Nobody can doubt that Jakub Dobes hates losing, especially not after his raw post-game media availability, and that's far from being a problem.
Following the Montreal Canadiens’ loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, goaltender Jakub Dobes was extremely emotional speaking to the media, taking several pauses and being overcome by emotions at times. His reaction has been the talk of the town since, with everyone giving their opinion on how affected he seemed by the defeat.
Some basically criticized the young netminder, calling him mentally weak, while others said it showed how much he cares, and some celebrated the fact that he’s able to show emotions and not act like a robot.
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On the French version of The Sick Podcast on Friday morning, TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau shed some light on how events unfolded. As always, the communications department messaged the media sometime in the third frame to ask which players the journalists would like to speak to after the game. At that time, the Habs were leading, and requests were made for Dobes, Kirby Dach, Oliver Kapanen, and Noah Dobson.
Before the end of the game, however, the situation changed, and the Canadiens lost. As always, the Communications department asked the requested players whether they were fine meeting the media, and Dobes said he was.
When the press entered the room, Martineau said he looked like he needed some time to compose himself. Chantal Machabee, the Canadiens’ VP of communications, asked the journalist to start with Dach, which they did, before moving on to Dobes, who couldn’t hold his tears in for very long.
Martineau also reports that, however, Machabee sat with Dobes, telling him there would be many other games this season, before Kapanen, Dach, and Dobson went to see the goalie and hug him to comfort him.
What we saw on Thursday night was yet another example of the transparency that characterizes this organization since the arrival of the new management team. The Communications department didn’t stop Dobes from speaking to the media, and Machabee didn’t jump in to end the interview when Dobes got emotional—that was a good decision. That was real, raw emotion, and it gave fans a sense of just how much the young goaltender wants to win.
In a market where fans are used to seeing the very even-keeled Carey Price, who used to have the same expression on his face, whatever the result, to see Dobes like that was a bit of a shock, but there’s nothing wrong with it. The young goalie is in good hands; Machabee and his teammates proved that. Of course, it makes you wonder how he would react if he lost a Stanley Cup Final, but he’s not there yet; he’s played a total of 23 regular-season games so far. Perhaps, once the dust has settled and his teammates tease him about his tears, he may learn to be a bit more poker-faced, but if he doesn’t, that’s up to him; he’s allowed to be a human being first and not just a professional hockey player. We now live in a world where men are allowed to share their feelings, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The bottom line is, the man wants to win, and he clearly hates losing with a passion. That’s what every player should be like, even if they don’t wear their heart on their sleeve like the rookie netminder. I have no doubt whatsoever that Dobes will be fully ready the next time he’s called upon.
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