Photo : NHL.com
Basic Player Overview:
DOB: April 8th, 2002
2019/20 Team(s): Erie Otters (OHL)
Nation: Canada
Position: D
Height/Weight: 5’11”/175 lbs
Handedness: Right
Introduction:
On an improving Erie Otters team that finished the season in 8th, Drysdale put up 47 pts in just 49 games while also winning a gold medal for Canada at the 2020 World Juniors. Ranked 3rd on NHL Central Scouting’s North American final ranking only behind Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield, Drysdale is widely seen as the top defenceman in this year’s draft. A mobile defenceman, who can be called a 2-way defender in every sense of the word. Drysdale represents the next group of young defenceman who dazzle with their skating ability. Combining his skating with his passing and puck skills, they set him up to be a quarterback on the Erie defence. Being an offensive player at the point, while also being reliable defensively, called upon to play the penalty kill in addition to being a quarterback on the power-play.
Skating:
Viewed by many including himself, Drysdale’s skating ability is his strongest skill. Like many modern day defencemen in the NHL like Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Miro Heiskenen to name a few, Drysdale’s outstanding edges and his great footwork contribute to his high level skating, and are catalysts for him on both the offence and defence.
Drysdale puts his smooth skating on display for everyone at the Meridian below. Once Drysdale takes the pass, he recognizes the open space that has opened up in between the 3 Niagara players after Roberts trails Golod after the drop pass to Drysdale. As soon as he sees the open space, Drysdale uses a quick crossover to shift slightly left and accelerate into that space. Once in the middle of the 3 defensive players, Niagara does a good job of closing in on Drysdale, but once they do, Drysdale uses his supreme edgework to move smoothly around Roberts maneuvering himself along the blue line and all the way back to the right point, where he is able to get a shot past Roberts
In addition to using his skating on the offence, he does a great job of using his skating to separate from opposing players both offensively and defensively. He does a great job with his edges to turn away from, and he accelerates away from pressure behind. An excellent example is below where he uses a quick tight turn to pull away from the pressure coming from the second Saginaw player in the middle. He uses this separation to eventually send a stretch pass up the ice, eliminating the pressure and starting the breakout.
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He is so good at using so many different areas of his skating, whether it be quick footwork, strong edges, or acceleration. Below he combines his quick footwork and then acceleration. Drysdale takes the puck behind the net, then identifying pressure coming, he stops on a dime and goes back the way he came. While still facing pressure from the Sting player, he uses his acceleration to pull away and out of the Erie zone. Just a great use of footwork and display of acceleration after having to stop and turn around.
Although he is such a great skater and can do so much because of it, he does get himself into trouble sometimes by trying to do too much with his feet. He will skate into pressure, trying to twist and turn or accelerate through the pressure, rather than a chip off the glass. Additionally, unlike the modern strong skating defencemen like Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes or Miro Heiskanen, who can and will take the puck deep into the offensive zone, and stay with the puck deep in the zone, Drysdale tends to stay above the face off dot. Carrying the puck into the zone, and either shooting or chipping it past the defencemen. This is an area, where is he is able to grow more and add this type of dynamic aspect to his game, will make him an even bigger threat.
Hockey IQ:
Although Drysdale’s skating is probably his top skill, he also thinks and processes the game at such a high level which allows him to combine his skating, puck skills and passing to put himself in great positions on the ice to make great plays. He is constantly checking the ice before he picks up the puck, and as soon as he touches he’s making smart plays with the puck. Drysdale is reads the ice so well and is so good on his feet, that he is able to put himself in positions to show the opposition one thing, and then do something else.
Take a look at this sequence below, once he has the puck, he pivots forwards giving him a view of the ice while also keeping both the pass and shot option available. All in this sequence he is able to show shot at the face off dot, smoothly transition backwards behind the net, and passes the puck with his feet at the other side of the net. Passing the puck when the Sarnia goalie pushes off to the other post, giving Swankler an empty net.
This next play is a beautiful combination of what makes Jamie Drysdale so special. As he walks in with the puck from the circle area, his eyes create so much for him. He never looks anywhere other than at the net till the Czech defender goes down to the ice. He draws that defenceman to try and take the shot away, and then knowing his skating he quickly curls around the defenceman. After which he makes a great pass to Perfetti in front.
Puck Skills and Passing:
A teams offence starts with its defence and breakout in it’s own zone, and Jamie Drysdale is a quarterback at the backend, whether it be at even strength or on the man advantage. Like a quarterback on the football field from his own side of the field surveying the play in front of him before he throws a crisp pass to his receiver, Drysdale does much of the same in his own zone. As soon as he picks the puck up he is consistently moving his body and putting his head up to see the ice and what options are up the ice. He averages about 25.4 passes per game with a completion percentage of about 85%, showing that he rarely misses his passes. On the breakout he can recognize when he needs to make a short straight tape to tape pass to move the play up and out of the defensive zone or when he needs to use his quick puck skills to pass off the boards to a teammate or quick little saucer pass around an opposing player.
In addition to those shorter passes in his own zone, Drysdale has shown he is good at making stretch passes to the far blue line area, seeing the open lane and then making a hard accurate pass to his teammate. A perfect example of this is in the first clip below. Drysdale has multiple options when he has the puck here and is carrying it behind the net. He recognizes the space that Germany is giving him, and after taking a step out in front his own net, he sees the lane that is between the 2 German players. He sees that lane, he knows he’s making a stretch pass, which he quickly makes a hard pass on the tape to Quinton Byfield at the far blue line. All with a great stretch pass, Drysdale is able to quickly get the puck out of his own zone, and his team into the offensive zone.
The next clip below, is another great instance where Drysdale receives the puck in his own zone, puts his head up, sees the stretch pass opportunity, and then makes a strong pass on the tape to send his teammate in on a breakaway.
In addition to his strong passing ability on the breakout in the defensive zone, Drysdale is a catalyst on the point for Erie. He tallied 38 assists this past season in the OHL, with much of his assists coming from above the faceoff circles. Now, some of his assists come as a result of him shooting the puck on net resulting in a rebound or him making a pass to the side wall for a teammate to shoot from the faceoff dot area. However, it has become increasingly more clear that there is greater intent behind his shots. Making shots passes to the net front area, or shooting for the pads or blocker of the goaltender. Drysdale has also consistently shown he can make more difficult passes in the offensive zone to create scoring chances at the net.
A great display of his passing from the right point here on the play below. Takes the pass from across the ice, then walks in a couple steps, giving him a lane to the net. Drysdale spots his teammate coming across to the front of the net from the backside. He makes an accurate low shot pass on the tape, which is tipped in for a goal.
Along with his passing, Drysdale’s quick hands and his ability to maintain possession of the puck while moving quickly in different directions as well as taking checks from opponents. He is able to pair his quick feet and edgework with quick hands to be able to manipulate the puck into different areas, while also keeping it away from opposing players.
A great example of him using both his quick feet and his hands is on this play below. He is able to draw the Niagara player to his left side where he has the puck, although he partly loses control of the puck. When the Niagara player goes to reach for the puck, Drysdale stops quickly, and is then able to use his quick hands to pull the puck back to the other side of him. Thus sending the opposing player to the ice, where Drysdale carries the puck past him.
Once again on the play below, Drysdale uses his feet and his hands to get past an opposing player. He uses a quick weight shift on his left foot while showing the puck on his left side, and as the Battalion player gets close enough, Drysdale uses a quick movement to the right with both his feet and the puck, to open up space and carry the puck out of his own zone.
On this play below, obviously Drysdale uses his skating very well to separate from the fore checking Slovakia player. However, his stick and puck action while trying to escape the Slovak player, is extremely important. Drysdale is constantly feeling the pressure of the opposing player, and he continuously moves his stick up and down as the Slovak player goes to lift his stick, making a stick lift takeaway very difficult for the fore checker. In addition to his stick movement, he is continuously moving the puck side to side, keeping it to the opposite side to where the Slovak player. This combination of his high IQ and his puck skill allow him to eventually carry the puck from his end to the offensive zone.
Similar to the play, in the clip below Drysdale begins in his own zone skating towards a Petes forward. As soon as he sees that player, Drysdale makes a quick move to the middle, pulling the puck quickly to the side and moving himself and the puck around the checker. He then carries the puck up into the offensive zone. A great breakout using his quick hands and his great skating to go on the offence.
Shot:
Wrist shot, slap shot, snap shot, Jamie Drysdale loves to shoot the puck when he’s on the ice. There isn’t necessarily anything special about his release, and he doesn’t have scary powerful shot per say. However, what makes him so dangerous when shooting is he is so good at creating shooting lanes, and getting pucks through traffic. As we look at the shot chart you can see he rarely gets his shot blocked.
In addition to his shots rarely being blocked we can see where majority of his shots come from. Looking at the image above you can see the large cluster of shots coming from above the face off circles, more specifically the right point where he plays. Specifically if we take a look at the numbers below, he shot about 230/324, just over 70% of his shots from above the face off circles. An issue however, is he only tends to get about 52% of his shots on goal, which you would like to see go up to generate more rebound opportunities for his forwards at the net.
The video below is a great example of him being able to create a shot opportunity for himself for the point. On his offside he is able to use his skating to quickly move along the blue line to the middle of the ice, where he is able to release the puck quickly on net.
Another great sequence below where, he uses his skating to create a shot lane and get the puck on net back through the middle of the ice in between two Niagara players.
If Drysdale can continue to create those shot lanes, and get pucks through but increase the shots he gets on goal, he will continue to become more of an offensive threat at the point.
Physicality:
For many people, the first things that comes to mind when talking about physicality is hits, laying the body hard and knocking opposing players down. Jamie Drysdale isn’t the type of defencemen to make bone crushing highlight reel hits, but he is still able to have a physical presence in multiple ways. He isn’t the strongest player on the ice, and a few times during the season he did get knocked off his feet, but he has a high compete level and was smart when using his body this season.
One example of Drysdale using his body to be physical in a smart way is in the clip below. As the puck is rimmed below the goal line, it becomes a race for the puck. Once parallel to the Guelph player, Drysdale uses his body extremely well to push the forward against the boards and rub him out of the play, allowing Drysdale to quickly make a good breakout pass to his teammate. He was able to consistently make plays similar to this wear he closes off the boards separating man from puck
The next clip below is an example of Drysdale doing something you love to see defencemen or for that matter any player do. He picks the puck up, and sees the incoming Niagara player, he knows he is going to be hit, but he still makes the breakout pass to his winger on the wall. A great example of a player taking a hit to make a play and advance the puck up.
This next play is a great example of how he stays strong on his feet, braces himself for physical contact on this pinch in the offensive zone. Drysdale makes a play to keep the puck in the offensive zone, knowing the Guelph player is going to hit him hard. Another great subtle play to take a hit to keep his teams offensive zone time going. This play resulted in Erie playing in the offensive zone for another 30 seconds.
Drysdale will need to continue to be smart physically while also get stronger to be able to transition to the next level, and sustain the constant pressure on his body that comes with taking hits from stronger players playing at the NHL level.
Defensive Game:
Drysdale is a very active player defensively, he uses his strong skating, active stick and physicality effectively to defend off the rush, and in multiple ways in his own zone. He uses great skating and footwork to maintain good position in the defensive zone, and because he has such great skating with his footwork and acceleration, he is able to adjust and quickly get back into position when or if he gets beat.
Specifically off the rush, Drysdale combines his backwards skating, stick, and body very well to allow him to maintain a good gap with the oncoming puck carrier. Like in the play below against Owen Sound, he gives the puck carrier that space along the boards up until just before the blue line. Drysdale then closes the gap by using his skating and stick to push the Attack player closer to the boards, giving him only one way to go, which is to chip the puck and try and beat him along the boards. Drysdale responds to this with his physical play, checking him just after he chips the puck, stopping the puck carrier and giving his teammates an opening to pick the puck up in the corner.
On this next play, the Steelheads player has the puck closer to the middle of the ice. Drysdale plays this well, by closing off the middle with his skating, forcing the puck carrier back towards to boards. Once again, just like the previous play he forces the player closer to the boards where the player chips the puck past. This time Drysdale accelerates backwards much quicker than the previous play, using quick crossovers and then a body check to stop the Mississauga player’s momentum.
Both plays against Owen Sound and Mississauga, showcase Drysdale’s defensive abilities off the rush thus showing the impact he has, preventing a clean entry into the Erie zone.
Another area of Drysdale’s defensive game that he is so strong in, is his stick. We always hear about defencemen needing to constantly have an active stick, and Drysdale consistently uses his stick to block passing or shot lanes, and he is so good at knocking pucks off of sticks with active poke checks. He averaged about 6.60 takeaways a game, largely due to his ability to read and anticipate plays jumping in with his stick to deflect or intercept pucks.
The next 2 plays are great instances where Drysdale uses an active stick to prevent scoring chances. In the first play, as the Sting player comes through the middle of the ice, Drysdale keeps his stick out not giving the player a clean shot to the net. As the puck carrier continues to the outside trying to get a better shot lane, Drysdale stays with him, and right when the player goes to shoot, he reaches at the perfect time to deflect the shot attempt behind the net. A great example of having an active stick to prevent a shot on night.
In this next play against Finland, he once again uses his stick to close off as the Finnish player comes into the zone. As soon as he recognizes that the Finnish player is going for a pass, he quickly moves his stick towards the puck, making what was a larger passing much smaller. This then results in the puck going off Drysdale’s skate which results in a battle in the corner.
In addition to his defensive play at even strength, Drysdale has also shown he is capable of playing on the penalty kill. Taking a look at this play here, he has his eyes on the lone man in front of the net as well as the far player coming in from the point, with an exceptional passer in Cole Perfetti having possession of the puck. Once he knows Perfetti is making that pass to the front of the net, he quickly moves his stick to disrupt the tip. All in this same play Drysdale out battles the Saginaw player for the lose puck in front, to ultimately give Erie possession of the puck.
Sometimes Drysdale can get caught being a little too eager to get up on the offence, or stickhandle a bit too much in his zone, sometimes causing him to be out of position. However, with his ability to get back into the position because of his strong skating, it rarely impacts his team.
All in all, Drysdale uses play a strong defensive game
DY Environment:
Prior to the OHL season Drysdale played a big role on the Canadian team in the U-18 World Championships, helping to put him into the World Juniors conversation. In the OHL, for much of the season Drysdale was partnered on defence with Otter’s captain Jack Duff. While playing for team Canada at the World Juniors, Drysdale saw about 11:38 in average ice time playing a smaller 7th defenceman role as an underage player in a tournament widely considered to be a 19-year old’s tournament. However, his role increased in the semifinals against Finland, when Bowen Byram was out with an illness, contributing with a goal showcasing both his skating and offensive abilities.
Statistics:
Draft Rankings:
#5 – RecruitScouting
#12 – HockeyProspect.com
#7 – Future Considerations Hockey
#3 – ISS Hockey
#6 – Mckeen’s Hockey
#5 – EliteProspects
Expected Round of Selection:
Jamie Drysdale is projected to be an early first round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. He is projected to be selected in the top 10 and could go as early as 4th in the draft.
NHL Comparable:
With Drysdale’s 2-way game along with his strong skating abilities, a recent NHL comparable for Drysdale is defenceman Cale Makar from the Colorado Avalanche. While less recent back before his achilles injury, Drysdale can be compared to Erik Karlsson back in his younger days with Karlsson’s elite skating and passing abilities.