Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes Stealing the Calder Trophy Spotlight

This season, the Montreal Canadiens’ Ivan Demidov was the top choice for winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. So far, he has had competition from young up-and-coming stars like Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders, Emmett Finnie of the Detroit Red Wings, Jimmy Snuggerud of the St. Louis Blues, and fellow Hab Oliver Kapanen. No one even thought of Montreal’s backup goalie, Jakub Dobes, until now, where he has not only been the top rookie goalie but possibly the top rookie of the year so far.

Canadiens’ Dobes Stealing Starter Job From Montembeault

The Canadiens had Sam (Monty) Montembeault pencilled in as their starting goaltender when the season started, but as he struggled, Dobes has stepped up and dominated the crease. Montembeault has struggled mightily in his first six games of the season. Although he has a .500 record, he hasn’t looked good in any of his starts, save maybe his first against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The issue for Monty is that he can’t make the big save when needed and has routinely allowed a bad goal per game. Montreal’s head coach, Martin St. Louis, has complete confidence in his veteran goaltender, but is smart enough to know what’s best for the team.

Dobes started last season 5-0-0, including a shutout in his first game against the Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. He went on to help the Canadiens make the playoffs in a limited but successful role, a .903 save percentage (SV%), seven wins in 15 starts, and a 2.74 goals-against average (GAA). This season, he is off to an even better start, winning all of his six starts and compiling a GAA of 1.97 with a SV% of .930. These starts not only lead all rookie goaltenders but also have him in the top five in goaltender stats in the NHL. The vast difference in play has given Dobes the bulk of the starts in the last six games, and a huge reason why the Habs are the top team in the Atlantic.

Canadiens’ Dobes Surprise Calder Candidate

Many fans might think that Dobes isn’t even qualified for the Calder Trophy because he played 16 games last season. The rule, however, for goaltenders is that a minimum of 25 games must be played to lose rookie status for the next season. The Calgary Flames’ Dustin Wolf was in the same boat; he played 17 games in 2023-24, but still finished third in Calder voting last season. Wolf was a key reason the Flames had any success last season and deserved to be among the top candidates for the award.

If Dobes keeps his play up throughout the season, not only will he surpass Montembeault as the top goalie in Montreal, but he will also get a lot of looks for the rookie of the year award. Like Wolf last season, however, Dobes will be in tough competition with a star defenceman and a star forward.