Prospect Profile: Noah Dobson
...Dobson has forced his name into the discussion as the second best defender in this draft class
By
Ryan Biech @ryanbiech / Canucks freelance writer
After an extremely productive regular season with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans, Dobson followed it up with fantastic performance in the QMJHL playoffs to help lead them to the Memorial Cup Championships.
On the biggest stage in junior hockey, the right handed defender had a dominant performance showcasing his two-way abilities to dictate the game while on the ice.
SEASON STATS
| GP | G | A | P |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 67 | 17 | 52 | 69 |
Dobson was selected with the 6th overall pick in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft and made the jump into the lineup the following season as a 16-year-old. He held his own, posting 26 points in 63 games for Acadie-Bathurst before posting another five assists in 11 playoff games.
He started his draft eligible season by representing Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament that saw him assist on three goals. He walked away with a Gold Medal for his efforts.
The 6-foot-3, 179-pound defender then took off with the Titans, potting 17 goals and 52 assists in 67 games during this past season - ending the year being named to the QMJHL First All-Star Team.
The aforementioned dominant Memorial Cup performance saw Dobson post two goals and five assists in four games and like the QMJHL regular season, named an All-Star for the event. It wasn't simply his offensive numbers that stood out, it was his ability to control the play while maintaining possession.
Dobson is extremely efficient in his own zone, using his slick skating abilities to be active on opponents. He uses his great reach, mobility, and body to contain and eliminate chances against with ease. His edge work stands out as he keeps his opponent close to him to limit the chance of being burnt.
He will add strength as he develops, but does effectively use his body to guide opponents to low danger areas.
When he takes the puck from his opponent, which he does regularly, he is calm and collected with his zone exit. If he isn't making the perfect first pass out of the zone, he isn't afraid to complete the exit himself to help lead the attack in transition. This facet to his game is all about puck control and avoiding turnaround. If there isn't the right play available, Dobson will cycle back and initiate another foray out of his zone.
As the season went along, particularly in the playoffs and Memorial Cup, his confidence grew and he was willing to make moves in tight to elude forecheckers and get momentum.
Dobson demonstrates good instinct with the puck and moves it to teammates decisively on the power-play. When he decides to hold onto the puck through the neutral zone, he enters the zone with predictably positive results.
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Once in the offensive zone, Dobson displays that calmness regularly, waiting for lanes to open up for shots or passes. When the right situation arises, he isn't afraid to hop up from the blue-line to join the foray in front of the net. But it isn't at the sacrifice of his responsible defensive play.
He packs a heavy shot that he likes to let fly on a one-timer. Dobson keeps his head up the whole time and recognizes when his shot has a chance to be blocked and will adjust his lane accordingly. If the opportunity allows, he will walk around the checking forward and attack the net to unleash his underrated wrist shot.
The Summerside born defender was among the leaders in production from first draft eligible players coming from the CHL, while being involved in 26.1% of the total goals scored by the Titans. Despite having to produce from the backend, he was involved and lethal when on the attack.
Rarely do we see such a complete package from a draft eligible defenceman. Some players in this draft class may have a heavier shot or slightly better skating, but aren't as well rounded as Dobson.
Scouts can't allow recency bias to cloud their judgement of a player, instead relying on the totality of the prospects season. However, you can't ignore a player stepping up their game at the right time of the season or during playoffs.
Dobson is a great two-way defender who maintains excellent gap control and eliminates his opponent's attacks into his own zone. He is able to transition the puck out of his own zone, through the neutral zone and onto the attack with ease. When he gains the offensive zone, he keeps his opponents on their heels as they are unable predict what the intelligent defender is going to do to create offence.
He was always in the conversation as a top 10 pick in this entry draft, but Dobson has forced his name into the discussion as the second best defender in this draft class through his elevated play in the second half of season. Really it was just a showcase of the type of a player he was all along.
