Noah Dobson is no NHL neophyte. Still just 21, he’s is in his third NHL season and the Islanders certainly hoped he would mature into a potential top-pair defenseman when they selected him 12th overall in 2018.
The adversity the Islanders have faced, namely a COVID-19 outbreak and an injury to top-pair defenseman Ryan Pulock, seems to have accelerated that process. Dobson has been the best player among the Islanders’ skaters of late, certainly among the defensemen in all three zones as he’s shown an improved confidence in his defensive positioning and stickhandling in the Islanders’ zone and in joining the attack up ice.