Diligent Development Drives Noah Dobson

The New York Islanders' management and coaching staff have always had a plan for Noah Dobson and every action in relation to that plan has had purpose.
The path for the promising young defenseman, who joined the team at just 19 years of age back in the beginning of last season, was meticulously and thoughtfully mapped out by the Islanders brass. The goal, to create a trajectory that would gradually ease him into an eventual steady role among the top-six of their blueline.

And even having to account for a few unforeseen detours along the way, as a result of the ranging events of 2020, that plan is in play and Dobson is right on course. This season, he will have the opportunity to solidify his nightly presence.

"The plan with him was to get him into about 35-40 games last year and get him on a more pro-regimen," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "The plan has worked, plain and simple. He's been around pros for a year, he's got a little bit of experience and he's had time to get stronger as a young man training properly. He's been practicing playing some games. He's just grown. He's ready to take on a real big piece of ice time this year. With the best interest of the Islanders and going forward, we knew we had to get him ready for this year. It wasn't about last year, it was about this year."
The Islanders fostered that trust and growth enough so that there's a mutual confidence as Dobson takes on a larger role this season, especially with the vacancies on the Islanders blueline from Devon Toews, who was dealt to Colorado and Johnny Boychuk, whose career ended due to an eye injury.
"The biggest thing is just confidence and comfort level," Dobson said on Tuesday afternoon in his media availability over Zoom. "The more you do anything, the more comfortable and confident you get. This year, I feel like I've got a lot more confidence with the puck and I'm trying to make plays. Going through what I did last year, understanding how you have to play at this level to have success, is part of the development. The more games you play, the more comfortable and confident you get."
Last season was all about sculpting Dobson into becoming the refined and superb player they know he can be, the player they'd like to see him emerge as this season and beyond. So after cracking the Islanders 23-man roster out of last year's training camp - a purposeful move by management made to avoid sending him back to Canadian juniors, where he had already dominated for three-straight seasons - he became immersed into an environment designed to facilitate the principles of what it means to be a successful pro.

The Islanders surrounded the Prince Edward Island native with veteran influences who would be able to offer their wisdom and support for the budding gamer. On the ice, the Islanders would push Dobson to polish and strengthen his game and adapt intuitive instincts to help him succeed at the NHL level.
His sharp skill and impressive IQ were never in question, but rather the goal was to develop his on-ice maturity and bulk-up his lengthy 6-foot-4 frame.
"When you're in junior hockey and you're one of the best players, you can get away with stuff that you can't in the National Hockey League," Trotz said. "Breaking him of some of those habits and then building him up, his physical strength in his body, so he can start having success in the NHL. Going through it, we've tried to surround him with good mentors. Living with Dennis Seidenberg, being partnered up with Johnny Boychuk, who took him under his wing, [Andy] Greene has taken him under his wing. You can't think of three better people in this game that you could learn from. He's getting a really good tutoring from people who have played in the league."
Nearly a full-calendar year after he had first made the squad, as a result of a four-month NHL pause due to COVID-19, Dobson's first year in the NHL ended on a big stage. He had the opportunity to suit up in Game 6 of the ECF against the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning. Through those 34 games during the regular season and ahead of the season's pause, the right-shot totaled one goal and six assists.
Now, heading into his second season of professional hockey and embracing his role as a top-six defenseman with a veteran like Greene as his d-partner, Dobson has a newfound appreciation for the careful process that has contributed to his evolution since.
"Not playing isn't fun, you always want to be playing," Dobson said. "But the amount of time that we had off and with the offseason I had time to reflect on the year itself. Looking back, it's probably going to be the best thing for me moving forward, just coming along slow, learning from the older guys, getting in the games and getting in the conference final was really huge for my confidence going into the offseason. Looking back at it, it wasn't fun at the time but I think in the long road, I think it's going to be the best thing for me."
Through three games this season, Dobson has already absorbed a significantly larger role than ever before. So far, he's averaging 17:25 time on ice, quarterbacking one of the Islanders power play units - which opens up an option for him to feed Ryan Pulock for one-timers - and is continuing to learn with every game, especially as he and the Islanders face some of the stiffest competition in the NHL that is all consolidated into the East Division.

Dobson already posted his first point of the season with a secondary assist on the power play in the Islanders 4-0 season opener against the New York Rangers on Jan. 14. The following game, Dobson and the Islanders struggled as they deviated from their details and were handed a sobering 5-0 loss to the Rangers on Jan. 16. Trotz noted that Dobson had a great response in the Islanders 1-0 home-opening win against Boston on Jan. 18, which was exactly the kind of learning process coaches want to see from their young players.
While this year's shortened 56-game season with realigned divisions is still young, Dobson has high expectations for himself and a firm trust in his coaches, who he knows only want to see him reach his utmost potential.
"When you get the opportunity to sniff to play you get to see how much better it is," Dobson said. "That was a lot of motivation for me. Coming into this year, I just wanted to show how much I've grown from last year. And with more responsibility, I want to help the team win each night. I feel like I've got off to a pretty good start. I had a really good camp I felt like. Just continue to grow and get better with each game."