Jamie Drysdale is two games into his return from an upper-body injury.
And two promising games at that.
The Flyers' youngest defenseman recorded an assist and a plus-4 rating in 18:41 minutes per game. He was up the ice, he was confident with the puck and he played well alongside Nick Seeler, a pair the Flyers have hoped would be a formidable one.
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The Flyers did not rush Drysdale back from his injury. If anything, they took their time. He missed 12 games and had plenty of on-ice work. Perhaps an indirect result was he played like an extra motivated guy in his first two games back.
Drysdale has worked closely with assistant coach Brad Shaw ever since being acquired in the Cutter Gauthier trade.
"Jamie's a great learner," Shaw said at the start of November. "He asks great questions, he's intent, he wants to learn. And that is sometimes half the battle."
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The key for Drysdale is consistently using his legs to escape trouble in the defensive zone and keep the Flyers playing in the offensive zone. More offense means less defense. The Flyers are not asking him to be a perfect defender. They know he's a work in progress on that side of the puck at just 22 years old.
"He wants to try to do everything as fast as he can," Shaw said in September. "And that's great. There are a lot of parts of the game where the faster the better.
"There are times when you're in the exact perfect position and you shouldn't move at all. So learning to slow down basically, learning to recognize when that full speed gear isn't necessary and only takes you out of good ice."
With the emergence of the Emil Andrae-Rasmus Ristolainen pair, a healthy Drysdale next to Seeler could solidify the Flyers' defense. John Tortorella was "very encouraged" by Drysdale's performance Sunday night in the defenseman's first game back. And Drysdale built on it Tuesday night in the Flyers' 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets.
"Shawsy's done some tape with him, I put together a little bit of a tape for what we're looking for him to turn into," the head coach said Sunday night before the Flyers' 4-2 loss to Utah. "There will be some rust, he hasn't played a lot. That position, you need to get the looks. We'll put him in there and see where he goes."
So far, so good.
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