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Nearly four months ago, Noah Dobson’s error lost the Islanders a game.
With time running down in the third period against the Predators in a mid-December game, Dobson turned the puck over, leading to Eeli Tolvanen’s game-winner. At the time, with the Islanders in a tailspin, the loss was a gut punch. Looking back, Barry Trotz says it was a moment in which the young defenseman could have wilted. Instead, he did the opposite.
“It was a learning moment,” Trotz said before the Islanders’ 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets. “It was very important for him to do that. And have that, sometimes you gotta fail before you’re gonna have success.”
Dobson’s growth this year into a key piece of the Islanders’ future has been a rare positive in an otherwise lost season. Going into Thursday’s game, Dobson has 10 goals and 28 assists, has established himself as a key piece of the power play and averages more than 20 minutes per game of ice time.
He’s responsible on both ends of the ice, and when asked about the next steps for the 22-year-old, Trotz could only say, “Years of the same,” instead of pointing to any areas Dobson needs to work to grow.
“I think like anything, the more games you play, the more comfort you get,” Dobson said. “You kinda get confidence. I think that’s been the big thing with me is confidence. I was able to find it a little bit earlier and just try to keep building.”
Names like Cale Makar and Roman Josi — two top contenders for the Norris Trophy — were brought up by reporters on Thursday morning. And while it is too early to make those kinds of comparisons as anything but aspirations, Dobson does look like the kind of player who can make an offensive impact as a top-pairing defenseman for a long time on the Island.
“It’s pretty vital for every team [to have a guy like that],” said Trotz, who coached Josi as a young player in Nashville. “Not only power play, but just five-on-five play. Those guys are efficient, they can get out of their own end. They can support the attack and at times they can lead the attack, at the right time. And those guys are extremely important.”
As Dobson’s confidence has grown, and as he’s received mentorship from Zdeno Chara, things have slowed down for him. A shot of Chara talking to Dobson went viral following Tuesday’s game, leading Dobson’s friends to send him a deluge of memes, but those teaching moments happen regularly during games.
“I think he makes me look kinda like a 14-year-old a little, but I saw it,” Dobson joked of the 45-year-old Chara. “It was pretty funny.”
Ilya Sorokin (upper body) remains day-to-day.
Adam Pelech and Andy Greene were both game-time decisions on Thursday. The Islanders recalled Robin Salo from Bridgeport, but Trotz wasn’t ready to commit to playing him against Columbus.
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