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Noah Dobson

saintunspecified said:
Dobson isn't great without the puck in the defensive zone, but he is very good with the puck. The combo of Dobson/Romanov really can get the puck up the ice very quickly. If he can learn to be a little smarter with his stick & positioning, he'll be able to turn his hands into an asset. It'd be a mistake imo for him to try to turn himself into a physical defender.

At this point, Dobson's development is pretty comparable to the players he's always been compared to - Alex Pietrangelo, and Seth Jones. What's changed since the draft is that those comparison were seen as being aspirational for Dobson, and now they're actual. At the time it was clear that he had the skating, size, and hockey sense. The only question was whether his skills would come along, and they have. I'd bet on that combo every day.

Other teams before NYI should have made the bet on Dobson at the draft. I thought that, and other NYI fans thought that *at the time*, and we were giddy that he fell. I think Bob McKenzie called the pick a layup, and it was.

The thing about NYI right now is that Pelech is a dominant player both against the rush, and in the defensive zone. He was a little off last year (which is evidence for how messed up things got for NYI), but he's back to the form he was in during the 2021 playoffs. I know he'll never get Norris consideration, but he's special.
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Quality RHD's are probably the hardest assets to get in the NHL (aside from quality #1C types) and thus carry great value. The Islanders have been very smart to invest premium draft capital (1sts and 2nds) over the years in the position to set themselves up nicely. Hamonic wasn’t highly touted when drafted in the 2nd round, but developed nicely and started things off for the Isles. Obviously he was later parlayed into Dobson+ (Ishkhakov and Bolduc are looking great in the AHL), but the Isles drafted Pulock (1st rounder), Mayfield (2nd rounder), and Bode Wilde (2nd in same Dobson draft, too bad he isn't working out) to make sure the position is in good shape. The Isles should draft another RHD (or two) this year or next to keep the pipeline strong. Even Grant Hutton (6'3 RHD) and Paul LaDue (6'2 RHD) are insurance in Brideport.

Dobson is the rising star of the RHD and entire blue line group. He should continue to improve defensively, but he has already emerged as a difference maker offensively. The Isles hit the jackpot in a perfect storm of circumstances in that 2018 Draft. Some teams really screwed the pooch passing on him to the benefit of the Islanders.
 
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PWJunior said:
Dobson is the rising star of the RHD and entire blue line group. He should continue to improve defensively, but he has already emerged as a difference maker offensively. The Isles hit the jackpot in a perfect storm of circumstances in that 2018 Draft. Some teams really screwed the pooch passing on him to the benefit of the Islanders.
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One does wonder, and this is purely academic, what NYI might have done if they had only the one pick & the choice between Wahlstrom + Dobson. I don't think that's settled by the order in which they were drafted.
 
saintunspecified said:
One does wonder, and this is purely academic, what NYI might have done if they had only the one pick & the choice between Wahlstrom + Dobson. I don't think that's settled by the order in which they were drafted.
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Well, it's hard to say what they would have done. Thankfully that's not an issue and not going to devote my limited brain cells to pondering that question. I still have high hopes for Wahlstrom, but Dobson was highway robbery. To think we could have been saddled with a bust like Kravstov... haha.
 
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PWJunior said:
Well, it's hard to say what they would have done. Thankfully that's not an issue and not going to devote my limited brain cells to pondering that question. I still have high hopes for Wahlstrom, but Dobson was highway robbery. To think we could have been saddled with a bust like Kravstov... haha.
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The typical Ranger response would be that they have Adam Fox, and really didn’t need Dobson.
 
saintunspecified said:
One does wonder, and this is purely academic, what NYI might have done if they had only the one pick & the choice between Wahlstrom + Dobson. I don't think that's settled by the order in which they were drafted.
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Thank god we don’t have to decide lol team was desperate for a goal scorer but Dobson was supposedly rated top5 by the isles.

The order in which they were drafted was interesting but I don’t think it is proof as to who the isles liked more. I’m pretty sure they had Dobson rated higher than Wahlstrom but took Wally first.
 
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I will never understand what the hell teams in those 5-10 draft spots were thinking in 2018...Dobson/Wahlstrom both somehow fall to 11-12...even Farabee falls to like 14.
 
SI90 said:
And that response would be ridiculous because the Fox trade happened after the 2018 Draft
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The Rangers redeemed themselves somewhat on the terrible pick at 9 by taking Miller later though my feeling still is Miller is more a Gonchar/MAB type guy than he is a superb defensive dman
 
BMOK33 said:
The Rangers redeemed themselves somewhat on the terrible pick at 9 by taking Miller later though my feeling still is Miller is more a Gonchar/MAB type guy than he is a superb defensive dman
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Miller is a good one and going to get better and better unfortunately for the Metro competitors. Do question his decision-making sometimes just like Dobson as these guys are pretty young still.
 
Crashsunday said:
I felt like the Islanders picked Wahlstrom first to see what offers they might get with Dobson still on the board. If they only had one pick, I believe the pick was Dobson. I have no insider information, just a hunch.
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My theory and I could be wrong is they picked Wahlstrom first because the All American Goal Scorer is a bit more marketable
 
Reminds me of a young Larry Murphy stylistically. Amazing vision, RHD, plays a little hunched over, makes the right play almost all the time.
 
PWJunior said:
I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think that RW masquerading as a d-man was even with the Rags at that point.
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The suits aren’t gonna like this take but it’s 100% true.

PAZ said:
Wasn't Dobson considered a faller in the draft?
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I think he was projected at 5 but fell for a reason I don’t remember. Then again, Zadina, Kravtsov, Boqvist and Bouchard were taken before him.
 
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My favorite current islander. He is still developing, occasional hiccup. But generally, he does almost everything well. Stud.
 
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Just using the eye test he still looks very green defensively. I would be worried about him come playoff time. I could see him being a huge liability. Romanov also.
 
JayDog16 said:
Just using the eye test he still looks very green defensively. I would be worried about him come playoff time. I could see him being a huge liability. Romanov also.
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Hes not a huge defensive liability, sure he still makes the occasional mistake, and is nowhere near Pelech/Pulock defensively. Hes a young defenseman, still learning the ropes.

In the long run i think putting him with Pelech would be for the best. Pelech can cover up for his defensive mistakes, and Dobson can learn alot from him.
 
He's improved on the D side of things, and should only get better with reps. He's starting to use his reach and mobility to close gaps and break up plays. He's good at getting the puck out of trouble, due to his IQ and skating; reminds me of Kenny Jonsson, in that regard.

His shot is much better than I ever imagined.
 
BelovedIsles said:
He's improved on the D side of things, and should only get better with reps. He's starting to use his reach and mobility to close gaps and break up plays. He's good at getting the puck out of trouble, due to his IQ and skating; reminds me of Kenny Jonsson, in that regard.

His shot is much better than I ever imagined.
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While he is no longer the Bambi he was during his first couple of seasons, he still needs another 10 pounds of mass and the strength that comes along with it. Otherwise, he has all the tools to be a plus defender and has shown improvement during his young NHL already. The gap control and ability to break up plays on the rush with his stick is eerily similar to Pelech around the same stage of development, hopefully it continues along that path.

Agreed about his shot, it is much better than advertised. He does a very nice job of getting pucks to the net and does it very quickly, it's evident his thought process is way ahead of the play.
 
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SI90 said:
Defensive concerns here are being way over blown by some.
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Dobson isn't Tony DeAngelo defensively, so this is an agreeable statement. Talented player on a great defense and playing in front of great goalies in a great system.

However, there is more than one person in this thread suggesting Adam Fox is a glorified RW, so assessment of defensive capabilities seem to be a bit... lacking here.
 
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