Noah Dobson asked and answered the question a year ago, and then answered some more.
It ended up being the season in which Dobson made his breakthrough, transforming from a young player full of potential to a star player who lived up to his potential.
He scored more points than any Islanders defenseman since Denis Potvin.
He skated 24 minutes, 31 seconds per game, playing through injuries and carrying a defense corps on his back.
His name appeared on the strange Norris Trophy ballot.
This is the player the Islanders envisioned when Dobson was drafted No. 12 overall in 2018, and they still had him when he spent most of the 2022-23 season struggling on the third pair. He was a player I believed he could be.
He proved them correct.
So. What does encore feel like?
“I think you're always trying to build on what you've been doing,” Dobson told the Post after Tuesday's practice. “But I think the hardest thing when you have a good year is you have to follow it up. That's my mindset every day, to make sure we keep getting to the next level. I think he's just trying.”
The 24-year-old Dobson's 70 points last season ranked seventh among defensemen. His 60 assists ranked sixth.
There's always room for improvement, but offensively Dobson is looking to adjust his skills rather than making a big jump forward. For example, I noticed that I shot the puck a little less than I would like last season.
The next step in establishing himself among the league's top defensemen is the defensive zone. Dobson has become much more reliable there, but he wasn't at an elite level last season.
“I think that just by watching my fight in the corners and my retrieval,” he said. “Just working on the details, good body position. My attitude going into the fight. Little things like that can make a big difference. Cleaner on the breakouts, more in the corners. We're trying to win puck battles, and I think that's going to improve the overall quality of the game.”
That's in line with what coach Patrick Roy wants from him.
“If he continues to improve in his one-on-one, game-level situations, boxing out on the ice and net-front awareness, I think that’s what I’m looking at.” [for] It’s from him,” Roy said last week. “These are all things that he's very capable of doing. It's just a matter of gaping up, making sure he's playing with his knees bent. These are things that he does well. I’d like to see them do that all the time.”
These are the little things that make all the difference that separates the Victor Hedmans and Roman Josises of the world from the rest of the pack.
Dobson will be helped by the combination of a healthy six-man defense corps and an expected consistent partnership with Alexander Romanov, but he stands on the very precipice of a group that includes a handful of the best defense corps in the world. are.
The pending restricted free agent's contract extension has yet to materialize, but if it does, he would be paid similar compensation.
And he's likely to be part of Team Canada for February's Quadruple Tournament, a chance to establish himself under the bright lights of best-versus-best international play.
But in the final few days before the 82-game marathon begins with a home date against Utah, Dobson isn't making any big proclamations, worrying about his future or writing down any goals.
That's not his style.
“I think it's more justice for me. I want to play a key role on the team in all areas of the game and continue to grow,” he said. “Because I think if I do that and do my job well, the team will have more success. I think I'm just striving to be.”
