~ New InGoal Magazine author Colin Hodd is a goalie coach and journalist based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He has a degree in journalism from St. Thomas University and has been covering a little bit of everything since 2011. He's been obsessed with goaltending ever since he saw Jose Theodore's backwards blocker save on Joe Thornton (if you know, you know). He still straps on the pads as much as possible, but hopes his students aren't watching.
The Montreal Canadiens rookie is a perfect 5-0-0, leads the league with a .940 save percentage and is second to Logan Thompson with a 1.77 goals-against average. It’s the second season in a row that Dobes has opened with five straight wins, setting an NHL rookie record.
So, what can we learn from his approach coming into each season?
Each season contains a different — but important – lesson.
Last season didn’t even start in the NHL for Dobes, who was cut by the Canadiens as a second-year pro out of Ohio State and began back in the American Hockey League. But he finished with a flourish in Montreal, beginning with a December callup where the fifth-round pick opened his NHL career with a shutout of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. In all, he’d go 7-4-3, helping the Canadiens qualify for the playoffs. In those playoffs, he stepped in for an injured Samuel Montembault, going 1-2 against a powerhouse Washington Capitals team.
Despite that success, Dobes wasn’t in a rush to get back on the ice in the summer.
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