Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes is still a rookie this season, and he has made history by starting his two rookie seasons with a 5-0-0 record. He's far from being the only goalie who played two years as a rookie, and his start is better than a lot of big-name goaltenders.
While everyone is talking about Ivan Demidov leading the NHL rookies with nine points in 10 games and Oliver Kapanen leading the rookies in goals scored with four in 10 games, the Montreal Canadiens have a third rookie who’s having a brilliant start: goaltender Jakub Dobes.
Having played only 16 games last season and still being under the age of 26 at 24, the Czech netminder is still considered a rookie in NHL terms. This weekend, Sportsnet mentioned on their X account that Dobes is the first rookie in NHL history to start back-to-back seasons 5-0-0. So far this season, he has a 1.77 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage, leading all rookie goaltenders in both categories and ranking third among all goaltenders.
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That stat prompted reactions on social media, with many saying it was irrelevant, since very few goalies were still considered rookies in their second year. After digging up some stats, it turns out that a lot of big-name goaltenders were rookies over two seasons, and they were far from posting a perfect 5-0-0 record to start both seasons.
Ken Dryden, who won the Calder Trophy in 1971-72, was a rookie in 1970-71 and in 1971-72. In his first season, he posted a perfect 6-0-0 record before guiding the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup win. The following season, he had a 2-0-2 record in his first five games (he wasn’t involved in the decision in one game). Dryden played only 397 games in his illustrious career, but he finished with a 2.24 GAA, a .922 SV, and 258 wins.
Patrick Roy played and won his only game in 1984-85, but in his second season, while still a rookie, he had a 2-3-0 record to start the year. He didn’t win the Calder, but like Dryden, he did guide the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup as a rookie. Saint-Patrick would go on to play 1,029 NHL games, registering 551 wins and posting a 2.54 GAA and a .910 SV.
The winningest goaltender in NHL history and New Jersey Devils starter for years, Martin Brodeur, also qualified as a rookie for two seasons. In 1991-92, he played in four games and posted a 2-1-0 record before starting the 1993-94 season with a 3-2-0 record on his way to a Calder Trophy and to a Stanley Cup win in his third season. Brodeur went on to play in 1,266 games, notching a record-breaking 691 wins, maintaining a 2.24 GAA, and a .912 SV.
Felix “The Cat” Potvin was also considered a rookie for two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his first year in 1991-92, he posted a 0-1-2 record before starting the 1992-93 season with three wins, a loss, and a tie. He went on to play 635 regular-season games in the league, posting a 2.76 GAA and a .905 SV.
With the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marc-Andre Fleury played 21 games in his first season and had a 1-2-2 record in his first five games, then in his second season, he had a 1-2-1 record in his first five games (he wasn’t involved in one of the decisions). Flower went on 1,051 games in the NHL with four different franchises, winning 575 games and posting a 2.60 GAA and a .912 SV.
We don’t know if Dobes will turn out to have the kind of career the above-mentioned greats had, but one thing’s for sure: he started his two seasons as a rookie better than they all did. As for Dustin Wolf, the Calgary Flames netminder who was in the Calder discussion until the very end last season, he won one game in the 2022-23 season, played 17 games in the 2023-24 season posting a 1-2-1 record in his first five games that season (he wasn’t involved in one of the decisions) before starting his 2024-25 season with a 3-2-0 record.
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