«Je voyais souvent que c’était impossible que l’autre équipe puisse marquer un ou deux buts contre lui» – Pascal Vincent à propos de Jakub Dobes

In his 15 years on the bench, Pascal Vincent has seen goaltenders and young players quickly achieve success in the NHL. Jakub Dobes is one of them. Watching his masked man in front of goal during the first half of the season last year, the Laval Rocket head coach knew he had an advantage.

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“I often saw that the other team would not be able to score one or two goals,” Pascal Vincent told the publication Magazineon Wednesday morning, hours before the Rocket's dual against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Place Bell.

The day before, the goaltender, who brought him nine wins in 14 matches last year in the American League (AHL), signed his sixth victory of the campaign against the Kraken in Seattle, allowing three goals to his opponents in the third period. Cech still maintained his perfect record this season for the Habs.

And his performances, as compelling as they were brilliant, have reignited the good old debate in Quebec about Canada's number one goalkeeper, with Samuel Montembeault off to a slow start to the season.

On fire and under control

Some will say we shouldn't worry, advocating patience, and that six games doesn't make a season, but in today's hockey world, a game is everything when results are expected.

After walking back and forth between the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets benches, Pascal Vincent believes the No. 1 goaltending position is all about performance and work ethic.

Since the start of the season, Dobs has checked both of those boxes as he met the trainer's criteria last year in the AHL.

Will the situation be the same in a month or in January? Vincent can't say because the present moment is important.

“From my experience I have learned not to look too far ahead because this game can get you in order in a very short time. In any position we often think we have found a vein that can continue and that changes. You have to put the goalkeeper in front of goal knowing that he will do his job.”

Faster than the game

That's exactly what Martin Saint-Louis did during a four-game trip to the west of the continent. Since Dobs has made his mark in the NHL, Vincent is seeing the same thing he saw in Laval last year.

“He is a young man full of talent, who is not afraid to perform on the biggest stage and knows he can make a difference in a match. He is very confident in his abilities,” said the coach, who cannot comment on his technical qualities, nor on his role as goalkeeping instructor Marco Marciano. This is not covered in the media. However, Vincent gave him credit for his hard work with the Czech.

“He's so big in front of the net. They don't leave holes. He moves well. He reads the game well and gets ahead of the puck,” Vincent analyzed, praising the goalie's size at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds.

He's noticed those telltale signs of a goalie since joining the Rocket last year.

He said he has no doubt that Dobs will one day become number one in the NHL. It's a matter of time. The future will decide whether it will be short term, medium term or long term.

Key sequence

Beyond productivity, there must be consistency. Dobs can't afford a noticeable slump like he did last year after winning his first five starts with the Habs.

A coach can digest a bad goal from time to time. An array of fir trees, no.

“Your goalie doesn't have to save games every night. But he has to make the saves he has to make. Sometimes he has to make one spectacular save to the head with his skate or his stick,” Vincent explained.

“First of all, we need consistency so that we know he won't score one or two bad goals in every match,” he added.

Moreover, the debate that arises again for the number one position may resume in the coming seasons with the development of the younger generation. Choice of 3^e tour of Switzerland in 2023 and Boston College product Jacob Fowler will soon be knocking on the door.

“Our bank of goalkeepers is very interesting. This will bring internal competition,” Vincent emphasized.