Romanov's Exponential Growth Could Catapult Dobson
If New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello believes Noah Dobson will become one of the elite scoring defenseman in the NHL before his career is over, Alexander Romanov is going to be play a vital role in that.
On Tuesday, New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello addressed the media for the first time since their post-season began.
I had the opportunity to ask Lamoriello a few questions, one being what he saw from Noah Dobson this past season.
Dobson mimicked his offensive production from 2021-22, tying his career-high with 13 goals along with 36 assists. However, his defense was suspect -- quite frankly underwhelming -- but Lamoriello chose to focus on the offense.
"First of all, I think that too much criticism has been of Dobson," Lamoriello said at Tuesday's media availability. "Look at his point production. Very similar to last year. I think that we put a lot of high expectations on him. Maybe I did, in signing him to a contract [...] I've spent some time with him postseason, as recently as today. And, you know, he has a great mindset. He knows what he can do to be better and will do that. And I have high expectations for him.
"I think he's going to be one of your elite scoring defensemen in this league before his career is over."
Those are some pretty strong words by Lamoriello. And if Dobson becomes that "elite scoring defenseman," Alex Romanov will have to play a critical role.
Before we dive into why that is so, let's look into Dobson.
Throughout Dobson's first few seasons with the Islanders, his offensive potential stood out, while his defensive play left much to be desired.
The now 23-year-old started his career paired with Johnny Boychuk in 2019-20 before learning from Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara over the next few seasons.
Dobson went from a significant question mark to potentially a franchise-altering offensive defenseman when he deposited 13 goals into the back of the net with 36 assists in 2021-22.
After seeing Dobson's offensive dominance, Lamoriello brought in another youngster to potentially pair Dobson with for years to come, in 22-year-old physical defenseman Romanov, for the 13th overall pick.
One source out of Montreal indicated that Romanov was like a defensive version of Darius Kasparitis, a player with the physical dominance to awaken a crowd at any given moment.
Shortly after, he signed the two 22-year-olds to three-year bridge deals.
Despite the offensive performance by Dobson and what that meant for his ceiling as an NHLer, Lamoriello had this to say about signing Dobson short-term to a three-year deal rather than a long-term commitment:
"You know, he has to continue to grow the way he did this year. So we certainly would love to sign any player as long as we can, for the right cap hit, the right price, and I think we have to see a little more from Noah to make that long-term decision."
Dobson's defense left much to be desired. But as we saw alongside Boychuk and Chara specifically, if paired with a player that can mask his issues, Dobson can flourish without being a detriment.
So, for the first time in Dobson's NHL career, the proverbial training wheels were taken off, as he and Romanov took the ice as a pair immediately once training camp began.
However, once the puck dropped for the start of the 2022-23 season, the 22-year-old duo was a disaster, leading to their break-up just six games into the season.
In a new system, Romanov struggled to time his steps at the blue line and turned the puck over often. Dobson's over-commitment to evading the defensive zone in an effort to jump in on the rush left Romanov exposed too often.
From the start of the season until the All-Star Break (52 games), Romanov was second on New York with 40 giveaways (.77 per game) but also led the backend with 182 hits (3.5 per), via NaturalStatrick.com.
He was on the ice for 33 goals against, the second most on the team, and when on the ice, the Islanders allowed the most scoring chances against at 470.
Dobson wasn't far behind, with 30 in 48 games (.625 per game), but led New York's backend with seven five-on-five goals. He was on the ice for 30 goals against.
Flash-forward to the second half of the season, Romanov was one of the Islanders' better defensemen, playing most of his minutes alongside Scott Mayfield.
In the final 30 games of the season, Romanov gave the puck away just eight times at five-on-five, just 0.27 times per game. The hitting continued, leading the backend with 62 over that span.
Romanov was on the ice for 13 goals, the fewest amongst the defense core.
His timing went from off to on point, crushing people at the Islanders' blue line and doing what he could to keep the opposition to the outside.
He wasn't rushing passes, making smarter decisions to help get the puck up the ice, which was a major issue for the Islanders all season long.
Not only did Romanov provide some more offense, setting a career-high with 22 points, but his gap control and decision-making were also night and day. He quickly showed why he was had a for a top-13 pick and also why Lamoriello believed he could fit the system in place.
Unfortunately for Romanov, a shoulder injury in Game 77 of the season limited his availability for the first two games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He wasn't as effective in his return and eventually opted for surgery shortly after the Carolina Hurricanes sent the Islanders packing after six games.
Lamoriello shared Tuesday that Romanov will be ready for training camp.
Dobson, who spent most of the second half alongside Sebastian Aho, failed to provide a single five-on-five goal while his defensive mistakes continued.
Romanov had shown more growth in half a season than Dobson had, defensively, in four years. Romanov's skills lie on the defensive side, but it left some people scratching their heads as to what was stopping Dobson from taking the strides needed.
The Islanders don't need Dobson to become an elite defender, just an average one.
With Romanov ending his season the way he did, a complete 180 in terms of timely steps and physical punishment, Dobson may get the crutch back he needs to become that elite scoring d-man -- while not having to focus mentally and physically on being a force in his own zone, as he had to this past season.