The Philadelphia Flyers have quite a few young players who are looking to take a step forward this season. One of those key players is defenseman Jamie Drysdale.
Drysdale had a strong finish to last season, going from averaging under 19 minutes in December and January to as high as 21:31 in his 16 games in March. He’s now played 218 games in his NHL career after Thursday night’s season opener, but the blueliner is still just 23 years old.
There is plenty of room for Drysdale to grow, and new head coach Rick Tocchet has high hopes for the defenseman.
Tocchet coached one of the best defensemen in the league in Quinn Hughes in Vancouver, and he’s seen plenty of top players throughout his hockey career as a player, analyst, and coach. He likes what he’s seeing out of Drysdale in his short time with the blueliner.
“I see a guy that’s very motivated to take his game to another level. I’ve really liked his camp, and he really wants to learn. He wants to make the next play as a defender. If he walks the blue line, can he make that next play? Those are the moves that I think he can do,” Tocchet said after practice on Friday. “I think he should watch video of Quinn Hughes, the (Cale) Makars of the world, (Zach) Werenskis. I think those are good benchmarks for him to look what they’re doing, how they control the game, because I think he has it in him.”
Makar and Hughes may be a high bar for Drysdale. The Avalanche defenseman has won the Norris Trophy twice while finishing as a finalist in three other seasons before turning 27. Hughes also has a Norris Trophy under his belt with a top-three finish last season.
But the potential could be there for Drysdale to be one of the top defensemen in the league if he hones his game. And it’s not just on the offensive side of the puck.
“I see him trying to close in on people and trying to stop cycles. He’s not waiting around,” Tocchet continued. “I like that, the aggressiveness there. He’s trending in the right direction for me.”
Drysdale took a big step last season under assistant coach Brad Shaw and head coach John Tortorella, who also compared him to Werenski as a rover.
Tocchet views those types of defenseman more as game managers.
“I just think, for him, there’s a time and place for him to go and manage the game. There’s sometimes pockets of the game where they can control the game, those type of defenseman can control the game,” he said. “Whether it’s a smart play in the neutral zone. Whether it’s walking the blue line and making a play down low or just shooting the puck. I think those are the types of players who can control games.”
Given how the Flyers’ blue line looks this season, and the lack of defensemen in the pipeline, getting Drysdale to a place where he can carry his own pair would be huge.
While Drysdale may never be a Norris Trophy finalist, having him develop into a reliable top-four defenseman (or better) would mean one less piece the Flyers have to go and find in their rebuild.
