considering his age and experience. Bobrovsky will be there to guide him during the rough stretches and teach him in the unknown moments he’s yet to encounter.

For someone as young as Montembeault, having that experienced figure can go all the way in ensuring proper development while playing on the biggest stage.

Last season, Montembeault was unexpectedly thrown into the fire when both Roberto Luongo and James Reimer went down with injuries.

Sure, there were times where Montembeault was mentored by Luongo and could lean on him at moments; however, due to nursing his injury, Luongo wasn’t always available for Montembeault to lean on.

With a fresh new starter now, Montembeault has one of the best goaltenders in the league to look up to and to learn from as he begins the season as the Panthers’ backup.

Unlike last season, Montembeault won’t be thrown in, but instead, will be put in the best possible position to succeed. He will also have the time to learn from one of the best and make mistakes as he goes along, knowing that he has a safety net put behind him.

It’s crucial that Montembeault soaks up all this knowledge that Bobrovsky will pass down to him, which will undoubtedly serve him well in the future as an NHL goaltender.

Apart from Roberto Luongo, there couldn’t be a better goaltender to have as a mentor for the young Sam Montembeault. Bobrovsky’s track record and resume tell it all, and his experience is quite telling for someone who’s only 30 years of age.