Jayson Dobay was glad to see several of his close buddies get drafted by National Hockey League clubs the past three years.
Those pals include Jack Rathbone (Boston, Mass.), who was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in 2017; Jay O’Brien (Hingham, Mass.), who was plucked by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2018; and Aidan McDonough (Milton, Mass.) and Jack Malone, who both were chosen by the Canucks this year.
However, one particular name wasn’t called at any of those drafts — his own. And that motivates the 20-year-old blueliner “to work a little harder” to get to the NHL.
“You’re going to have a different path than those guys,” Dobay said. “In the end, hopefully, it works out.”
Dobay, 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, is entering his second season in the United States Hockey League with the Youngstown Phantoms after he totaled 18 points (2-16-18) in 56 games in 2018-19. The right-handed shooter describes himself as an offensive, puck-moving defenseman.
Said Dobay: “I like to get up in the play, play power play, move pucks around, get pucks on net and put my forwards in good spots to make plays.”
The Weymouth, Mass., native learned the hard way, though, that doing his job is a more difficult task in the USHL than it was in prep school when he played for Boston College High School (2014-16) and Thayer Academy (2016-18).
“The USHL is definitely a huge step up from prep,” Dobay explained. “You experience a lot of things you’ve never even thought about before. Our ‘D’ coach in Youngstown, (associate head coach and director of player personnel) Jeff Potter, focuses a lot on stick position and gaps. It was definitely an eye-opener. I wasn’t as good as I thought I was when I came out here. It’s a huge learning curve coming from prep.”
Dobay’s initial experience playing prep school hockey was a big stepping stone in its own right. However, while it took time for him to acclimate to the junior circuit, he immediately felt at home at BC High.
“I fell into a good spot my first year of high school,” Dobay remembered. “I was a top-four defenseman my freshman year. I got to play behind Ryan Shea (Milton, Mass.). I looked up to him and followed his path to Youngstown. I took a backseat role and watched all the things that he did and how he handled himself. Then he got drafted out of there (by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015).”
Dobay took over as the No. 1 D-man in his sophomore year and continued to show progress.
“I just built off what I did my freshman year,” he said.
Following his sophomore season, Dobay departed BC High for Thayer, where he skated for former NHLer Tony Amonte (Hingham, Mass.).
“I loved Thayer,” Dobay said. “The place was unbelievable. And playing under Tony, you realize how knowledgeable he is about the game. He knows what it takes to play and succeed at the highest level. You take in everything he says, all of his information, and be a sponge. Then you apply it to your game.”
Dobay especially appreciates that Amonte demands a lot out of his players.
“I love it,” he asserted. “I never had a coach like that. He had something to say to you after every shift, and that helped me out a ton. You can see how much he wants to be out there playing, and he drives that through his guys. And he really instilled the compete aspect in all the guys. Guys are skilled, guys can shoot the puck, but in the end it comes down to how hard you compete and how bad you want it. He’s a big reason why Thayer has been successful the past few years.”
While Dobay attended high school, he also skated for the Cape Cod Whalers, with whom he also enjoyed success. “We had a really skilled group,” he recalled. “We had a prep All-Star team. It makes you better. Your practices are better. Then you go to your school and you battle against them and their schools. We were fortunate to go to a few nationals, so then you get back together with them and they’re your best buddies again. I loved playing for the Whalers.”
Then last season arrived and with it came what Dobay considers the toughest challenge he’s had to overcome so far in his hockey journey — his transition from prep school to the USHL.
“Prep school is a whole different style. There aren’t many systems. You just go out and play,” he said. “I was fortunate to be on a good team at Thayer with O’Brien, McDonough and Tristan Amonte (Norwell, Mass.). Then you come out here and all of a sudden you’re not the best guy and you’re not producing the way you did in high school. I got scratched two games and that was the first time I’d ever been scratched in my life. That drives you to be better every day and follow the path and keep going.”
Despite his initial setback, Dobay still upgraded his skill set over the course of the campaign, particularly his defensive-zone play, stick play and ability to bear down in the defensive zone.
“Coming to the USHL really helps you develop in those aspects,” he said. “It’s unbelievable how much of a change I’ve seen since the beginning of last year.”
Dobay maintains that those components of his game still have plenty of room for improvement, and that’s going to be an area of focus for him this season. In addition, he wants to assist the newcomers on his team so they can make a run for the Clark Cup, a chase that ended before it truly began last spring, when the Phantoms were swept in the first round.
“I’m definitely going to try to be a leader more, set a good example, do the right thing and set the tone for the guys,” Dobay said. “I’m not the guy yelling in the locker room. I just try to lead by example. And whenever guys have questions, I’m ready to help them out because I was in the same spot last year. The quicker all the returning guys do that, the quicker we get closer as a team and start going in the right direction.”
Dobay made a decision last year to forgo taking school classes so he could focus solely on hockey for the first time in his life.
“It was a good decision for me not to take classes last year because the USHL was such a big learning curve,” he noted. “You want to put as much into hockey as you can, and I was able to do that.”
Since Dobay feels comfortable entering the USHL this season and is confident in his ability to manage his time, he’s going to take some courses this year to prepare for when he goes to UMass Amherst next fall.
And why he chose UMass Amherst boils down to one reason — the coach.
“I started talking to coach Greg Carvel when he was at St. Lawrence University,” Dobay said. “He was actually the first one to reach out to me, on January 1 my sophomore year when they were able to call me. He called me at 10 a.m. that day. I think it’s a big thing to have coaches who are invested in you and really want you to go to their school, not just as a player but also as a person. We’ve developed a great relationship over the years.”
Watching the Minutemen reach the NCAA championship game earlier this year only intensified his excitement for what’s to come when he heads to the college.
“You see the success they’ve had with the new coaches and how they’ve transformed the program,” Dobay said. “They were close to a national championship last season, and it’s hard to not want to be a part of it. I’m looking forward to it.”
But before Dobay returns to his home state for school, he has work to complete in Youngstown. And after being bypassed in three NHL drafts, he has all the motivation he needs to get the job done.
