Jamie Drysdale says he’ll be ready for Flyers training camp after undergoing surgery

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 he underwent the procedure on his left side in April for an injury sustained in the Anaheim Ducks’ season opener on Oct. 14. He played in one more game before missing time until right before the Christmas break due to what was then called a lower-body injury.

Drysdale was acquired by the Flyers, along with a 2025 second-rounder, for Cutter Gauthier in early January.

“That wasn’t 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 in Ocean City.

“(The doctors) mentioned it was not ideal. 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 he had 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.”

The 22-year-old blueliner missed almost a month with the Flyers due to an upper-body injury sustained 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,” he 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 only hit 81 games once in his young career. He played in 147 games and recorded 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 gone under wraps the last couple years to be honest with you.”

Certainly, the Flyers are hoping 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 on Sept. 18 and drop the puck on Oct. 11 in Vancouver against the Canucks.