Good Start Lessons from NHL’s Hottest Goalie

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.