Jamie Drysdale set to make Flyers debut against Montreal Canadiens

It’s a new era of orange for Jamie Drysdale, who will officially go from Anaheim orange to Flyers orange on Wednesday night.

Less than 48 hours removed from being a Duck, Drysdale will make his Flyers debut at home against the Montreal Canadiens. The right-handed defenseman slots into the lineup with the Flyers running 11 forwards and seven defensemen. He partnered with Travis Sanheim during Tuesday’s practice, and both also stayed on the ice after Wednesday’s morning skate getting extra work together.

“I’m just looking forward to getting in the game at home in front of the crowd,” Drysdale said Tuesday. “I heard playing as the home team here is kind of fun. Maybe not [for] the away team.”

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Flyers coach John Tortorella expects to see some hiccups, as Drysdale finds his footing in a new city and adapts to the Flyers’ system. The entire team had a session Wednesday morning going over zone coverage defense, which is one major difference from the Ducks, who typically use a man-coverage system.

“We’ve talked with him, given him enough information,” Tortorella said. “Now we just want to let him play.”

Drysdale will immediately get a look on the Flyers’ second power play unit. Egor Zamula, who has been “quarterbacking” the Flyers power play over the past several weeks, will stay on the first unit. Drysdale said Tuesday that he’d embrace any role he’s given on the power play.

“I’m glad we have them now at such a young age, and where we are as an organization right now to go through that,” Tortorella said. “We knew Z was good with the puck. But we’ve really been taken aback a little bit how calm he has been, and his vision on the power play. Watching tape of Jamie, he’s played on the power play. I think Cam Fowler had a unit and he had a unit out there in Anaheim. So we’ll let them play. And we’ll correct it. A 21-year-old kid, this is the time to teach.”

Scott Laughton is one of several familiar faces to Drysdale in his new locker room, as the pair have been training together in the offseason since Drysdale was in juniors. Laughton said he grabbed dinner with him after Drysdale’s first practice with the Flyers.

“It’s going to be great for him. Just the market that we’re in is a little different than Anaheim,” Laughton said. “... It’s been great getting to know him. He’s pretty quiet guy, takes it very seriously, takes care of himself, and he’s a good pro already.”

Nicolas Deslauriers, who is from La Salle, Québec, will sit against Montreal after also being a scratch on Jan. 2 against the Oilers. Last season Deslauriers was a part of the Flyers’ penalty kill, though he’s lost some ice time in those situations with new faces like Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway, plus the return of Sean Couturier. With the Flyers’ penalty kill among the best in the NHL, that doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon.

Tortorella said the decision to sit Deslauriers came down to numbers after the acquisition of Drysdale. Marc Staal is also a scratch.

“It kills me to take [Deslauriers] out, because he does so much,” Tortorella said. “He’s such a great pro and does so much of the heavy lifting for us. So right now he’s the guy. ... Just on the human side, I think the world of Nic, and I know it kills him to sit out.”

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Deslauriers declined to speak to the media during pregame.

“The way they have to look at it, that gives them a chance to get more practice time, more a little bit one-on-one with Angelo [Ricci], work on their skills and their game, and just wait their turn. I don’t know how else to do it with them,” Tortorella said. “You’re not going to have everybody happy about things when your team is growing. And so to me, it’s a really good sign, having to make tough decisions, because you have more bodies, and your team is growing. It’s evolving.”

Sam Ersson (.904 SV% 2.50 GAA) will start in net. ... Tortorella faces off against a close friend in Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis, who previously played for Tortorella in Tampa Bay.

“[Louis] drove me crazy, because there was so many questions and every shift was a question,” Tortorella said. “He made me a better coach, because you have to be on your toes with him.”