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Jamie Drysdale

Flyers Expected To Activate Jamie Drysdale, Samuel Ersson

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The Philadelphia Flyers will have both defenseman Jamie Drysdale and goaltender Samuel Ersson available on Sunday night, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Drysdale has missed Philadelphia’s last 12 games after suffering an upper-body injury on November 9th, while Ersson has missed 11 games with a lower-body injury susatined on November 11th and reaggravated on November 13th. Hall adds that neither player is guaranteed to step right back into the lineup, though their activation from IR is certainly an encouraging sign.

Drysdale was a go-to defender for the Flyers before his injury. He averaged over 20 minutes of ice time and a consistent power-play role through Philadelphia’s first 15 games – but has so far only recorded three points, 12 shots, and a -10 to show for it. He ranks second-to-last in scoring among the Flyers’ blue-line, just ahead of Erik Johnson’s two points in 15 games. Drysdale was drafted sixth-overall in the 2020 NHL Draft and recorded 32 points in 81 games as a rookie with the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22. But the injury bug caught him soon after. He’s missed a combined 122 games over the last two seasons and hasn’t looked the same when healthy, netting just 10 points in 42 healthy games between 2022 and 2024. Philadelphia attempted to buy-low on the recovering defender last season, sending Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim for Drysdale and a second-round pick. That trade has yet to come to fruition for the Flyers, though Drysdale’s potential return on Sunday could start the streak that turns things around.

Meanwhile, Ersson will return to a goaltending room eager to have him back. He’s the only Flyers netminder with a save percentage above .900 – recording five wins and a .902 in 11 games before going down with injury. Philadelphia has turned towards Aleksei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov in Ersson’s absence – though neither netminder has managed a winning record or save percentage above Kolosov’s .881 in nine games. The Flyers have found a way to stay productive despite that, actually dropping their goals-against average from 3.50 to 3.10 in Ersson’s absence. That could be an encouraging sign now that their true starter is back to full health.

Flyers Place Nicolas Deslauriers On IR; Jamie Drysdale, Sam Ersson Day-To-Day

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that forward Nicolas Deslauriers has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The move is retroactive to Deslauriers’ last game on November 9th, allowing Philadelphia to activate him as soon as he returns to full health. Deslauriers left the team’s practice on Wednesday, after re-aggravating his injury on a blocked shot. General manager Daniel Briere dubbed him as day-to-day, the same designation provided to defender Jamie Drysdale (upper-body) and goaltender Samuel Ersson (lower-body), who are both working their way back from an IR placement of their own. Both Drysdsale and Ersson have returned to Philadelphia’s practices in full. Deslauriers’ move to IR would open the necessary roster space for the Flyers to activate both Drysdale and Ersson, should they be back to game shape soon.

Deslauriers has been a routine healthy scratch this season, making it hard to distinguish between when he’s missed games due to injury versus coaching decisions. He hasn’t had any notable stat changes through his last five games – spanning from late October to November 9th – recording just one point and two shots on goal while averaging under 6 minutes of ice time a game. Even his bruiser tendencies are tapering out, with one fighting major standing as Deslauriers’ only penalty through seven games – a far cry from the 136 penalty minutes he managed in a full 2022-23 season. His return won’t shake up the Flyers’ lineup too much, but the same can’t be said about Drysdale and Ersson – who will each return to position groups much more contested than when they left.

Ersson will have the toughest battle, looking to regain ground on Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov – who have split starts in the former’s absence. Philadelphia has improved their average goals-against per-game from 3.56 to 3.10 since Ersson suffered his injury on November 11th. They still rank in the bottom-half of the league in goals-allowed, but the improvement under their Russian and Belarussian tandem has been a welcome surprise, especially considering Ersson is the only Flyers netminder with a save percentage above .900. He sits at a .902 through 11 games this season, while Kolosov boasts a .882 in eight games, and Fedotov a .877 in 10 games. Those numbers, and Ersson’s 5-2-2 record on the season, should be enough to slot the Swede back into Philadelphia’s starting role – though the position will likely be much more of a committee after his absence.

Meanwhile, Drysdale’s absence has provided Yegor Zamula his own chance to earn a role. Zamula recorded his first goal and multi-point game of the season five games ago – with a two-point effort against Buffalo – but hasn’t managed any scoring since. Still, he’s rotated through the defense – playing as little as 13 minutes or as much as 20 minutes depending on the game. The 24-year-old sits with six points, a -10, and no penalties through 18 games this season – while averaging roughly 16 minutes of ice time per game. Those numbers are, again, not much to write home about – but they’re comparable improvements to the three points, -10, and one penalty that Drysdale recorded in 15 games before injury. He’s averaging over 20 minutes of ice time each game, and could quickly return to that role once fully healed – but Zamula’s persistence and lineup flexibility will create some tough decisions for head coach John Tortorella. Philadelphia acquired Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick from Anaheim for top forward prospect Cutter Gauthier last season. Gauthier has followed the theatrical trade with three goals and 11 points in 24 games this season.

Metro Notes: Frost, Flyers, Jiricek, Lindstrom

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Morgan Frost has had a tumultuous position in the Philadelphia Flyers’ lineup since John Tortorella took over as the team’s head coach in the 2022-23 season. He’s been a healthy scratch in three of the last four games, and this is coming one year after being a healthy scratch in half of the team’s first 20 contests last year. In an article (Subscription Article) in The Athletic, Kevin Kurz opines the Flyers could be headed for a breakup of sorts with Frost before his current contract ends.

There’s no questioning his skill on the offensive side of the puck. Frost scored 10 goals and 33 points over the last 50 games of the 2023-24 season finishing fifth on the team in scoring despite his time in the press box earlier in the year. That’s not enough for Tortorella to overlook his defensive shortcomings, as he typically expects much better two-way play from his centers.

Frost’s two-year, $4.2MM extension expires after this season and he’ll only have one more year remaining until he can hit unrestricted free agency. Kurz believes Philadelphia should trade Frost by the deadline despite selling low on the former-27th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft.

Other Metro notes:

  • Continuing in Philadelphia, the organization announced multiple injury updates earlier today. Notably, defenseman Cam York won’t return to the lineup this evening despite being a full participant in practice on Monday. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale and netminder Samuel Ersson remain on the injured reserve with their injuries while defenseman Emil Andrae is considered day-to-day with a mid-body injury.
  • This morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets surprised many by reassigning defenseman David Jiříček to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. Shortly after, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic wrote a scathing article (Subscription Article) on Columbus’ handling of the sixth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiříček has rarely had a consistent role with the Blue Jackets despite the team carrying a subpar defensive core and has little else to prove in the AHL after scoring 13 goals and 57 points in 84 career games.
  • Sticking in Columbus, Portzline reported that the team’s first pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Cayden Lindstrom, underwent a minor surgical procedure this morning. Lindstrom hasn’t played at all this season with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers due to a back injury, and today’s surgical procedure was a part of the recovery process. He was recently drafted with the fourth overall pick of this past summer’s draft after scoring 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games for the Tigers.

Metro Notes: Penguins, Drysdale, York, Chytil

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Josh Yohe might not have a crystal ball on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ future but, if his insights are close to accurate, the team is ready to begin in a full-on fire sale. In his recent article in The Athletic (Subscription Required), Yohe expects Pittsburgh to try and trade nearly everyone on the roster besides Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

This past week was a litmus test for the Penguins as they played against subpar teams such as the Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, and San Jose Sharks. Pittsburgh only collected three of a potential six points confirming for the team that the current iteration of the roster can’t compete.

Starting with the expiring contracts, Yohe asserts that Marcus Pettersson, Matt Grzelcyk, Anthony Beauvillier, Drew O’Connor, and Jesse Puljujarvi will likely find new homes should interested teams come calling. Pettersson should command the most return value of any expiring contract but his modified no-trade clause gives him moderate control of where he goes.

Yohe even suggested the Penguins will attempt to move veterans with term such as Kris Letang, Tristan Jarry, Ryan Graves, and Erik Karlsson. It makes sense for Pittsburgh to try and move away from these contracts. Still, salary and trade protection in each player’s contract inject considerable complications into any trade negotiation. The Penguins are likely better served waiting for next offseason to make any trades involving the latter group.

Other Metro notes:

  • Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia shared a few updates on injured defensemen for the Philadelphia Flyers Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York. Both defensemen are recovering from upper-body injuries suffered a few weeks apart with York expected to be the first to return. Drysdale will miss his fourth straight game for the Flyers tonight and hasn’t graduated out of a non-contact jersey up to this point in his recovery process.
  • Filip Chytil has already missed a full game for the New York Rangers and his return doesn’t appear imminent. Mollie Walker of the New York Post reported that Chytil is being evaluated by doctors in New York, and the organization couldn’t provide updates regarding his recovery timeline. Chytil, who has a recent history of concussions, hasn’t stepped on the ice since colliding with teammate K’Andre Miller in the team’s recent game against the San Jose Sharks last week.

Flyers Notes: Ristolainen, York, Drysdale

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After a rough showing last season, Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has been a much more impactful player in the early going this year, logging more than 20 minutes a night while chipping in with plenty of blocks and hits as usual.  Accordingly, some have wondered if he could become a trade candidate at some point.  Kevin Kurz of The Athletic relays (subscription link) that Philadelphia is fielding calls on the 30-year-old but they aren’t interested in just clearing out the remainder of his contract, one that carries a $5.1MM AAV through the 2026-27 campaign but haven’t formally set an asking price either.  Philadelphia has only used one of its three retention slots and could up the return by paying down part of the contract but it wouldn’t be surprising if a Ristolainen move happens closer to the trade deadline, if one happens at all this season.

More from Philadelphia:

  • Blueliner Cam York had a breakout season last year with 10 goals and 30 points and was off to a solid start this year before being sidelined with an upper-body injury. He’s in the final year of his bridge deal, one that carries a $1.6MM AAV.  However, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco suggests the next contract will cost considerably more, noting that Devon Toews’ contract in Colorado could be a comparable for negotiations.  Toews is on a seven-year deal with a $7.25MM AAV though it should be noted that each season is a UFA-eligible one, something that won’t be the case for York who isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028.  Regardless, York is well on his way to a sizable raise next summer.
  • Defenseman Jamie Drysdale took part in today’s morning skate with a non-contact jersey, notes Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury but the placement was made retroactive to November 9th so he’ll be eligible to return once fully cleared.  Drysdale was off to a quiet start to his first full season with the Flyers as he had just three points in his first 15 games although his 20:35 ATOI is the highest of his career.

Flyers Place Jamie Drysdale On IR, Activate Ryan Poehling

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The Flyers have placed defenseman Jamie Drysdale on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 9 with an upper-body injury, reports Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 22-year-old will miss the team’s next two games, but there’s no timeline for his return beyond that. His spot on the active roster is going to center Ryan Poehling, who’s coming off IR and will play tonight against the Sharks, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Drysdale’s first full season with the Flyers hasn’t gotten off to a good start. He’s avoided being scratched, playing in all 15 games to date, but has struggled to produce offensively, with only one goal and two assists. While he is averaging a career-high 20:35 per game, his -10 rating is third-worst on the team, and the Flyers have controlled just 42.7% of shot attempts with Drysdale on the ice at even strength.

Acquired from the Ducks for forward prospect Cutter Gauthier midway through last season, injuries have plagued the once-promising right-shot defender. Shoulder issues have limited him to just 57 games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

Few bet on Drysdale ever becoming a two-way dynamo – instead, his offensive prowess and power-play ability led the Ducks to select him sixth overall in the 2020 draft. He flashed that potential in 2021-22, recording 32 points in 81 games as a 19-year-old in his only healthy season. Drysdale has averaged over three minutes per game with the man advantage this year, but it hasn’t led to a resurgence in offensive production. All three of his points have come on the power play.

Drysdale’s injury means the Flyers will be without two of their three top-used defensemen this season tonight against San Jose. Cameron York is close to returning but remains unavailable, Hall reports. He’s also on IR and has been out since Oct. 25 with an upper-body injury. Veteran Erik Johnson will return to the lineup in Drysdale’s place while rookie Emil Andrae takes over as the quarterback on the Flyers’ top power-play unit.

Meanwhile, Poehling returns to action after missing the past few contests with a minor groin injury and for personal reasons. The 6’2″ 25-year-old last played on Nov. 2 against the Bruins. Through 12 appearances this season, Poehling has five assists and a +2 rating. He’s averaging 13:31 per game, a number that will likely increase tonight as he’s set to center the team’s second line between Anthony Richard and Matvei Michkov, the latter of whom will return to the lineup after being scratched for the past two games, the team confirmed. He replaces Morgan Frost, who will be a healthy scratch tonight, according to Hall.

In more minor injury news, goaltender Aleksei Kolosov practiced this morning and is close to returning the lower-body injury that forced the Flyers to dress an emergency backup goaltender against the Lightning last week, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports. The newly-promoted 22-year-old has a .863 SV% and a 0-3-0 record through his first three NHL appearances.

Pennsylvania Notes: Crosby, Drysdale, Bernard, Sedley

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Penguins fans are still waiting on confirmation that Sidney Crosby has signed an extension. Early last month, Rob Rossi of The Athletic reported that a three-year deal in the $10MM AAV range was close to being finalized, but nothing came across the wire. Speculation then ran rampant that he might ink a deal to keep him in Pittsburgh past this season on his birthday, Aug. 7, but that date also came and went without any news.

It’s a situation that has the potential to cast a dark cloud over the Penguins’ season if Crosby remains without a new contract when training camp begins, Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes. “This isn’t good for ticket sales,” Yohe opines. “It’s not good for corporate sponsorships. That lack of buzz around the Penguins right now is deafening, but it grows a little louder every day that passes without Crosby signing a new deal. He’s the Penguins’ heartbeat. He keeps the organization financially stable.”

Aside from the lack of any recent news, there’s no real indication that the relationship between Crosby’s camp and the Penguins’ front office, led by general manager Kyle Dubas, has fractured in the slightest. Both sides have still maintained constant public messaging that signing an extension is their top priority. The 37-year-old is still the team’s most impactful player by a wide margin, coming off a 42-goal, 94-point season in 2023-24.

More notes out of the Keystone State:

  • The Flyers are entering their first full season with defenseman Jamie Drysdale in tow. The 22-year-old defenseman was one half of a blockbuster swap with the Ducks last January, heading to Philly in exchange for the signing rights to 2022 fifth-overall pick Cutter Gauthier. After again struggling to stay in the lineup last season due to injuries, Drysdale enters a make-or-break 2024-25 campaign that will likely set the tone for the rest of his tenure with the Flyers, Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports writes (subscription required).
  • The Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, have signed Xavier Bernard and Sam Sedley to contracts for the 2024-25 campaign, per a team announcement. Bernard, 24, was a fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2018 but never signed his entry-level contract. He’s spent the past few seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL, most recently in the Oilers organization with the Bakersfield Condors and Fort Wayne Komets. He spent nearly all of 2023-24 in the ECHL with Fort Wayne, where the 6’4″ left-shot had 16 points, 92 PIMs and a +23 rating in 64 games. Sedley, meanwhile, is entering his first professional season after five years with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. The 21-year-old had been invited to multiple Flyers rookie camps in the past. The diminutive right-shot defender led Owen Sound defensemen in scoring last year with 63 points in 64 games.

Evening Notes: Drysdale, Summer Showcase, Young Stars Classic

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Adam Kimelman of NHL.com is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale should be ready for training camp in September after undergoing significant surgery in April. While the exact procedure is unknown, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere had said back on April 18th that Drysdale might need to have a procedure on his lower body.

Drysdale was acquired by the Flyers from the Anaheim Ducks along with a second-round pick in early January in exchange for Cutter Gauthier. He struggled after the trade, posting just two goals and three assists in 24 games, however, he suffered a significant injury in late February that looked to affect his left shoulder and caused him to miss 16 games. Briere did add that the former sixth overall pick would be better able to show his skillset after the most recent surgery and the latest ailment was in no way related to the previous shoulder injury

In other evening notes:

  • The World Junior Summer Showcase has officially been announced by USA Hockey (as per Steven Ellis of DailyFaceoff). The games will be held in Plymouth, Michigan between July 26th and August 3rd and will feature Team USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland. Teams will practice daily during the event and a total of nine international games will be played as part of the showcase. The event is a precursor that will offer players the opportunity to showcase themselves for their national teams prior to the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Ottawa, Ontario. That tournament will be played from December 26th, 2024, through January 5th, 2025.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have formally announced that they will host the Young Stars Classic rookie tournament in Penticton, British Columbia beginning on September 13th. The four-day tournament will feature four teams as the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets will participate alongside Vancouver in a six-game round-robin format. The tournament began in 2010 and regularly features players who get into NHL games the following season.

Snapshots: Drysdale, Thompson, Lee, Draft Lottery, Playoffs

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It was a tough season for Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale as he battled injury woes at multiple parts of the year.  Speaking with reporters today (video link), the blueliner indicated that when he was in the lineup, he was often playing hurt and that he might need a procedure done this summer to get back to full health for next season.  The 22-year-old was the centerpiece of the return they received for Cutter Gauthier back in January but he was limited to just 24 games with his new team and 34 on the season, a year after playing in only eight contests in 2022-23.  Drysdale is still viewed as a key piece of Philadelphia’s future and they’ll certainly be hoping that he can not only stay healthy but be an impactful player next season.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • During his end-of-season media conference (video link), Sabres GM Kevyn Adams indicated that the lower-body injury that Tage Thompson sustained in Monday’s season finale against Tampa Bay will take a few weeks to heal. Accordingly, he won’t play for Team USA at the upcoming Worlds.  After a slow start to his year, Thompson wound up collecting 29 goals and 27 assists in 71 games, an output that was down from the past two seasons but was still good enough to finish with three points of the team lead.
  • Islanders winger Anders Lee was a late scratch for their game tonight against Pittsburgh but it wasn’t for injury reasons. Instead, the team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran was scratched for personal reasons.  Lee’s season comes to an end with 20 goals and 17 assists in 81 games.  He also chipped in with a career-high 176 hits despite having his lowest ATOI (15:34) since the 2016-17 campaign.
  • The draft lottery will be held on either May 6th or 7th, pending finalization of the first-round schedule, relays David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The lottery will set the order for the first 16 selections for the upcoming draft in June.
  • The league announced the first game for each of the four Eastern Conference playoff series. Two series will begin on Saturday and two on Sunday.  The full schedule for each series will be released at a later date.  Heading into tonight’s action, three of the four series in the West weren’t set so those schedules aren’t likely to come for another couple of days.

Flyers To Reinstate Jamie Drysdale From Injured Reserve

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Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale will come off injured reserve ahead of tonight’s game against the Islanders after missing over a month with a shoulder injury. Philadelphia will likely make a corresponding transaction later Monday, as activating Drysdale gives them an excess of nine healthy defenders on the active roster with two of them being waiver-exempt (Ronald Attard, Adam Ginning).

Philly fans cringed when Drysdale sustained the injury on Feb. 25 against Pittsburgh, appearing to reinjure the shoulder that kept him out of all but eight games last year. A weeks-long absence isn’t ideal for the young blueliner as he tries to make his mark after being acquired from the Ducks midseason, but avoiding anything longer-term is still good news. Drysdale wasn’t overly impressive in 17 games with the Flyers, scoring twice and adding two assists, but he did log much-improved possession numbers from his time in Anaheim.

After the Ducks drafted Drysdale with the sixth overall pick in 2020, he had a breakout rookie campaign two seasons later, scoring 32 points in 81 games as a 19-year-old. The torn labrum less than a month into the 2022-23 season stunted all of his momentum, though, and he hasn’t been able to recapture his pre-injury form. A lower-body injury also cost him most of the early going of this year with Anaheim, and all in all has been limited to 27 appearances across his two clubs.

The sinking Flyers will gladly welcome his presence as they fight to turn things around and secure a playoff spot. They’ve gone 3-5-2 in their last 10 games, dropping them out of third place in the Metropolitan Division and putting them only two points ahead of the Red Wings, who have a game in hand, for the second wild-card spot in the East. Outside of their top pairing of Travis Sanheim and Cameron York, Philly doesn’t have many skilled puck-movers on their back end, and plugging Drysdale back into the lineup should allow trade deadline pickup Erik Johnson to be relieved of his overmatched top-four spot alongside Nick Seeler.

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