With the Habs set to resume their road trip, they have brought up some extra insurance between the pipes as the team announced that Jakub Dobes has been recalled from Laval.
It’s the first recall of his career. The 23-year-old was drafted in the fifth round by Montreal back in 2020, going 136th overall. Since then, his stock has only gone up as he had two strong years at Ohio State before turning pro last season.
Dobes struggled early in 2023-24 but was one of Laval’s top players in the second half of last season, helping propel them to a late push for the playoffs that ultimately came up short. He has been much better out of the gate this season (though he has battled injuries lately), putting up a 2.44 GAA and a .910 SV% in 14 games, numbers that are nearly identical to Connor Hughes, his playing partner with the Rocket.
It’s a well-deserved recall for Dobes although it’s fair to say that this recall is more because of Cayden Primeau than it is because of Dobes. Primeau last started on December 1st and only has one brief relief appearance since then as the coaching staff has clearly lost faith in him.
With the Habs having a pair of back-to-backs on this trip, they know that they can’t play Samuel Montembeault in every game. And obviously, they don’t have faith in playing Primeau at the moment so instead, it looks like Dobes will make his debut in the coming days.
