Jamie Drysdale, the cream of a healthy crop of young Anaheim Ducks defenseman, seems to be inching toward a return to the lineup. The timeline remains murky, as was the initial injury, but the fact that he’s resumed skating activities is welcome news for a team that can greatly benefit from the skills that he has.
Related: Evaluating Ducks’ Drysdale As His Free Agency Looms
The Ducks snapped their eight-game losing streak last week when they defeated the Colorado Avalanche (Dec. 2), but then lost the rematch (Dec. 5) and fell to the Chicago Blackhawks (Dec. 7). They’ve lost 10 of 11 and have many holes to fill and questions to answer regarding the lineup. Perhaps Drysdale is not the answer to all their problems, but his return is the start of a lengthy road back to consistent winning ways. Let’s look at where he can help this team out when he eventually returns.
Reviewing the Blue Line Since His Injury
Drysdale missed his entire sophomore season because of a torn labrum. His absence was part of the reason the Ducks, by many metrics, had the worst statistical defense in the history of the NHL in 2022-23. Old news.
This season, however, Drysdale has only played two games after suffering what has turned out to be a significant and mysterious injury. The whole situation has been a real disappointment given the expectations and fanfare following the new contract he signed in free agency this past offseason.
Meanwhile, Cam Fowler, Radko Gudas, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jackson LaCombe, and Pavel Mintyukov have been lineup regulars, while Tristan Luneau and Urho Vaakanainen see action on a rotational basis. Generally speaking, all of them have filled in admirably. Defense, by and large, hasn’t been the biggest issue for the team. It’s been the offense. But that’s an article for another day.
Drysdale Brings Offense and Stability
Let’s talk about what Drysdale will bring to the blue line, once he’s ready to play. Primarily, what jumps out to me are his offensive abilities and stability. He’s young – he’s only played 115 games – but his skating, calmness with the puck, and playmaking are top-notch and immediate upgrades over the current contingent of Ducks defenders. These skills are useful on the power play, but even more helpful in even strength situations, where the Ducks have mightily struggled this season. Offensively, the Ducks’ collective offense isn’t scaring anyone these days and a reason for that is that the offense is seldom facilitated by the defense. Drysdale can help in this arena. Guys like Mintyukov, LaCombe, and Luneau are trying their best to help Fowler with this, driving breakouts and jumping into the play at times, but it’s not with the same effectiveness.
Another strength of Drysdale’s? The stability he brings. As far as the defense corps is concerned, he’s a veteran given they usually field two or three rookies each game. He’s the only guy that makes sense to pair with Fowler on the top pair given their strengths. In his absence, LaCombe and Luneau have played with Fowler, among others. Returning Drysdale to the top pair means those two can play their more natural positions, in situations and minutes that are more appropriate for their experience.
Tactical Benefits to Having Drysdale in the Lineup
Tactically, there are many presumptive advantages to having Drysdale in the lineup. Let’s look at them now:
Three Right-Handed and Three Left-Handed Defensemen
General manager Pat Verbeek said on a recent podcast that it’s super important to put defensemen on their strong side, meaning, left-handed defensemen play the left side, same goes for the right. There are many advantages to playing on your strong side: you’re not playing as many pucks on your backhand, your forehand is always facing the middle of the ice, it’s easier to play pucks off the boards, and so on. Having Drysdale as a regular once again means the Ducks have him, Gudas, and Lyubushkin or Luneau as their righties, with Fowler, LaCombe, Mintyukov, and Vaakanainen as their lefties.
Drysdale Returns to Leading the Power Play
Drysdale ran the top power play unit in the limited ice he’s seen this season. While the power play (surprisingly) is rarely the problem for the Ducks these days, and Mintyukov has performed admirably as the quarterback in his absence, Drysdale should resume that role, with Mintyukov either sharing those duties or moving to the second unit. However it plays out, both units should get much better.
Players Are Not Playing Outside of Their Roles or Comfort Zones
Head coach Greg Cronin has mixed and matched in Drysdale’s absence, to varying levels of success. The loss of Drysdale has forced players into unfamiliar roles. For example, there’s been no “settling in” for Mintyukov, LaCombe, and Luneau. These guys were thrust into all situations and often asked to play 20-plus minutes against the opposition’s best lines less than a week into their professional careers.
Drysdale’s return takes some of the burden off the younger defensemen to play these roles. They’ll probably tell you they want the pressure and that ice time, but Drysdale undoubtedly is the right player for the job, and those responsibilities will shift to him and Fowler once he’s ready to play.
Who Comes Out When Drysdale Returns?
There are only six spots on defense, so his return creates uncertainty for a few different Ducks. For instance, do they send Luneau, who has played well lately, back to junior after his time with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship? How about Lyubushkin, who has been subject to trade speculation before? And how will Cronin dish out the remaining ice time to LaCombe and Mintyukov, who played in Drysdale’s role during his absence? Intriguing questions, for sure.
Ducks’ Offense Needs What Drysdale Provides
We don’t really know how good this team can be with Drysdale in the lineup. But the bottom line is it’s better with him in it. Hopefully, we start to see that sooner rather than later. We’re counting down the days until No. 6 is in the lineup again.
