Photo Credit: The Flyers
“Felt unbelievable. My first time I see the crowd. Unbelievable.” Jamie Drysdale said following his Flyers debut
Drysdale is a 21-year-old young man that can skate. He’s the fastest Flyers defenseman that I have seen in some time, and yes it only took one game to notice that. Drysdale really made an impression in his Flyers debut, and many who are watching the Flyers broadcast heard his name throughout the entire night. However, you heard his name all night in a good way, not a bad way for a defenseman. Usually, if a person is hearing a defensemen’s name, it’s a bad thing, not in Drysdale’s case, at least last night for that matter.
This young 21-year-old defenseman in Drysdale was all over the place on Wednesday night against Montreal Canadiens. He can transition in or out of the zone with the best of them, as he leads to charge up the ice. Drysdale can accelerate when he wants to, but he’s fast and it doesn’t look like he’s putting any effort into skating.
On Wednesday night, I really thought I was watching Paul Coffey. His game is very reminiscent of Coffey, and he immediately was a catalyst on the Flyers Power Play. On the Flyers first power play, Drysdale made an impact with using his skating to draw a defender towards him, passes the puck quickly for a Morgan Frost goal. His skating will draw people towards him, but his hockey IQ is what really stands out to me. He makes the right play nine out of 10 times.
“He’s a candidate to be a rover. Not just a defenseman, a rover,” Tortorella said of Drysdale. “I’m not going to jump up and down, but I am excited that we have a 21 year old right-handed defenseman that can skate like that.”
There were Provorov Jerseys in the crowd, and most of them had cardboard or paper plates being held up with duct tape saying “Drysdale”. Most Flyers fans are excited for this young man, and that was made evident on Wednesday night. Almost every single time he touched the puck the crowd would cheer, especially in overtime when he stepped out on the ice for the first time. There was a loud ovation of applause for Drysdale getting his first taste of overtime with the orange and black. One thing about Flyers fans, they are smart and knowledgeable. They know the importance of Drysdale and what he can eventually become.
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“You hear that Philly’s a great sports city, hockey city. You don’t really know until you actually experience it.” – Jamie Drysdale on the City of Philadelphia
On one special night for Drysdale, it was only fitting he got the dog mask, “I barked a few times, so that was new,” Drysdale said. It appears the City of Philadelphia and Drysdale are a match made in heaven, it can only get better from here.
