Just days after winning gold at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship as well as the honors for the best forward in the tournament, 19-year-old star prospect Cutter Gauthier was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers in a shocking move that gave the team young defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft choice from the Anaheim Ducks.
Reportedly, Gauthier never wanted to play for the Flyers at all, essentially forcing their hand in this one. He was their fifth-overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Losing Gauthier is one of the toughest blows the Flyers have had in a while, as he was on his way to developing into a great prospect. Instead, the team lost arguably its second-best player in the pipeline. With the loss being put aside, what can Drysdale bring to Philadelphia?
Who Is Jamie Drysdale?
Drysdale is a 21-year-old right-handed defender who was taken with the sixth-overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft. In the NHL so far, he has had some injury trouble with a career-high of 32 points back in 2021-22 in his only campaign where he played more than a small chunk of the season. As a result, the offensive defenseman hasn’t quite hit his stride in the league and hasn’t necessarily lived up to his draft stock. A change of scenery allows him to completely flip the narrative.
Drysdale has gotten second-pairing minutes for the Ducks throughout his career, and that hasn’t changed in his 2023-24 campaign. The youngster has missed quite some time this season but still has five points in 10 games. Even though he doesn’t exactly project to be a franchise-altering defender, he does still have some potential and shouldn’t be counted out quite yet. His elite offensive instincts still make him a valuable player.
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Even though the Flyers didn’t have much of a choice in trading Gauthier, whether or not the player they targeted pans out is yet to be determined. This deal makes it seem as though the Flyers see him as a potential first-pairing defenseman in the near future.