The former Buckeye was forced into action in the middle of Game 3 against Washington when starter Sam Montembeault was injured.
The Columbus Blue Jackets missed out on the 2025 NHL Playoffs when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in Montreal’s final game of the regular season. Despite eliminating the Blue Jackets from playoff contention, Montreal could be getting some love from people in Columbus.
In the middle of Game 3 against the top-seeded Washington Capitals, the Canadiens were forced to send former Ohio State Jakub Dobeš in at goaltender when Sam Montembeault was injured.
Dobeš left the Czech Republic when he was just 16. The goaltender would land at De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, where he would graduate in 2020. While in high school, Dobeš played for the St. Louis AAA Blues team in 2017-18 and 2018-19, as well as the Topeka Pilots in the North American Hockey League.
During the 2019-20 season with the Pilots, Dobeš posted a 7-3 record with a 1.59 goals against average, .946 save percentage, recording three shutouts.
Following his stint with Topeka, Dobeš moved on to the United States Hockey League, playing parts of two seasons with the Omaha Lancers. Dobeš would appear in 68 games in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, posting a 35-22-6 record. His performance during the 2020-21 season would earn Dobeš All-USHL Second Team honors, as he won 26 games and finished the regular season with a 2.48 goals against average.
Dobeš’ next stop in his playing career would bring him to Columbus, as he committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The goaltender didn’t take long to make an impact in the scarlet and gray.
As a freshman, Dobeš was named the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, and shared Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Along with earning those awards, Dobeš was Mike Richter Award semifinalist and a Big Ten Player of the Year finalist. In 35 games with the Buckeyes, Dobeš was 21-12-2 with three shutouts and a 2.26 goals against average.
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As a sophomore, Dobeš also finished the season with 21 wins to go along with a 2.33 goals against average. The Buckeyes would go on to make the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Regional Final before losing 4-1 to Quinnipiac. Shortly after Ohio State was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, Dobeš decided it was time to move up to the professional ranks.
Dobeš was drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Unlike football and basketball, hockey players can play in college after being drafted and agree to terms with teams they are drafted by multiple years later.
After agreeing to a two-year entry-level contract with Montreal on March 31st, 2023, Dobeš was sent to Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval. Dobeš didn’t appear for Laval at the end of the 2023 season, but he was used heavily during the 2023-24 season, playing in 51 games, which was tied for the most in the league by a goalie. The final stat line for Dobeš at Laval in the 2023-24 season saw him go 24-18-6 with a 2.93 goals against average.
With a year of professional hockey under his belt, Dobeš came out of the gates strong in the 2024-25 season, posting a 9-3-1 start to the season before he was called up to the NHL by Montreal on Dec. 27. Dobeš made a memorable NHL debut the next night at Florida, shutting out the defending Stanley Cup champs, becoming the fourth goaltender in Canadiens history to record a shutout in their debut.
With the victory over the Panthers, Dobeš became the seventh goaltender to defeat the defending NHL champs in their debut.
Dobeš dream start to his NHL career would continue when he became the first goalie in Montreal history to allow just one goal in his first two starts, his 3-0-0 record tied Bob Perreault as the only Canadiens goaltender to allow three goals or less in his first three starts, he joined Charlie Lindgren as the first goaltender to go on the road and win their first four career starts, and he was the 13th player in NHL history to win their first five starts between the pipes.
At the end of the regular season, Dobeš was 7-4-3 with a 2.74 goals against average and a .909 save percentage in 16 games played.
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Montreal snuck into the Eastern Conference Playoffs by earning the second wild card spot, drawing the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the first round. After losing the first two games of the series to Alex Ovechkin and then Capitals, Montreal returned home on Friday night.
Midway through the game, starting goaltender Sam Montembeault was injured, resulting in Dobeš stepping in. The former Buckeye allowed just one goal in 28 minutes in the 6-3 win by the Canadiens.
Montembeault’s injury was serious enough that it didn’t allow the starter to play in Sunday’s game, which allowed Dobeš to make his first start in the NHL Playoffs. Unfortunately Dobeš wasn’t as sharp as he was on Friday night, giving up three goals on 24 shots in the 5-2 loss, which gave Washington a 3-1 lead in the series.
With Montreal’s season on the line in tonight’s game, Montembeault’s status isn’t yet known, as he is listed as day-to-day. If Montembeault isn’t cleared to play, Dobeš will get the start and will hope to channel some of his dominance on the road from the regular season as the series moves back to Washington.