Early on in training camp, Jamie Drysdale looks brand new.
During the 40th game of the 2023-2024 campaign, the Philadelphia Flyers sent Cutter Gauthier to the Anaheim Ducks for Drysdale and a second-round selection in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. A mid-season trade acquisition, he is a relative unknown.
Drysdale joined the Flyers, but illness and injury hindered pace since his arrival. He contributed an assist in his debut, a shootout win versus the Montréal Canadiens, secured another helper in an overtime victory against the Minnesota Wild, and then missed the following two games opposing the Winnipeg Jets and the St. Louis Blues due to illness. After recovering from his illness, Drysdale played 15 games before he was dealt another blow to his health.
After 10:39 of ice time, Drysdale left with an upper-body injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Between his return from illness to the upper-body injury from a hit by Jansen Harkins, Drysdale left a lot of meat on the bone, only adding two goals with a -10 rating. Drysdale missed all of March, returning for several games to close the season. His start in Philadelphia was not any better than his end with the Ducks when he missed all but ten games in the first half of the season with a lower-body injury.
In April, after the end of the regular season, Drysdale underwent surgery to repair the lower-body injury lingering from Anaheim. His successful sports hernia surgery allowed him to begin skating in July. Drysdale remained local, spending his summer training at the Flyers Training Center, rehabilitating and relearning about a still-fresh change of scenery. He passed ‘the John Tortorella skate test,’ admitting it was mentally grueling. The real test for Drysdale was proving he can comfortably do what he is capable of since his health heavily restricted him last year.
Since Drysdale arrived in Philadelphia, he felt restricted in his ability, including not being able to warm up properly. Aiming for a healthier NHL season, Drysdale needs to be more aggressive in his focus. His skating was notable in the win against the Washington Capitals, 6-2. It is still early in the 2024 Training Camp, but Drysdale looks well-conditioned.
“The biggest thing for me with Jamie [Drysdale] is I want him making decisions and going with it. I just felt, and maybe it was the injury, he was in-between, and with legs like that, you can’t be in-between. Killing plays, going with the puck; all sorts of that go on in a hockey game, I just want him to be aggressive in his thinking.” – John Tortorella; 9/23/2024
His rehabilitation was the most critical element this summer. Now, Tortorella can coach Drysdale hard instead of worrying about lingering injuries. Tortorella is getting the ‘as advertised’ version this summer, and Drysdale is thriving in an ‘as advertised’ version of training camp.
“The summer was the most important part for me. Him [Drysdale] being there with our guys and going through the rehab with our people. In day one, for him and I, it’s really important. We’re going to get to know one another because I think I’m going to be able to start coaching him and not being concerned, because when you’re coaching a player that just doesn’t feel right in that part of the body, you got to be really careful, too. I think he’s healthy, he seems to have a great mindset, and he’s a young guy that’s been in the league a couple [of] years now, but hasn’t played a lot of games. We have a lot of coaching to do, and looking forward to it. As I said, he’s an important part.” – John Tortorella; 9/23/2024
Though he did not break through on the stat sheet, Drysdale put up a strong performance against the Capitals. He is thriving.
Learning from the coaches on the bench is gigantic for Drysdale. He already played four seasons in the NHL, but in three, he never dressed for more than half of a season. His start to the NHL slightly resembles Morgan Frost. Frost was slow out of the gate, partially due to injury, but eventually earned contracts to remain with the Flyers. Drysdale is very complimentary to Frost, especially on the powerplay, and both represent the U25 movement in Philadelphia.
“We’re going to coach him [Drysdale], and I’m going to coach him hard because I think he’s ready for that. If you’re asking a timeline [to recalibrate Drysdale], I think that’s the quickest way to get there; to test him, to try to push him in areas that maybe he’s not comfortable with, maybe let him fail sometimes. I think making mistakes and failing sometimes helps the process [move] quicker. I just don’t know him that well, even though he’s been there last year. We just haven’t gone through that process together. We’ll go through it this year.” – John Tortorella; 9/23/2024
Next season, a primary objective is to improve the powerplay and Drysdale positions to be an impact player on the attack.
However, these preseason exhibitions should not feed expectations. Take them with a shake of salt. Drysdale had a strong game in Washington against a team mostly made of prospects and minor-league starters. What happens in his upcoming campaign is full of tall expectations. Could Drysdale flirt with the 40-point milestone in 2024-2025?
