NHL mock draft: Final projections for every first-round pick

5. Arizona Coyotes – D Noah Dobson

With Bouchard off the board the Coyotes will get a chance to add another top defenseman to their prospect core. With pieces like Stepan and newly acquired Galchenyuk, the need for forward is not urgent. The Coyotes are in a position to take the best player available at this point of the draft. Noah Dobson is that best player available. He cemented his status as one of the top defenseman in this class with a phenomenal Memorial Cup Championship. Dobson and Jakub Chychrun will give the Coyotes a trio of top defenseman with Oliver Ekman-Larsson staying in the desert. If the Coyotes can get some consistent goaltending and maybe get a few more goals they will be a team on the rise.

The Arizona Coyotes will have a major decision to make with this pick. John Chayka has the choice between two defensemen that can alter the franchise. Passing up on Quinn Hughes will be tough and Chayka will be questioned for a while after until Noah Dobson can prove himself. Dobson is an exciting prospect who got better as the season went on. He played nearly 30 minutes a night for the Acaide-Bathurst Titane. That shows he can play a lot of minutes on a regular basis. The downside is that he likely was not able to show off his full talent.

Dobson launched himself into the top five pick conversation with a great performance during the Memorial Cup. He lead his team to a championship. If Sam Steele did not have such an amazing tournament Dobson would have been the MVP. There is not an aspect of his game that is a major weakness. Not only is he a strong defenseman in his own zone but he picked up 69 points in 62 games. The race between Quinn Hughes is tight down the stretch and it will be up until draft night.