The Philadelphia Flyers traded one of the top prospects in hockey, Cutter Gauthier, for an inexperienced, inconsistent, and oft-injured defenseman in Jamie Drysdale. They certainly had their pick of names to choose from in the very private, under-the-table Gauthier sweepstakes, and the front office decided Drysdale was worth hitching their wagons to. To that point, the young defenseman had begun to stall in his development, but with a more stable environment in Philadelphia, we’re just beginning to see the fruits of their labor.

Jamie Drysdale staying on the ice is most important thing

Jamie Drysdale is not an imposing figure on the ice. He can eat as much as he wants, but it won’t make him any taller. With the days of Sam Morin in the distant rear view, the Flyers have taken fliers on defenders apt at moving pucks effectively rather than people — Cam York, Emil Andrae, and Drysdale are all six feet tall or under. With the size concerns usually come worries of injuries, something Drysdale has dealt with plenty of in his professional career, though Rasmus Ristolainen has taught us that size means no such thing.

After a very successful age-19 season that saw him play 81 games and rack up four goals and 28 assists, Drysdale played just 18 games the rest of his Ducks career. After missing 74 games in the following season, he managed to suit up in 34 games between the two clubs the year of the trade, with 24 coming in Philadelphia. The defenseman left the ice a few times in his career with left shoulder issues, none more worrying than the hit he took against the Pittsburgh Penguins as a Flyer in 2024.

With this being the same shoulder that he’d suffered a torn labrum a couple of years prior as a Duck, concern grew quickly about his long-term outlook. Luckily, Drysdale was able to return for the final seven games of this season, and it’s been pretty smooth sailing ever since, so long as Ross Johnston stops skating around with his eyes closed. He’s missed just three games since December 2024, all of them due to the misconduct by Johnston.

Results are much improved

Drysdale was drafted with his offensive upside as his calling card. Initially, this looked to be translating immediately, as the Anaheim Ducks threw him straight into the deep-end as a teenager, where he managed a combined 40 points as an 18 and 19 year old. He hasn’t been able to crack 30 points again, but he also had missed a lot of time between now and then. Per MoneyPuck, His Points Per 60 (on-ice) is now actually well above those first years — 0.92 this season, compared to the 0.61 in his highest scoring season. He’s on pace for 34 points, which would be a career high.

MORGAN FROST!!! YOU COULD TELL HE WAS GONNA GET ONE. UNBELIEVABLE PLAY BY JAMIE DRYSDALE. MICHKOV POINT. 3-3!!!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/wKFk5Bhn4B

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) January 14, 2025

Not only are the raw totals looking better, his advanced numbers are showing big steps taken in the last couple of seasons. The past two years saw his Expected Goals For percentage jump above 51 percent for the first time, whereas in Anaheim, he had been at 46 percent. His actual Goals For percentage saw an enormous leap: a dismal 26.8 percent the year he was traded to a much more manageable 48.1 percent this season — well clear of any previous seasons. He’s put in the work defensively, and is no longer getting caved in.

That 2023-24 season’s numbers were disastrous. With a larger sample size now that he’s recovered from that injury-riddled year, and not the worst goal-tending in hockey behind him, we’ve seen markedly better results across the board. He’s playing the most minutes of his career, averaging 21:32 of time on ice for the season, with a career-high 26:46 against Columbus in a regulation game two weeks ago. The Flyers have rebuilt this former sixth overall pick into the very smooth skating, two-way defender that he was meant to be.

He still has plenty of time

It’s easy to forget how young Drysdale really is. He came over at just 21 years old — younger than many players in the NCAA — and had already been in the league for three years. Defensemen typically take a little longer to round out their game, and there’s evidence of that with the emergence of Travis Sanheim. Sanheim, now 29, was effectively traded for Torey Krug in 2023, and this year, will make his Olympic debut for Canada. Drysdale won’t turn 24 until April of this year, and while we’re hoping it doesn’t take another four or five years to develop fully, he’s got plenty of runway left, and has even begun to take a leadership role. The confidence is clearly growing.

JAMIE DRYSDALE BOMB!!!! 3-2!!!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/x0XhLJWOHD

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) February 4, 2026

So long as he stays healthy, there’s no reason that Drysdale can’t turn himself into a great second-pair defenseman on a playoff team. If they ever figure out the powerplay — which he’s admittedly not proven to be very effective at thus far — his production will look much more like a guy that was drafted sixth overall. With big goals through traffic in recent games against Washington and Ottawa, the offense might be coming around for the final stretch of the season, and will be a big building block for what is hopefully a breakout scoring season next year.

In a contract season, the Flyers might benefit from taking a bet on this talent. There’s a good player in there, and the numbers suggest he’s improving year-to-year. As the supporting cast continues to improve around him, Drysdale will look better and better, and should be part of the core moving forward. It will be interesting to see if the Flyers go the bridge deal route — one that Drysdale has already taken with Anaheim — or if both sides will be more interested to sign a long-term deal. There’s a lot of eggs in this basket, and I’d guess he’s here for the long haul.