{"id":473669,"date":"2025-08-29T10:04:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T14:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=473669"},"modified":"2025-08-29T10:04:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T14:04:54","slug":"projecting-noah-dobsons-first-season-with-the-montreal-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/08\/29\/projecting-noah-dobsons-first-season-with-the-montreal-canadiens\/","title":{"rendered":"Projecting Noah Dobson\u2019s First Season with the Montreal Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Montreal Canadiens made one of the biggest splashes this summer when they acquired defenceman<\/a> Noah Dobson<\/a> from the New York Islanders<\/a>. The Islanders received the 16th and 17th overall picks, as well as forward Emil Heineman<\/a>, in the deal. Dobson, 25, is already one of the NHL\u2019s premier defencemen and hopes to add a new element to Montreal\u2019s defensive group. But what can we expect from him in his first season after the trade? Let\u2019s project Noah Dobson<\/a>\u2019s first season with the Montreal Canadiens<\/span><\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens and Noah Dobson<\/span><\/h2>\n

Where He Fits in the Lineup<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dobson immediately becomes the Canadiens best right-handed option. Montreal lacked on the right side with Alexandre Carrier<\/a> being the only right-handed player on defence following David Savard<\/a>\u2019s retirement. It\u2019s worth noting that David Reinbacher is also right-handed and will be vying for a roster spot.<\/a> It\u2019s unclear who Dobson will play with to begin the year. The most enticing option is to pair him with rookie sensation Lane Hutson<\/a>. However, the Canadiens may opt to split them up for the majority of the season. He could also form a shutdown pair with either Kaiden Guhle<\/a> or veteran Mike Matheson<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as special teams are concerned, Dobson will be playing on both the power-play and penalty kill. With Huston on the team, he will likely be relegated to the team\u2019s second power-play unit unless the Habs run two defencemen on their top group. Still, having a player of his caliber to run the second wave is a luxury for Montreal. He will also be a regular on the penalty kill. While he hasn\u2019t been known for his defensive game, it\u2019s something that Dobson will need to add to his toolbox under head coach Martin St. Louis<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Looking to Add Shutdown Ability<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dobson\u2019s big 6\u201d4 frame fits the mold of a typical shutdown defenceman. Montreal drafted David Reinbacher fifth overall in 2023 to be exactly that. However, with his development stalling, adding a player like Dobson makes a lot of sense. Dobson isn\u2019t poor defensively, but it hasn\u2019t been the trademark of his game throughout his career. He is known more for his offensive prowess and booming shot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If Dobson can round out his defensive game, he could be exactly what Montreal needs moving forward. This would also make him the perfect partner for Lane Hutson<\/a>. Martin St. Louis<\/a> will certainly stress the importance of defensive responsibility in Dobson\u2019s game. With many young players on the roster, he will be relied upon frequently in his own end and on the penalty kill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Potential Offensive Outlook<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Offence is the bread and butter<\/a> of Noah Dobson\u2019s game. He already has a season of over seventy points under his belt in 2023-24. However, his production took a major dip this past season, with his totals dropping to 39 points. It\u2019s worth noting that he played under a weak Islanders offence this past year. In a more explosive Montreal group<\/a>, Dobson should be able to find his offensive game once more. His booming shot makes him a threat on the power play, and he will give Patrik Laine<\/a> another set-up man. Having another puck-mover of Dobson’s caliber makes Montreal that much more of a threat, as it will get the top forwards the puck on their stick more frequently.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely that we see him return to his seventy-point pace next season. His being on the second unit, coupled with increased defensive responsibility, should limit his totals. Hutson will be Montreal\u2019s go-to option offensively moving forward. However, despite all this, it\u2019s realistic to expect Noah Dobson to register between 50-60 points in his first season with the Montreal Canadiens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This first season will not only be about rebounding from last year, but also about proving he belongs in Montreal and on the Canadian Olympic team.<\/a><\/p>\n

Main Photo: Russell LaBounty- Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Montreal Canadiens made one of the biggest splashes this summer when they acquired defenceman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. The Islanders received the 16th and 17th overall picks, as well as forward Emil Heineman, in the deal. Dobson, 25, is already one of the NHL\u2019s premier defencemen and hopes to add a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":471316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4547,4548],"tags":[7095,4472,7307,398,1354,2718],"class_list":["post-473669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canadiens","category-hockey","category-nhl","tag-david-reinbacher","tag-kaiden-guhle","tag-lane-hutson","tag-martin-st-louis","tag-michael-matheson","tag-noah-dobson"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473669"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473689,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473669\/revisions\/473689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}