Noah Dobson: Zdeno Chara (really) likes his style of play

Félix Forget
Noah Dobson: Zdeno Chara (really) likes his style of play
Credit: Getty Images

Noah Dobson has been playing in the NHL for a few years now. The defenseman, who arrived in Montreal this summer, began his career in an Islanders uniform in the 2019-20 season.

That said, his real first 82-game season came in 2021-22. And by then, he was teammates with a certain Zdeno Chara, who was playing his last NHL season.

He had decided to return to where it all began, to come full circle.

And by then, Chara and Dobson had often paired up on Long Island. Chara was a mentor to Dobson… and you get the feeling that the giant-sized defenseman is a really, really big fan of the Habs defenseman.

At least, that's what you read in a piece by Arpon Basu for The Athletic, in which Chara praises Dobson's immense talent, skating ability, and vision.

Chara explains that, at the time, he wanted to teach Dobson the importance of wanting to continually improve. And that's interesting, given that Dobson has continued to do just that since his arrival in Montreal.

In particular, he has been keen to learn and integrate elements of Lane Hutson's and Kaiden Guhle's game over the past few months.

That said, it's cool to see Chara so impressed by his former teammate. We know that Dobson, while not a perfect player, brings extremely interesting elements that make him crucial to the Habs' success.

And for Chara, seeing that Dobson has understood his message and is always trying to improve must give him a sense of accomplishment in his role as mentor, hehe.


Overtime

– Of note.

– Will it happen again?

– Nice story.

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