Jamie Drysdale says he’ll be ready for Flyers training camp after undergoing surgery
Acquired in the Cutter Gauthier trade, Drysdale played through an injury sustained in October while with the Ducks until his season was finally cut short.
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Flyers captain Sean Couturier isn’t the only member of the team who underwent sports hernia surgery in the offseason.
On Wednesday, defenseman Jamie Drysdale revealed that he underwent the procedure on his left side in April for an injury sustained while playing for the Anaheim Ducksin their season opener, on Oct. 14. He played in one more game before missing time until right before the Christmas break with what was then called a lower-body injury.
Drysdale, 22, was acquired by the Flyers in early January, along with a 2025 second-rounder, for Cutter Gauthier.
“That was not a lot of fun to play with, but could get through it, could manage as best as we could,” Drysdale told reporters during the Flyers Community Caravan stop in Ocean City, N.J.
“[The doctors] mentioned it was not ideal,” Drysdale said. “It was probably worse than what they thought it was. … I guess they call it a sports hernia, but really just a tear of the muscle.”
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The blueliner said at locker clean-out day that he “potentially” would be undergoing surgery this offseason. Flyers general manager Danny Brière confirmed to The Inquirer in early June that Drysdale did have surgery to fix the then-undisclosed issue and had not yet resumed skating.
Drysdale was spotted watching Flyers development camp alongside Cam York, Joel Farabee, and Tyson Foerster and said he started skating last week. He is expected to be ready for training camp.
“I stayed in Philly the whole time pretty much after the year, got surgery done, and started the rehab right away,” he said. “I’ve just been training there, staying on top of it and feeling good.”
Drysdale played in 10 games for the Ducks and 24 games for the Flyers, collecting a combined 10 points (three goals, seven assists). As a guy who “can fly like the wind” and is “such a smooth skater,” as York said in January, a sports hernia can impact his ability to do just that. Having a fully healthy Drysdale would provide a boost to the Flyers lineup, especially on the NHL’s worst power play; two of his five points with the Orange and Black were with the man advantage.
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“Obviously when we got him, he was probably only about 50 percent, 60 percent, he was playing through a bunch of stuff, so it’s been really nice just to see him skating in the summer,” Joel Farabee told reporters Wednesday. “He’s obviously a great skater. … But when he’s really playing at 100 percent, he controls the game.
“It’s something that our [defense] corps has needed for a long time, a guy who can control the play like he does. So, we’re super pumped to have him, whether it’s five-on-five, power play, you name it, he’s going to be playing, so it’s really special and he’s a great player.”
Drysdale missed almost a month with the Flyers with an upper-body injury after getting crunched by Jansen Harkins in the neutral zone on Feb. 25 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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“The main thing that was going through my head was just, like, [expletive] not again,” Drysdale said the morning of his return on April 1.
Drysdale’s left shoulder — the same one he grabbed at PPG Paints Arena — required surgery in 2022 after he suffered a torn labrum that October, ending his season eight games into the 2022-23 campaign.
Since being selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2020 NHL draft, Drysdale has hit 81 games only once in his career. He has played in 147 games and registered 50 points, including 15 on the power play.
“I’ve technically been in the league for four years, but I always say I’ve only played about a year and a half,” Drysdale said Wednesday. “Just playing a full year, showing what I can do, what I know I can do, I think that’s kind of went under wraps the last couple years to be honest with you.”
Certainly, the Flyers are hoping that the Drysdale everyone saw fly around the World Juniors stage, was an Ontario Hockey League All-Star with the Erie Otters, and potted 32 points in his first full season will finally emerge. The Orange and Black open training camp Sept. 18 and drop the puck Oct. 11 in Vancouver against the Canucks.