Fantasy Hockey: Jamie Drysdale Lands With The Flyers
We covered the trade. We went over the trade grades. There is just one important question that remains. Is Jamie Drysdale about to pop off in fantasy hockey now that he’s with the Flyers? Let’s have a quick chat about it.
A few things need to be noted here before we begin. There is no guarantee this partnership will work. If you want to take the Debby Downer approach, there are reasons to be skeptical about Drysdale’s fantasy potential in Philly.
A: John Tortorella doesn’t care. He will healthy scratch you in a moment’s notice. Drysdale isn’t a good defensive player yet. If you can’t forecheck up to par, he will scratch you. There is no guarantee he won’t show tough love to Drysdale.
B: The Flyers power play sucks. Torts is a defensive coach through and through. He cares about forechecking more than scoring goals. It’s just in his DNA. The Flyers rank dead last in PP conversion rate scoring on just 10.8% of their attempts. If Drysdale isn’t going to pick up points on the PP, he’s not really valuable.
Then again, maybe Drysdale takes this unit to another level. That’s certainly possible. The former Ducks blue liner is a talented offensive player and this is exactly the type of guy the Flyers have been missing. No disrespect to Travis Sanheim (who is having a great season) but he isn’t exactly a PP specialist. Maybe Drysdale can elevate that unit.
Another positive is that the Flyers are actually in contention. The Ducks are only ahead of the Sharks in the standings. Playing for a better team just might take Drysdale’s point totals to new career highs. You certainly like his chances more now in Philly compared to a Ducks team that still feels two years away
If you have Drysdale, I wouldn’t panic move him. Ride out the wave and see how he fits in Philly. Now is probably not the time to trade him. If Drysdale establishes himself and stays healthy, there is value to be had here.
Oh, and real quickly with this. If you haven’t picked up Pavel Mintyukov in fantasy yet, you’re going to want to make sure you do that now with Drysdale out in Anaheim.
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