Ever since he stepped onto the ice as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, Jamie Drysdale appeared to be a step above of the typical defenseman we see here in this city. While some players you really have to dig deep into looking into their greatness — analyzing every single number or the little things that they do while studying tape — almost everyone watching could tell what made the 21-year-old defenseman a good hockey player.
Even with the pressure of being the major part of the return for top prospect Cutter Gauthier, Drysdale just played his game. His skating was as fluid as anyone we have seen in the orange and black, and his awareness of the play on every square foot of ice felt like he was doing what we could all see from above. It felt alien.
And on Monday night, to tie the game against the Arizona Coyotes, Drysdale continued to drop our collective jaws with an absolutely gorgeous play to score his second goal as a member of the Flyers.
Deflection, schmeflection. The puck might have bounced right off Matt Dumba’s skate and into his own net, but the hard work and effort the 21-year-old blueliner put in before attempting the shot should be worth a goal all on its own.
Thanks to this goal, his Flyers teammates had the opportunity to praise him after the game and Travis Konecny didn’t want anyone to leave without knowing what he thought of his newest teammate.
“He’s a special player,” Konecny said about Drysdale after the game. “I don’t know if you guys notice it, but the things he can do with his feet and the puck to create space for himself, yeah. And he’s still young, he’s going to grow and only get better.”
Drysdale has obviously impressed us, and even the most casual hockey observer will be able to point their finger at the screen and belch out a hockey player, good when he has the puck on his stick. But Konecny wants us to dig even deeper, look at how he can manipulate the opposing team to give him space so that he can pull off the magic of his natural talents.
And, of course, the defenseman is just so good that he doesn’t even really recognize his ability. When asked about his goal, he virtually shrugged and just treated what would be a whole lot of player’s dream play, as just another day at the office.
“Yeah, I mean, it just kind of happened. I don’t really know, to be honest,” Drysdale said. “The guys here, from coaching staff to management, said they wanted me to play with confidence and get up in the play, so I think it’s just about time I start doing it.”
The unceremonious way that Drysdale speaks about his own talents and any highlighted play from just about any game, makes it even that much cooler. To think, this player isn’t even really diving deep into his coverage and where he can find holes, it just comes completely natural to him and he can read plays with the best of them. He’s a freak, in the nicest way possible. And he’s our freak.
