2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #24 Jakub Dobeš

Introduction

Born in the Czech Republic, Jakub Dobeš moved to the United States for the 2017-18 season. He played two years of Under-18 AAA hockey in St. Louis before moving to the NAHL. The 2018-19 season was his first big step forward, as he made his NAHL debut.

His path took him to The Ohio State University where he posted strong numbers in a two-year career. He signed his first professional contract at the end of the collegiate season, making the jump from the NCAA to the AHL where he will now challenge for the starting job in Laval.

One of the main topics of conversation in recent months has been the lack of quality goaltenders in the Canadiens’ prospect pool. With the addition at the draft of a talented goaltending prospect in Jacob Fowler, Dobeš will do everything he can to remind the organization of his incredible potential.

It’s difficult to get a perfect read on goaltenders, but as of right now, it’s fair to say Dobeš may represent the Canadiens’ best hope among goaltending prospects.

Voting

The netminder rode his excellent OSU performances into the Top 25 Under 25 for the first time. I personally had him one rank higher at 23. With Dobeš starting his professional career, I believe we will see him steadily rise up the rankings in the coming years.

The highest vote received was from Nathan at 19, while the lowest was Dachmatic’s 34.

T25U25 History

Dobeš has been moving up the list in recent years despite the pool of eligible players continuing to grow. One of our near misses last year, he now has an appearance in the official Top 25.

History of #24

Strengths

Dobeš leapt onto the radar of  many Habs prospect watchers two seasons ago. In 2021-22, he put up a record of 21-12-2 with 2.26 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. Last year he finished with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage; still strong numbers considering he was behind a slightly weaker team than his freshman season. He started every single game for Ohio State, being the rock on which the team leaned.

One of the main things that will catch your eye with Dobeš is his size. At 6’4” and 201 pounds, he is a massive goaltender, and one who plays aggressively, challenging shooters way out of his crease. He skates well and is quick and nimble. Good instincts and an understanding of the right moments to use his size lets him present a stone wall to opponents. He also shows good tracking vision to make sure he’s staying square to the play.

Weaknesses

As Dylan Waugh once mentioned in a piece about Dobeš, despite his size, body strength is still something the netminder needs to work on.

Dobeš sometimes makes small mistakes, such as not getting to his post and transferring his backward momentum laterally. In the overall picture, it doesn’t look like much, but smaller mistakes tend to pile up and can become bad habits. He doesn’t have any glaring issues, but smaller decision-making errors could be costly at higher levels. As long as he keeps polishing himself and refining his strong toolkit, he should have success at the professional level.

Projection

The projection part is always tricky with goaltenders (as we’ve seen with Cayden Primeau over his seven years in this series). There is no sure way to know if one will keep improving and succeeding in all professional challenges, or if one will plateau and stay stuck a level or two below the NHL.

We have seen plenty of good amateur goaltenders get stuck at the AHL level, unable to take that final step. As of right now, the next year will be very helpful in determining which side the needle begins to tilt toward.

Dobeš looks like he could be a quality AHL goaltender. If he keeps progressing and improving, he may one day have an opportunity to establish himself as the next starter in Montreal.

2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #25 Lias Andersson

The most recent addition to the Canadiens organization, Andersson kicks off the countdown of the Top 25 Under 25.

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