New York Islanders: Ryan Pulock Development Is Obvious

Ryan Pulock, in his second full season with the New York Islanders, is developing into their best defenseman at just 24-years-old.

Last year with the New York Islanders, Ryan Pulock started as a regular healthy scratch. After a slow start, he began to heat up and ended leading all rookie defenseman with 10 goals. 32 points in 68 games is a fine rookie season.

Now, through 69 games in 2018-2019, Pulock has eight goals and 33 points. Talk about consistency from Ryan Pulock. He’s on pace for a 39 point season if he plays all 82 games and has a shot to break 40 points for the first time in his career.

More importantly than the improvement on offense, Pulock is better in his own zone. Last year he averaged just 18:24 of ice time. Now, he’s getting over 22 minutes per night and looks every bit the part of a top pairing defenseman.

While plus-minus can sometimes paint a misleading picture it’s interesting to look at the difference a year can make. He went from a minus-four last season, to a plus 21. Barry Trotz deserves a ton of praise for this one, as the team got better as a unit.

The former first rounder from 2013 has really figured it out defensively while continuing to provide offense from the blue line. His booming shot beat Sergi Bobrovsky last night in impressive fashion.

While the Islanders offense has been struggling, at least the forwards, Pulock has been carrying the load. The Isles d-men have the only goals, excluding the empty netter, over the past two games.

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