When Patrick Roy put George on the nominal top pair with Noah Dobson ahead of Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Senators in Ottawa, the belief was that “nominal” would be the operative word and Roy would likely spend the game rotating his defense pairs and leaning heavily on Dobson, Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock.

George is 20 years, nine months and 21 days old. He is the youngest prospect to debut for the Islanders since Aatu Raty, who debuted at 20 years and 20 days old on Dec. 23, 2022.

Sure, he’s a 20-year-old making his NHL debut just five games into his professional career and with his parents in the crowd at UBS Arena. And, sure, Isaiah George, recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport earlier in the day,

Remove all the context — the injuries, the Islanders’ record, the desperation inherent in calling up someone with just four professional games under his belt — for just a second, because on Tuesday morning,