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In what’s been a disappointing start to the season for the New York Islanders, one bright spot has been the improvement shown by defenseman Noah Dobson.
Dobson has grown his role significantly with the Islanders this year, playing over 20 minutes per game. It’s a huge step from last season, where he was taking on a relatively small role and averaging under 16:30 per game.
With Nick Leddy gone, the fear was that the Islanders would really lack offense from the blue line. Then with Ryan Pulock injured as well, this became even more of a concern. While those fears were realized early in the season, Noah Dobson is now majorly helping to offset the losses within the defense group.
Over the last 10 games, Dobson has five goals and 10 points, registering 14 points in 26 games this season overall. It’s a huge step offensively, given that Dobson has already surpassed his goal total from last season as well as tied his points total and is on pace for an excellent 44 points (per 82 games) this year.
Dobson’s shot was one of the more underrated parts of his game before, considering it isn’t wildly powerful and his goal totals wouldn’t have made you watch for it. However, he has a good release with great accuracy and seems to have found his spot, beating goalies with shots to the low blocker side.
Perhaps the most surprising part of Dobson’s game is how much of a step he’s taken defensively. We knew he would be able to add more offense as he grew his role but he’s turned into a much more capable defender as well. While he improved from his rookie season to his sophomore year, he’s taken a huge step this year in his own end and it’s very noticeable.
Previously, he was prone to losing the puck against oncoming forecheckers but now, he seems way more confident in his ability to make a play or spin away from a check. He’s also been much better in defensive zone battles, given that before, it was somewhat easy to get the puck off him along the boards. The better Dobson continues performs defensively, the more he’ll be trusted with a larger role.
Having just turned 22 years old, Dobson’s game should only continue to progress in the coming years. While it’s still somewhat difficult to project his long-term ceiling, Dobson’s improvement this season has been a huge help for the Islanders’ defense group and the team as a whole.
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