One of the key reasons the New York Islanders were so successful in the postseason was due to their defense. However, one defenseman on the team who didn’t see much ice time in that run but is likely to play an important role in the defense group down the road is Noah Dobson.
Dobson, a 12th-overall pick in 2018, played just 34 regular season games in his first NHL season, scoring one goal and seven points. He had strong underlying numbers, though he did play in a very offensive role against a low quality of competition (according to Hockey Abstract).
Dobson was a bit of a different player between the offensive zone and the defensive zone, in my opinion. When attacking, he could carry the puck up the ice and in the offensive zone, he was very comfortable hanging on to the puck and making plays. In the defensive end, however, he often made poor decisions under pressure and often looked like he really wanted nothing to do with the puck.
He’s only 20 years old and did show a lot of promise this year but he’ll need to improve in his own end going forward. Especially considering how structured of a game the Islanders play defensively, Dobson can’t be a weak spot.
Here’s how I see things playing out next season, if Dobson is able to take a step into a full-time role. Nick Leddy is pretty unlikely to be back next year, given New York’s cap situation. He’s someone that can be moved without having a major impact to the lineup and is already 29 years old, with just two years left on his deal. I’d imagine that Dobson takes over for him on the bottom pairing and the defense group will look like this:
Pelech - Pulock
Toews - Mayfield
Boychuk - Dobson
We don’t know whether or not Dobson will be ready to take on a permanent role but the only thing that’s going to help is more ice time. He’ll be a key part of the Islanders' future and hopefully he takes more steps next season in becoming that important piece.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Do you think Noah Dobson will have a permanent spot in the lineup next season?
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