The defenseman was acquired from the Ducks on Jan 8 and anticipates the Stadium Series game against the Devils
It’s been a little over a month since Jamie Drysdale was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers from the Anaheim Ducks, and the defenseman is finally feeling comfortable.
“I’d say I feel settled,” Drysdale said. “As settled as you can feel.”
From an early-morning flight to a new city, scoring a point in his first game, battling a serious illness, and enjoying a tropical getaway during the All-Star break, it’s been quite a whirlwind since January 8. Call informing him that he was on his way to Philadelphia.
And now he has another big moment ahead with the first outdoor game of his NHL career. The Flyers will face the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+, TVAS-D, SN1).
“I’m really looking forward to that,” Drysdale said. “When I got traded, many guys on the Ducks mentioned, ‘Well, on the bright side, you get to play in that outdoor game.’ Ever since then, I’ve been looking forward to it. I think it should be a lot of fun and a really cool experience.”
Drysdale’s father built an outdoor rink behind their home in Toronto for him and his older brother, Charlie, to skate on when they were younger.
It will be rather different to play in front of 80,000 spectators at an NFL stadium.
“I think it’ll be awesome,” he said. “Definitely a new experience. That’s one of the reasons you play. I’m pretty excited about it because of the amazing atmosphere.”
Drysdale has had plenty of memorable moments building up to the Stadium Series. It all began with a 5:45 a.m. flight from Nashville, where the Ducks were getting ready to face the Predators, to Philadelphia the morning after the trade. He made it in time to join a 30-minute practice session and get acquainted with some of his new Flyers teammates and coaches.
The following night, he was on the roster and provided an assist on the game-tying goal in Philadelphia’s 3-2 shootout victory against the Montreal Canadiens. His parents were in the stands, flown in with assistance from general manager Daniel Briere.
“That was huge,” Drysdale said. “I can’t thank them enough for that. It felt like a new first game. Although it seems impossible to relive your first game, it’s actually the closest you can go. It was awesome.”
After that, he hit the road for a three-game trip, but he missed the next two games after playing the first one against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 12 due to an illness.
It wasn’t enjoyable, I can tell you that,” he said. I’d dislike for anyone else to go through that. It wasn’t great.”
He returned to play six games before the All-Star break, which concluded with five consecutive losses.
Although Drysdale’s new colleagues had other ideas, he had intended to spend the vacation in Toronto. Defenseman Cam York was among a group of about 10 players who took Drysdale to Mexico for a few days of sun, sand, and beach volleyball.
“I had absolutely nothing to do,” Drysdale said. “They booked the ticket for me, arranged the hotel, everything, so I literally just had to show up.”
York mentioned that it was simple and meaningful to include Drysdale.
“It was a really enjoyable trip with a lot of good memories,” York stated. “He joined us afterward, and he was glad to be there in our company.”
Drysdale is also focusing on adapting smoothly on the ice; in 12 games since the trade, he has tallied four points (two goals, two assists) and a minus-6 rating, while averaging 18:56 of ice time.
“I believe he’s a work in progress,” stated Flyers coach John Tortorella. “He still has a lot to learn. He still has a lot to learn, in my opinion, about timing, space, and positioning. I’m not sure how Anaheim accomplished it exactly, but they played man-on-man, and right now he’s attempting to understand our zone coverage scheme. Just the overall positioning of that play, understanding angles, understanding checking forward. With a 21-year-old child, we assumed that we would have a lot of work ahead of us there.
“Nevertheless, his potential in skating and knack for evading defenders are highly promising.” However, in terms of his overall game, there’s a lot to improve on.”
Assistant Brad Shaw has taken on much of that work, but Drysdale has appreciated their additional sessions together.
Shaw’s an incredible hockey mind, so I was eager to start working with him,” Drysdale said. The small details matter the most: knowing when to play, where to position the sticks, and how to stay inside the lines. We’ve been going over the video. He’s not kind of overloading me with stuff, but little things here and there.”
That work will persist beyond the Stadium Series game as Drysdale continues to acclimate to his new environment.
“It’s still a work in progress,” he said. “[Shaw] just talks with so much detail. It’s quite straightforward to learn from him, honestly; he doesn’t overcomplicate anything. He makes it very simple, very plain. “I think that’s something that’s easy to learn from, and I’ll just continue doing that, picking his brain and seeing what happens.”
About the Author: David Ornil is the founder and publisher of icebrek.com, specializing in insightful articles about sports. With years of experience in content writing, David is passionate about delivering accurate and engaging content
