Good Start Lessons from NHL’s Hottest Goalie
- Dobes spends the first six to eight weeks of his off-season entirely off the ice, focusing on strength and flexibility before returning to skating.
- Working with mindset coach Pete Fry, Dobes uses visualization not just for on-ice scenarios but for broader mental preparation.
- Dobes set an NHL rookie record by winning his first five starts in back-to-back seasons, a feat that started with a shutout of the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
- Delaying a return to ice in favor of physical development mirrors an approach used by legendary Canadiens goalie Carey Price.
- Dobes' NHL success followed a demotion to the AHL as a fifth-round pick, showing that a slow-burn development path can still lead to elite performance.
Jakub Dobes is one of the hottest goalies in the NHL so far this season.
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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