Jamie Drysdale was one of a few Philadelphia Flyers players who made an appearance at the Flyers’ Community Caravan in Ocean City, New Jersey, on Wednesday afternoon. The 22-year-old defenseman, now recovered from an April sports hernia surgery, has resumed skating.
Drysdale met up with our own Sam Carchidi in Ocean City on Wednesday afternoon and disclosed that he had actually been dealing with the core muscle injury since Game 1 of the 2023-24 season, something that preceded his trade to the Flyers by several months. The good news, though, is that Drysdale is finally feeling “100%” as he continues to rehab and prep for training camp and the season ahead.
Injuries are something that has seemingly always plagued the young Flyers defenseman.
In his first full season in the NHL in 2021-22, Drysdale appeared in 81 regular season games for the Ducks, scoring four goals, 28 assists, and 32 points. However, in the one season before and the two seasons since, the Toronto, Ontario, native has appeared in a total of 66 regular season games.
And, in addition to his sports hernia surgery, Drysdale also suffered a left shoulder injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 25, which ended up costing him another 16 games away from the ice.
The good news for the Flyers is that, because of the sports hernia, Drysdale has not played a single minute for the Flyers at the peak of his powers. This, of course, means that in addition to Drysdale’s continued development as a young hockey player, there’s a high likelihood that the on-ice results improve if for no reason other than being healthy.
The 2020 No. 6 overall pick managed to play in 24 games for the Flyers this season, scoring two goals, three assists, and five points, including one goal and one assist on the power play. With the Flyers passing on Zeev Buium in the 2024 NHL Draft, the organization continues to show its faith in Drysdale with both actions and words.
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