8Noah Dobson
It all began to unfold for New York Islanders star Noah Dobson during the 2023-24 NHL season. He was ranked third among top defensemen for the Norris trophy with 6 goals, 46 assists for 52 points in 50 game just past the halfway mark of the regular season. He was not selected to play in the All-Star game in Toronto but many said he should have been high rating was contained in a story written by Josh Wegman on The Score website. Wegman described Dobson as a “true workhorse” ranking second in average ice time with a smooth skating stride that makes him a stellar defender but his true calling comes on the offensive side of the puck. He’s been among the top point leaders on the Islanders and tied for sixth among NHL skaters in assists. His ranking among blueliners puts him just behind Cale Makar of Colorado and Quinn Hughes of Vancouver, who leads the pack.
Dobson was also named the most improved player in the NHL by theathletic.com website in the first half.
His roots go back to his youth as a home grown player in PEI.
Noah Dobson was born on January 7, 2000 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, the son of Andrew and Jenny Dobson who came to the Island from Bathurst, New Brunswick a few years earlier. His sister, Elly is also a standout soccer player. Ironically, Noah would join the Acadie-Bathurst Titan just sixteen years later. He began skating at age four and was so impressive at an early age that Hockey PEI allowed him to compete at a higher level even though he would be younger than most on the ice.
The young defenseman suited up for Team PEI Rocket in the 2011-12 season that competed in the Quebec International Pee Wee Tournament in Quebec City. He also played for Team PEI as 14, 15 and 16 year old.
Dobson played with the Summerside Capitals Bantam AAA hockey club in 2013-14 and then joined Bishop’s College Boarding School Varsity team in Shebrooke, Quebec the following season before moving to Salzurg, Austria to play with the Red Bull Hockey Academy in 2015-16 in U18. Among his teammates were Jeremy McKenna of Summerside and Chris McQuaid of Charlottetown. Dobson enjoyed living in Europe with games being played in Finland, Switzerland and the Czech Republic (now Czechia).
The 2016 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Draft was held in Charlottetown in June and Dobson was selected by the Titan in the first round as the sixth choice overall. He joined them as a rookie in 2016-17 and played for Canada Red in the World U17 Championship winning the gold medal in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. An all-star in the Q, he played nearly three seasons in Bathurst before being dealt to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. During his time in Major Junior he was a member of two President’s Cup teams and two Memorial Cup national championships with Acadie-Bathurst in 2018 as captain and then in 2019 with Rouyn-Noranda where he was the playoff MVP with 8 goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 20 games and was just the fifth defenseman to win the Guy Lafleur Trophy the MVP. He had two assists in the championship clinching game won 4-0 over Halifax in Game 6 of the finals at the Scotiabank Centre. Rouyn also won its first Memorial Cup, 4-2 over the Mooseheads in Halifax, soon after.
In the 2018 Mem Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan, the Titan won their first national title with 3-0 over the host Pats.
Dobson was fourth in scoring with Bathurst in 2018 and second in scoring among Q defenseman. That made him a QMJHL First Team All-Star. He was a finalist for the top defenseman award. He had 17 goals and 52 assists for 69 points in 67 games and was a plus 33. He added 3 goals and 10 assists in 20 playoff games.
Dobson also played for Canada which won Gold in the World Junior Championship in 2018-19. He had a goal and was plus 4 in five games. His lone goal was a game winner against Switzerland in a 3-2 victory in the second game of the tournament.
A year previous he played for Canada in the Sport Chek World Junior Showcase. He also played in the World Under 17 Challenge in 2016 for Canada Red and with PEI in the 2015 Canada Games men’s hockey tournament in Prince George, BC.
The 6-4, 194 lb. right-handed shooting defenseman was drafted by the NY Islanders in the first round of the 2018 Entry Draft and was the 12th choice overall. Dobson played in 34 games for the Islanders in 2019-20 collecting his first NHL point, an assist against Edmonton in a 5-2 loss in October that season. He also got his first NHL goal on January 14th facing Detroit.
2020-21 saw him pick up 3 goals and 14 points in 46 games and 7 assists in 19 playoff games.
Improvement came in the next two seasons with 13 goals, 38 assists and 51 points in 2021-22 in 80 games and 13 goals and 26 assists for 49 points and plus 4 in 2022-23. Throughout his pro career he was known for staying out of the penalty box with only 54 minutes in penalties through parts of four seasons (including a high of 20 minutes in ’23).
His contract status included a three-year entry level deal signed in August, 2018 and a three-year contract that began in August, 2022 and continues through 2025.
He was named the most improved NHL player in January 2023 by “The Athletic” website and was tied for 7th in plus/minus among defensemen having his best year offensively and defensively at age 24.
Noah Dobson is the brightest star among PEI born players this decade.