Two former Ohio State hockey players are thriving in the NHL

The NHL is nearing a three-week Olympic break, which will allow players from the league to play in the Olympics for the first time since the 2014 edition in Sochi. For those not traveling over to Italy to play, it will allow for some time to recharge their batteries for the final month and a half of the NHL regular season.

While they won’t be heading to the Olympics, two former Ohio State hockey players have found success in the NHL this year. Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobeš and Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei have become important pieces of their teams as they make a run at the NHL playoffs, which start in the middle of April.

Both Dobeš and Lohrei were last on the Ohio State roster for the 2022-23 season.

Jakub Dobeš

When he was born it was destined that Jakub Dobeš was going to have some sort of career on the ice, as his father was a hockey player and his mother was a figure skater. During his freshman season at Ohio State in the 2021-22 season, Dobeš was the 2022 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year and co-Freshman of the Year.

In both 2022 and 2023, Dobeš was named a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, which is given annually to the best collegiate goaltender.

Prior to beginning his Ohio State career, Dobeš was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Following the 2022-23 season, Dobeš signed a entry level contract and began his professional career.

After playing with Laval of the AHL during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, Dobeš made his NHL debut at the end of December in 2024, becoming the fourth goaltender in Montreal history to register a shutout in their NHL debut.

Dobeš continued the hot start to his career a few days later, becoming the first Canadiens goaltender to allow one goal through his first two career NHL starts. After two more victories, Dobeš became the third goaltender in NHL history to win their first four games while allowing four or less goals during that span, and then he was the 13th goaltender in NHL history to win his five career games.

After Dobeš spent the rest of the season as Montreal’s backup, he was forced into action when starter Sam Montembeault was injured. Dobeš would help the Canadiens win the game Montembeault had to leave, but Montreal would ultimately lose the next two games, both of which were started by Dobeš, and Washington would advance to the next round in five games.

Following his play during the regular season and playoffs, Montreal and Dobeš agreed to a two-year contract extension. So far this season Dobeš has started 25 games, posting an 18-5-3 record with a 2.92 goals against average.

The former Buckeye was named the NHL’s third star of the month in October after winning all six of his starts in the month, allowing just 12 goals.

January was also a banner month for Dobeš, as he would again win all six of his starts. To close out the month, Dobeš beat the Colorado Avalanche, who currently have the most points in the NHL, followed by a win over the Buffalo Sabres, who are one of the hottest teams in the league right now.

As of Monday, Montreal has 69 points, which has them sitting in third place in the Atlantic division.

Mason Lohrei

Much like Dobeš, Mason Lohrei was selected in the 2020 NHL Draft. Even though the Boston Bruins selected Lohrei with the 58th pick, the defenseman decided to attend Ohio State.

In his first season with the Buckeyes, Lohrei was named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team and was a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year finalist. Then in his sophomore season, Lohrei was named Second Team All-Big Ten.

Following his sophomore season, Lohrei signed an amateur tryout contract with the Providence Bruins, appearing in eight games between the regular season and playoffs. Lohrei started the next season at Providence but would make his NHL debut in November 2023, recording an assist in his first game.

During the 2023-24 season, Lohrei shuttled between Providence and Boston, appearing in 41 games in the NHL, recording 13 points.

The 2024-25 season would see Lohrei earn a permanent spot on Boston’s roster, scoring five goals and recording 33 points over 77 games. Even though Lohrei finished with a -43, which was the lowest in the NHL, the Bruins haven’t lost faith in Lohrei.

Through 51 games this season, Lohrei already has six goals and 23 points, but more importantly he has posted a +7. In January, Lohrei had four goals, with two coming in a win over Chicago.

On Sunday night, Lohrei and the Bruins played the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium in the annual NHL Stadium Series game. After building a 5-1 lead, Tampa Bay mounted a comeback and ended up winning 6-5 in a shootout.

Lohrei was on the ice for 16:28 in the game. Currently the Bruins hold the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 68 points, which is seven points better than the Columbus Blue Jackets.