Tortorella encouraging Jamie Drysdale to play even more offensive
Every so often, we see the Jamie Drysdale that many predicted he would become when taken sixth overall back at the 2020 NHL Draft. Since he has been a member of the Philadelphia Flyers after the trade with the Anaheim Ducks over a year ago, the 22-year-old has steadily been able to show more and more of that potential. Becoming more comfortable after a treacherous start to his professional career, marred by injuries and lack of true development time, Drysdale is doing just enough to keep the hope alive for Flyers fans that he can be a dominant presence on the blue line one day.
On Tuesday night, as the Flyers hosted the archrival Pittsburgh Penguins, and proceeded to beat them to a pulp to the tune of a 6-1 scoreline, the main takeaway was the dominance of the trio of Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, and Tyson Foerster. But, in addition to the sublime play from those three, Drysdale was all over the ice and made one of the most complete plays we have seen from him in the Orange and Black to assist on Foerster’s goal.
Tyson Foerster buries the one timer ⏲️ pic.twitter.com/DFxze6jGNg— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 26, 2025
It all starts with Drysdale having a prime scoring chance but just shot the puck a tad wide of the net, sending it careening around the boards for a Penguins breakout on the counterattack. But being the aware player that he was on Tuesday night, the 22-year-old blueliner quickly got back and intercepted a neutral-zone pass and quickly pivoted the play up the ice, helping Brink on the zone entry, getting the drop pass from his winger, and then sending a perfect cross-ice pass to a waiting Foerster to one-time it into the back of the net. Just a play that essentially was stepping on the Penguins’ neck to finish the game. And Drysdale was the main driver of it.
Typically, we think coaches around the league want some offensive talents to play a more all-around game, but not Flyers head coach John Tortorella. After last night’s win, and really all season long, Tortorella praised Drysdale on that specific play and wants even more of that from him.
“Rove. Just rove. He won’t last in the National Hockey League if he thinks he’s going to be a defensive defenseman and just defend,” Tortorella said postgame. “He’s improved, I think he’s seeing the ice a little bit better. It’s a great indication of his play, how he’s thinking aggressively — shoots one wide, gets the puck, moves it quick, fast, and stays in the play. It’s encouraging. He’s still inconsistent but it’s encouraging that it’s there with him.”
That is encouraging. Instead of trying to force the young blueliner to play in a certain way or to approach plays with a more cautious approach, Tortorella is simply telling Drysdale to put the pedal to the metal. Of course, he doesn’t want crazy pinches or irresponsible play — we saw some of that earlier this season — but learning the right balance of when to attack certain opportunities is all about being an elite offensive defenseman in the NHL.
Drysdale is slowly getting there and with some more patience, he should establish himself as that type of player. Back at the start of the season, we would be content if Drysdale was healthy and playing not terribly — now, we can check that box and possibly hope for more. Was Tuesday night a sign of more to come? Maybe, just maybe.
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