It has been five years since the Islanders gave the Washington Capitals a tough physical test in a seven game series in the first round of the playoffs. The Islanders who lacked depth on the blue line especially in the last three games of that series were rotating through young inexperienced call ups to get them through the series. One of those call ups was young 22 year old Scott Mayfield.
He was a big 6’5″ defenseman who prior to his series debut in game six of the series had only played in five regular season NHL games, none of which came during the 2014-2015 season. While averaging just 12:30 of ice time in pressure-filled games six and seven, the Islanders second round pick in 2011 made a big impression fitting into an Islander lineup that was considered by many to be the most physical in the NHL.

After bouncing around between the Islanders and the Sound Tigers from 2014-2017, Mayfield became an NHL regular at the start of the 2017-2018 season and was looked at as a potential effective shut down defenseman which prompted the team to sign Mayfield to a five year extension with an AAV of just $1,450,000.
This contract became more than a bargain when Barry Trotz took over as head coach and installed his defense-first system, which solidified Mayfield’s role on the blue line as a big physical presence who is a heavy player to play against. Through the first 83 NHL games of his career the University of Denver product was an underwhelming -14. But since the 2018-2019 season Mayfield has played to a +26 in 146 games.
If you look at where Mayfield was before Trotz took over, it seemed Mayfield sparked more offensively than defensively. Look at his two seasons prior to Trotz and you will see that Mayfield, who was the teams sixth or seventh defenseman averaged .31 points per game while being a minus defender. But a 6’5 blue liner should be showcasing himself with defense, physicality, and shot blocking which are qualities of Mayfield’s game have have evolved over the last two seasons.

Scott Mayfield has been around for a few years now at age 27. Accompanied on defense with Devon Toews, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, the Islanders have seen their blue line grow from Bridgeport to Long Island. As for Mayfield, fans have seen him grow from a random playoff call up to a valuable defender for the Islanders that will be on the blue line for many years to come.