RD Jamie Drysdale (2020, 6th, ANA)

[Gargyn]

Kid’s a stud. Will run a pp with ease, not sure why some are questioning this. Guy gets shots through, his passing his perfect and his ability to gain the zone is damn near second to none. He’s also very good defensively, again not sure what some people are thinking. I swear they’ve never actually seen him play live. For me I prefer to build through defence and wouldn’t hesitate taking this guy at 4. Hell I like him better than Byfield right now but that can change. Stutzle to me is clear 2.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Maybe Ellis offense with Makar defense.

Drysdale has to grow A LOT to become a top pairing D-man in the NHL and I don't see a clear trajectory for him.

I will say he'll be a fantastic transition D-man and fantastic at defending the neutral zone. But will he be a guy that you want running your top PP? Or a guy you want playing shutdown minutes? Not sure about either one of those things.

This seems to be a very polarizing draft. Some don't like Drysdale, some don't like Byfield, some don't like Stuetzle, some don't like Rossi, some don't like Perfetti, some don't like Askarov, some don't like Askarov, some don't like Sanderson, some don't like Raymond. Some even think that Lafreniere is overrated. Every draft there is a difference of opinion on the top 10 players, but even more so this draft than most.

You fit into that category with Drysdale. I personally think you're way off. I see somewhere slightly less but similar style to Ellis defense/transition game and somewhere slightly less but similar style to Makar's offensive/playmaking game. I believe he can be PP1 and PK1. I'm probably higher than most on Drysdale, but you are probably lower than most. The difference may or may not be somewhere in the middle.

 

[57special]

Drysdale's skating and willingness to use it is what sets him apart. It might be that when he gets to the NHL the ice wil close off for him, but the speed and technique in his skating is extraordinary. That alone can take you a long way.

 

[Dominance]

Appears like Drysdale is becoming underrated all of a sudden.

Zero chance he escapes Ottawa at 5 if he is not taken by Detroit at 4.

 

[57special]

I don't know about zero. Sure wouldn't be a bad pick, though.

 

[NA Hockey]

Elite skater, high IQ, great offensive awareness, great stick on stick defending. Will be a great pick for any team.

 

[BondraTime]

Appears like Drysdale is becoming underrated all of a sudden.

Zero chance he escapes Ottawa at 5 if he is not taken by Detroit at 4.

Definitely not a 0% chance, more likely than not they don’t take Drysdale

 

[majormajor]

This seems to be a very polarizing draft. Some don't like Drysdale, some don't like Byfield, some don't like Stuetzle, some don't like Rossi, some don't like Perfetti, some don't like Askarov, some don't like Askarov, some don't like Sanderson, some don't like Raymond. Some even think that Lafreniere is overrated. Every draft there is a difference of opinion on the top 10 players, but even more so this draft than most.

You fit into that category with Drysdale. I personally think you're way off. I see somewhere slightly less but similar style to Ellis defense/transition game and somewhere slightly less but similar style to Makar's offensive/playmaking game. I believe he can be PP1 and PK1. I'm probably higher than most on Drysdale, but you are probably lower than most. The difference may or may not be somewhere in the middle.

I didn't think I disliked Drysdale. I'd still take him top ten. I was reacting to the Makar/Ellis comparison which I think is not right.

Makar has much better top end speed and unusual fast-twitch lateral movement which can break a defence. I don't think there's anyone quite like him and I wouldn't list Drysdale as similar at all. Drysdale is smoother, more controlled, but also more controllable. I myself had made the Ellis comparison before but some OHL watchers corrected me on that point, and there does seem to be a big difference in their defensive ability in their end at age 18. I could see Drysdale developing towards where Ellis is, and that would make him a worthy top ten pick, but Ellis was stronger in his own end at that age. Drysdale isn't as physically strong right now and gets outworked by kids his own age in front of his net. Again though I could see him fixing that, it's training not magic.

My high-medium-low on Drysdale is something like this:

Duncan Keith - Ryan Ellis - Ellis without the defense part.

Keith is obviously not very likely, that's a magical development curve that is hard to project for anyone.

Ellis I could see happening. He moves like him, he can produce like him, and I could see him learning the defensive zone part.

Or maybe he won't get quite strong enough, then you might just get a second pair guy who plays #2PP. He'll assuredly have the skating where you could see him tirelessly playing 25 minutes a night but that's not a plus if you don't have the offensive and defensive impacts of a top pair guy.

 

[bsu]

Everytime I watch I see draft year RH Cam Fowler can't shake it

 

[EXTRAS]

Everytime I watch I see draft year RH Cam Fowler can't shake it

He may look like him in the way he moves, but I'd like to point out that Fowler was 7th in scoring and 8th in scoring/game on his draft year team, whereas Jamie is 3rd in both categories. He was by far the most offensive dman (the next guy had 27 points), whereas Fowler was behind Ellis and fairly even with cundari.

Fowlers offense was largely propped up by all those guys whereas drysdale drives the play a lot better.

 

[Dominance]

He may look like him in the way he moves, but I'd like to point out that Fowler was 7th in scoring and 8th in scoring/game on his draft year team, whereas Jamie is 3rd in both categories. He was by far the most offensive dman (the next guy had 27 points), whereas Fowler was behind Ellis and fairly even with cundari.

Fowlers offense was largely propped up by all those guys whereas drysdale drives the play a lot better.

Drysdale is significantly ahead in terms of defensive play too IMO.

 

[Nsjohnson]

I think anyone who gets Drysdale after the #5 pick, if he makes it past that, will have a steal.

I think he's a 3-5 talent, in other drafts a 2-3. He is the entire package.

I don't see him making it past #6, if he makes it there in the first place.

 

[majormajor]

I think anyone who gets Drysdale after the #5 pick, if he makes it past that, will have a steal.

I think he's a 3-5 talent, in other drafts a 2-3. He is the entire package.

I don't see him making it past #6, if he makes it there in the first place.

I think there are about 6 guys in this draft you could say that about.

 

[57special]

Ellis isn't a great defender. Not sure where you are getting that from. Drysdale is a good defender. He'll need to put on some muscle, but you can say that about a lot of young prospects. Maybe he can't make his skating work in the NHL, but I sure wouldn't bet on it. The main thing is to not rush him. Take a page out of CO's book with Makar. Drysdale is not some big beast like Schneider. Let him mature a bit, so when he gets to the NHL he can compete right away

Oh, and "Makar has much better top end speed than Drysdale" ? Maybe, with a jet pack on. Nothing against Makar, but Drysdale has extraordinary wheels. I can't think of a prospect that had "much better top end speed" than him.

 

[Altimus]

If Raymonds available at 5, id rather him over Drysdale but i wouldnt be upset if he becomes a Sen.

 

[Gliff]

Welcome to the Ducks.

 

[bsu]

and just like that, this thread will not be touched.

 

[EXTRAS]

and just like that, this thread will not be touched.

For some reason, no one ever has much to say about Drysdale.

 

[57special]

His skating is magical, and he has vg to excellent puck handling and vision. Unlike many of the smallish PMD's of today, he also knows where his own end is. He has a chance to be something really special. A better skating, bigger, Jared Spurgeon (who is already an excellent skater). Hard to complain about that.

 

[LuGBuG]

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Terrific pick, in my opinion. I had him #2 in my rankings. I don't understand why he wasn't a top five pick in this draft. Made no sense to me. I don't know where the weakness is in his game, unless being shorter than 6'0 is a weakness. Great skating and puck moving, brilliant sense and playmaking. More skilled and better defensively than people think. I think he plays all situations 23-25 minutes per night.

 

[Dominance]

Appears like Drysdale is becoming underrated all of a sudden.

Zero chance he escapes Ottawa at 5 if he is not taken by Detroit at 4.

Ducks management must have bolted out of their seats. As a fan of Drysdale, there’s not many teams with a better record of developing agile, puck-moving blueliners, so I’m happy.

 

[PaddyMcStackin]

Terrific pick, in my opinion. I had him #2 in my rankings. I don't understand why he wasn't a top five pick in this draft. Made no sense to me. I don't know where the weakness is in his game, unless being shorter than 6'0 is a weakness. Great skating and puck moving, brilliant sense and playmaking. More skilled and better defensively than people think. I think he plays all situations 23-25 minutes per night.

Eyebrows.

 

[57special]

Sort of the anti Mike Yeo in that regard

 

[KaseMeOutside]

He will not be in the NHL this season. Anaheim has guys they have to evaluate as part of their future not saying any are better but this kid wont be rushed so he will get a chance to really develop his entire game