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Two drifting wave buoys were deployed in the central Arctic Ocean, north of the Laptev Sea, where there are historically no wave observations available. An experimental wave buoy was deployed alongside a commercial buoy. The inter-buoy comparison showed that the experimental buoy measured wave heights and periods accurately; so the buoy data were used to study the predictability of a wave-ice model in this region. The first event we focused was when both buoys observed a sudden decrease in significant wave heights $H_{m0}$. The sudden decrease was caused by the change of wind directions from along the ice edge to off-ice wind. This event was compared with the ARC MFC wave-ice model product, which underestimated the $H_{m0}$. The inaccurate model representation of an ice tongue located upwind of the buoys was found to constrain the available fetch for wave growth. The second case was when the buoys entered ice cover as new ice formed; an on-ice wave event was observed and the buoy downwind measured 1.25 m $H_{m0}$. In this instance, the ARC MFC wave-ice model product largely underestimated the downwind buoy $H_{m0}$. To investigate this event, model sea ice conditions were examined by comparing the ARC MFC sea ice forcing with the neXtSIM sea ice model product. Our analysis revealed that the thin ice thickness distribution for ice types like young and grey ice, typically less than 30 cm, were not resolved. The ARC MFC model's wave dissipation rate has a sea ice thickness dependence, and therefore, it overestimates wave dissipation in thin ice cover; sea ice forcing that can resolve the thin thickness distribution is needed to improve the predictability. This study provides an observational insight into better predictions of waves in marginal ice zones when new ice forms.