Should The Way Dobson Plays Defense Be A Concern?

There is no denying that when the Habs got Dobson, they knew he was a defenseman who wasn’t going to be overly physical despite his good size. He has shown himself to be able to get his big body in the right places, but sometimes that just doesn’t seem to be enough to stop a player from getting around him.

If he just started throwing his 6’3″ frame around a little more, he would be a much better defender. The issue with lack of physicality has been there all season with the Habs, but it’s just now getting exposed more as opponents know he’s not going to hit them. Earlier in the season, he was using his puck-moving abilities to be one of the most efficient players on the Habs, which is unfortunately not working out now.

We’ve discussed it over and over again that man-to-man defence doesn’t work very well as a defensive strategy, but Dobson may be one of the biggest reasons why that is the case. Before being traded and signing with the Canadiens in the summer, Dobson was used to playing a more zone-type defence, and given his lack of physicality, that likely works much better for the PEI native. The reason for this is that Dobson is better at getting into position and shutting opponents down with a more strategic approach, where he can block shots and skate the puck up the ice. However, in a man-to-man defence, he must try to stay on his man no matter how far up in the zone he goes. Not to mention if he used his body more to knock players off the puck, he could stop a lot of plays where he and his Habs teammates get hemmed in their zone.

Dobson’s defensive game wasn’t great on Sunday, but it should be noted that he is slowly starting to use his body to knock his opponents off the puck. This was something that Marco D’Amico mentioned on his podcast with Shaun Starr on Monday, when discussing Dobson’s game as a whole. It’s clear the defenseman needs to start getting more physical, and D’Amico believes that Martin St. Louis and his coaching staff have been discussing that with him. Hopefully, Dobson can start to play harder both on and off the puck.

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Dobson’s lack of strength against his opponents is often also an issue when he’s got the puck, as sometimes he makes really soft giveaways in both his own zone and in offensive territory that can really cost the team. This was something else that Belanger brought up regarding Dobson’s game. It really sucks that he doesn’t bring much, if any, physicality to his game on most nights because Lane Hutson would kill to have a 6’3″ and 205 lb. body that he could use to push defensemen off the puck.

I can see why Belanger is disappointed in Dobson, when he doesn’t play very tough but could easily use his body to his advantage to create turnovers. As a result of his soft play, he can often get penalties when attempting to stop guys who are getting by him. It also doesn’t help that Dobson has looked slower on the ice as of recently, and it makes you wonder if he’s dealing with something. However, his compete level has been questioned numerous times.

The best-case scenario is that the Habs get Dobson to start playing with more physicality and start returning to the form he was before his last 15 games, where he played with more confidence and would help the team by being a presence around the net that blocks shots and gets the puck out of harm’s way by either skating or flipping it out. The worst case is that he just can’t fit within the Canadiens’ system, and those struggles continue to hold him back. Adding physicality to his game, which has never really been there during his first 5 NHL seasons, makes it unlikely to happen. The Habs will need to adapt to how he plays a more zone-type of defence if they want to have long-term success with Dobson.

What have you thought of Noah Dobson’s play over the past few weeks?