While Team Canada has only invited three goaltenders to its Olympic orientation camp at the end of August, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be the ones to make the trip to Italy in February. St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Binnington, Vegas Golden Knights' Adin Hill, and Montreal Canadiens’ Samuel Montembeault were part of the team that won the 4 Nations Face-Off, but there’s no guarantee that they will be part of the Olympic squad.

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Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong appeared on TSN 1050 Toronto on Thursday and set the record straight:

It just didn't feel right bringing that large number of goalies to the camp, so we just went with the three, but I've talked to the other goalies and told them that it's an open competition to play well and make our decisions hard in January. It's open competition for that goaltending position.

While Canada is no longer a power house in net as it was in the past with the likes of Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Roberto Luongo, and Carey Price, there are still a few goaltenders who could make Armstrong’s job as a GM more complicated.

The Canadiens faced one of them in the playoffs last season when Logan Thompson backstopped the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 series win over the Habs. Stuart Skinner, who has taken the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup final twice, could also be a worthy candidate, just like Darcy Kuemper, who has the top job with the Los Angeles Kings these days. Even Mackenzie Blackwood, who now plays for the Colorado Avalanche, could be worth a look. Since arriving in Dever, he has a 2.33 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage.

This should fuel Montembeault for the upcoming season. Not only will he be playing to help the Canadiens get to the playoffs once again, but he will also be playing to earn his ticket to Milano Cortina.

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