ONLY IN AMNEWYORK
What sort of encore does New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson have in store in 2024-25 following a breakout season in which he finished in the top 10 of the NHL’s Norris Trophy voting?
The 24-year-old blueline is expected to take another considerable step forward this year as one of the league’s most promising two-way defensemen. He became the first Islanders defenseman since Hall-of-Famer Denis Potvin in 1983-84 to post 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists) while leading the team with an average of over 24 minutes of ice time per game.
“I’ve set standards high for myself. I always have,” Dobson told amNewYork. “I think I really put emphasis on the offseason and using that time to keep getting better. I don’t want to be satisfied with having one good year. I feel like there’s still ways I can keep improving and taking steps so that’s kind of my mindset.”
When asked what he could possibly get better at, Dobson — who implored that there is no bigger critic of his game than himself — simply said, “Everything.”
“I think things that you’re not good at, you work on getting good at and things that you’re good at, you continue to be good at those things and add to that,” Dobson said. “Finding ways to find, as a player, what you’re good at, your strengths, and building on that and finding ways where you can use your strengths to produce or to play well each night. I’m just trying to get better at the overall aspect and finding whether it’s on or off the ice. Just all parts of the game, trying to find a way to keep pushing and get better.”
Another bump in production this season will only bolster Dobson’s standing as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate — he finished eighth in the voting last year — but the most prestigious award for NHL defensemen is the farthest thing from the Islander’s mind heading into the new season.
“No, I’m not really thinking about that,” Dobson said. “I think that just basically breaks down to say that you’re playing well and you’re having a good year. For myself, my goal is to play at that level and do whatever you can to help the team. If I’m doing that, we give our team a good chance to have success. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most: Finding whatever I can do to be the best player possible to help the team. That’s where my mindset is at.”
As New York’s No. 1 defenseman and the quarterback of its top power-play unit, there is an awful lot riding on his shoulders heading into Patrick Roy’s first full season as head coach. The Islanders snuck into the playoffs last season despite Dobson missing the final three games of the regular season with an upper-body injury before getting bounced out of the first round of the playoffs in five games by the Carolina Hurricanes.
“All individuals at this level have a lot of pride and confidence in their abilities,” Dobson said. “You hold yourself to a high standard. Nobody knows better if you have a good or bad game [than yourself]. If you’re at this level, you know when you’re playing well and when you’re not… You don’t get to this level unless you have that. We hold ourselves to the highest standards individually. We know when things are good, when things are bad, and what you can be better at.”
