Noah Dobson scored 10 goals, 60 assists, and 70 points in 79 this season, featuring as the New York Islanders’ No. 1 defenseman. Have the Philadelphia Flyers found their own Dobson in the form of Spencer Gill, the team’s 2024 second-round pick?
If Gill had things his way, that would be the case. After all, the new Flyers defenseman models his game after Dobson.
Dobson, a 24-year-old, 6-foot-4 defenseman, took some time to become an NHL regular before blossoming into the star rearguard we know today. Drafted 12th overall in 2018, Dobson spent the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons as a part-time player before finally establishing himself in 2021-22.
Gill, like Dobson, is 6-foot-4 and likes to progress the puck up the ice himself, both with his passing and his skating. The only roadblock is that the Flyers will need Gill to bulk up considerably and improve his mobility, and the 17-year-old knows that.
“I like to watch a lot of Noah Dobson,” Gill said at Flyers development camp on Tuesday. “He’s kind of a very similar build to me, good puck-mover, can contribute offensively, so that’s kind of someone I really like to watch.”
Thrust into a starring role for Rimouski Oceanic this past season in the QMJHL, Gill produced 12 goals, 34 assists, and 46 points in 65 games. The Riverview, New Brunswick native also chipped in two assists in seven games while representing Canada at the World Junior Championships in late April and early May.
Gill’s 12 goals ranked him tied for sixth amongst QMJHL blueliners and his 46 points ranked 10th, trailing the likes of fellow NHL prospects Etienne Morin (49 points) and Vsevolod Komarov (69 points). The only difference is that Gill is far younger than Morin and Komarov and was the highest-scoring QMJHL defenseman to be drafted in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Further to that point, Gill projects to be a physical beast in addition to his offensive prowess once he can fill out his 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame. Eliteprospects compared Gill to to current Detroit defenseman Jeff Petry, who once scored 40 or more points in four straight NHL seasons from 2017-18 to 2020-21.
To be certain, Dobson sets a very high bar that Gill aspires to reach, but the potential is tantalizing. The more Gill learns his body and improves his game, the more reachable that ceiling looks.
