Coming into the season, the Islanders made it no secret they wanted to see Noah Dobson improve defensively.
After Dobson inked a three-year, $12 million deal as a restricted free agent over the summer, one of general manager Lou Lamoriello’s first comments were about wanting to see more from the young defenseman in his own end. Dobson himself said Thursday that at the start of the year, it was a focus for him.
Halfway through the year, he feels he’s taken strides.
“I think just being hard in front of the net, box outs, stuff like that and then just positioning as well,” Dobson told The Post. “Having good gaps, good sticks, stuff like that.”
Particularly in the positioning aspect of that equation, spending time watching film has been a vital part of Dobson’s improvement. The Islanders give their players access to tape via an app which allows them to tag video clips. That way if, for example, Dobson wants to watch all of his shifts at six-on-five, he can do so easily, instead of needing to watch entire games to pick out what he needs.
“I think you can learn a lot from watching,” Dobson said. “Obviously watch a lot of my shifts and you can pick up things from there. Just see what you did wrong, what you did right, where you should’ve been. It’s an easy game when you’re watching on a computer. Obviously things happen fast in the game, but you can learn a lot from watching.”
Noah Dobson’s positioning has improved thanks to the Islanders’ emphasis on video review.AP PhotoIn the app, all he needs to do is type in his number — eight — and a playlist comes up.
“I think a lot of teams probably use it where you can watch all your shifts,” Dobson said. “It’s great these days, the technology.”
The biggest thing Dobson said he’s changed is carrying a higher degree of caution. That lends itself to awareness, which lets Dobson focus on the minute details. That’s helped.
Dobson played in his 200th NHL game last week.Getty ImagesIslanders coach Lane Lambert said Dobson’s gap control has been noticeably better, a product of his knowing where to be and when to be there.
“I think [assistant coach] Doug Houda’s done a good job with our defense and getting their gaps,” Lambert said. “And so as a result, he’s been in better position, not only defensively, but also offensively.”
The offensive aspect comes down to transition. If Dobson is in the right spot when he gets the puck, he’ll be closer to the net by a handful of feet, helping him get in on the play more easily.
Still, producing offense has never been an issue for Dobson, who broke out with 51 points last season. He’s on pace for similar numbers this season, taking 10 goals and 15 assists into Thursday’s game against the Wild. At 23, he’s one of the most promising young defensemen in the league. The next step is to be a shutdown defender, and Dobson is still getting there.
He played his 200th NHL game in Edmonton last week, a small but noteworthy milestone.
“You get more comfortable, for sure,” Dobson said. “I think it’s still a tough league every night — there’s times where nights are better than others. I think you’re always learning, always trying to improve, but I think comfort level and confidence-wise, the more games you play, the better you feel that way.”
“I think he’s much more responsible defensively,” Lambert said. “He’s done a really good job of working on that side of his game. In terms of his offense, his confidence has really grown over these 200 games and he’s blossoming into an elite NHL defenseman offensively.”
