Antoine Keller drafted by the Washington Capitals

It’s been six years since a Frenchman was drafted in the NHL. After Alexandre Texier selected in 2017 by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Antoine Keller was drafted this Thursday, in the 7th round of the NHL draft, in 206th position, by the Washington Capitals.

A native of Dijon, the 18-year-old Franco-Swiss goalkeeper thus becomes the fifth Habs in history to be drafted into the North American League, after Yorick Treille (195th in 1999, by Chicago), Cristobal Huet (214th in 2001, by Los Angeles), Tim Bozon (64th in 2012, by Montreal) and therefore Texier (45th in 2017).

This season, the tall goalkeeper (1.90m) has played 25 matches with the under-20s of Genève-Servette and taken part in five MyHockey League matches (Swiss D3) under the jersey of HCV Martigny, with whom he has won the Third Division title at the end of March.