How does he compare to Noah Dobson at the same age?
I think he's pretty much in the same category as an elite defense prospect even though I'll admit that I liked Dobson more during his draft year than I do Barron now, but the difference isn't that big.
I feel that Dobson as a prospect had higher offensive potential (better shot, better instincts, better passing, not as good at rushing the puck) overall then than Barron does now while I favor Barron defensively from what I've seen.
For reference's sake, I think both defenders are below Byram as prospects and think Drysdale and Byram are at about the same level as far as their level of play and potential in their respective draft years. That said, I think Drysdale will be drafted lower than Byram was last year because of the tremendous quality of this year's offering in the top-end of the first round and that the team that drafts him will be very happy, just as the team that drafts Barron will be.
Drysdale and Barron are the only two defensemen in this draft class that have, in my opinion, no clear ''downside'' to their game that might hurt them at the NHL level. They are both all-around two-way defensemen that boast high upside with barely any risk at all of busting aside from injuries and that fact will make them very attractive to teams and may in fact make them both top-10 picks (even though I think Barron might slip to as low as the 15th rank if some teams prefer the high-end forwards available or Askarov).
Guys like Poirier, Guhle, O'rourke and others could also make a pretty good case for being the second defenseman taken in the 2020 draft after Drysdale, but I don't think they'll ultimately succeed unless something radically changes from now to the NHL draft and any one of those guys shows great progression.
