Thank you so much to Rusty from Anaheim Calling for taking the time to answer our questions about the Flyers’ newest player, Jamie Drysdale! Rusty can be found on Twitter @thehockeyboomer.
Broad Street Hockey: Jamie Drysdale was selected with the 6th overall pick in the 2020 draft. What were the skills that made him a top pick, and what was the consensus among Ducks fans? Did it feel like the right selection, or a missed opportunity?
Rusty: I think it was the right pick for sure. All the talk around the draft that year was that the Ducks were going to take one of Drysdale or Jake Sanderson and when Sanderson went 5th to the Senators that about made that choice on it’s own. The first thing that stands out with Drysdale is his skating. He’s about as effortless and clean a skater as you’ll see and he has a very high-end four-way mobility that allows him to recover well in his own end as well as make clever little plays in the offensive zone. He walks the line really well on the powerplay and has shown an early knack for being able to get pucks through traffic and on net. He compounds that with a really high hockey IQ and strong puck skills.
BSH: Injuries have impacted Drysdale’s career, but he still has over 100 games of NHL experience before turning 22. In that time, how has his development been perceived? What flaws became apparent, and what strengths flashed?
Rusty: I think his development has been largely linear, or at least as linear as one can go while missing just weird stretches of time. One of the things I noticed about him in his return this year is that his physicality had increased, which is huge. He’s a smaller guy so he’s always going to have to rely on his smarts and skating to be a plus defender, especially in front of his own net, but his increased willingness to be more physical along the boards and around the crease will help lift his floor and hopefully allow him to blossom into the proper top-pair defender he has the potential to be. So as far as weaknesses go, it’s going to be his play in his own end but it’s something he’s very clearly worked on early in his career and he has a serious motor, combined with his skating he gives himself an opportunity to never truly be out of a play. Strengths are the passing and skating and creativity in the offensive zone, the ability to be a one man breakout and go goal line to goal line with the puck on his stick.
BSH: The Ducks have been rebuilding for a few years, and the Flyers are in the first year of their own rebuild. What kind of role did you expect Drysdale to fill as the Ducks marched back to contention? Is it likely the same role he’ll have in Philadelphia?
Rusty: I think there was a lot of hope that he could develop into a legitimate top pair offensive defenseman in Anaheim. Even if he was never able to completely iron out all the issues in his defensive game there was a lot of optimism around his ability to be a serious point producer from the blue line, a thing that Anaheim has been sorely lacking for a long time. As for how he fits in in Philadelphia, I think the easiest way to look at it is he is going to have a real chance at filling the hole the front office had hoped to fill with DeAngelo this offseason except without the part where he’s fantastically detestable. After hearing some of Tortorella’s comments about how much of a liability TDA was in his own end, I think the thing the coaching staff and fans will appreciate is that although Jamie isn’t a shutdown guy he plays hard and shows a genuine commitment to improving his defensive game and not leaving his teammates out to dry if and when he does get involved in the rush.
BSH: Any particular moments or highlights from Drysdale’s time in Anaheim that you think Flyers fans would love?
Rusty: The play that stands out to me that I think really exemplifies what he is as a player and what he’s all about as a teammate is from his rookie year. I can’t quite remember if it was in overtime or just a late game situation, but he was part of an odd-man rush up ice that led to a quality chance on net, goalie makes the save and springs a counter attack up ice the other way. Jamie goes from goal line to goal line and make a diving play to break up the attack. It’s entirely dependent on his skating ability, but more than anything it’s just indicative of how hard of a worker he is. He’s not a perfect player but 70% of defense is effort and he’s got that in spades.
BSH: Any closing thoughts?
Rusty: Just take care of our boy. I know this trade has left a weird taste in the mouths of the Flyers faithful but please give Jamie a chance. He’s a sweet kid and he’s got buckets of talent, if he’s able to put it all together he has a chance to be pretty special.
