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Isles' Noah Dobson sees the reasons for bringing him along deliberately

Noah Dobson gets it. Not that he enjoyed getting limited playing time as a rookie. But now, as he has inherited a full-time role with the Islanders in his second season, the 21-year-old defenseman understands how coach Barry Trotz’s strategy helped his development.

"Last year, just being honest, not playing isn’t fun, you always want to be playing," Dobson said after Tuesday’s practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow in his first media availability this season. "But I think the amount of time we had off in the offseason, I had time to reflect on just the year itself.