Antoine Keller’s Journey: From Dijon to Washington and Beyond

An already busy program for the Dijonnais

Since he was drafted by the Washington Capitals on June 29, everything has gone very quickly for Antoine Keller. The next day, the goalkeeper of the France U20 team took a plane from Geneva to the capital of the United States, heading for the development camp from July 1 to 5.

“It’s where there are all the young players drafted and some players invited by the team. It’s really to know the staff, the infrastructure, the operation, ”explains the Dijonnais. “I went to Washington all expenses paid for a week to play hockey, it was great. »

Returning to Dijon last week, Antoine Keller is leaving this week to prepare for the new season. An exercise that he will therefore play with the Titan Acadie-Bathurst in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). A year where he will be in a foster family in Bathurst and where he will have to make his mark with “another” hockey.

The Geneva experience

“North American hockey is very different, already the rinks are smaller. For a goalkeeper, it changes a lot of things in terms of position and different games. I think Washington is really going to look at that this year, how I adapt to those rinks. I already talked about it with the goalie coach over there ( Scott Murray ). I like playing in small ice rinks, I had the opportunity to play there during the world championship in Norway and I really liked it. »

A new adventure that the young man approaches without pressure. “I’m quite confident. I did the season with the pros in Geneva, all training and quite a few matches as a substitute. I followed them throughout the playoffs so I was able to see what professional coaching was like and for sure this experience will be of great help to me in Canada. »

R. D.

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