A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: The 2020 NHL Draft Was Kind To The Habs

By Tyler Major-Mcnicol

EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 04: Kaiden Guhle #21, goaltender Devon Levi #1 and Justin Barron #27 of Canada defend against Yegor Chinakhov #21 of Russia during the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship semifinals at Rogers Place on January 4, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 04: Kaiden Guhle #21, goaltender Devon Levi #1 and Justin Barron #27 of Canada defend against Yegor Chinakhov #21 of Russia during the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship semifinals at Rogers Place on January 4, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Feb 18, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Jakub Dobes. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus DispatchHockey Ncaa Men S Hockey Michigan Wolverines At Ohio State Buckeyes
Feb 18, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Jakub Dobes. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus DispatchHockey Ncaa Men S Hockey Michigan Wolverines At Ohio State Buckeyes /

Jakub Dobes

The final tier features a goalie, and they are very hard to scout, judge and determine their NHL arrival. Very few come into the league and dominate like the babyfaced Dryden and Roy. So evaluating and even ranking a goalie ahead of NHL potential forwards and defensemen, could prove to be foolish.

Jakub Dobes is a perfect example of a high-potential goaltender, but without a sample size of professional play, he sits fourth on the list. He has size and mobility and he proved poised in backstopping the Ohio State Buckeye’s men’s hockey team. During his two-year college hockey career, Dobes, the native of Ostrava, Czechia., was a mainstay in the Buckeye’s net, posting a career 42-28-5 record to go along with his six shutouts.

He showed consistency and steadily improved since the Canadiens selected him in the fifth round of the draft. Goalies take a bit longer than forwards, with their primes coming a little later in their careers, so Dobes is likely two years away from NHL action. A slow approach with a goaltender is best served, and with the Canadiens’ timeline to compete for a Cup, likely another two seasons away, he can marinate in the American league.

He will battle Primeau for the starter’s role in Laval, and look to backstop the young Laval team to a league championship. Certainly, it will be a big jump from college to the pros, but with the Canadiens’ development team at the helm, Dobes could become a very important element in the rebuild. Given Jake Allen and Casey DeSmith’s ages, a younger goalie is more likely to take precedence ahead of them, and the next high-potential goalie (Jacob Fowler) is yet to play an NCAA game.

A great draft might produce two bonafide NHL talents, which would help a roster tremendously. So, when we get to talking about three talents from the same draft, that were selected by an organization, and one having number-one goaltender potential is ranked third, you had a great draft. The Barron trade was tough because we lost Lehky, but Barron is the icing on top, he wasn’t selected by us, but he went ahead of our first-round selection, who happens to be one of our prized young defenders.

Home/Habs News