NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Jamie Drysdale

One burning question will remain on the minds of Buffalo Sabres fans between now and the start of the NHL Draft on Oct. 6: Who will be available when the team selects eighth overall?
According to Dan Marr, the director of the NHL's Central Scouting Services, eighth is a pretty good place to be.
"The top eight is where you want to be if you want to get a marquee prospect," Marr said. "Not every club is going to have the same order, so they could conceivably get somebody who they have five or six on their list and they're going to be tickled pink to be able to do that.
"I know they've really been working hard preparing. They probably are going to have to get their eyes checked after watching so much video they had collected on these prospects. They're going to get a marquee NHL prospect here."
Alexis Lafreniere is the consensus favorite to be selected first overall. After him, most projections have forwards Quinton Byfield and Tim Stutzle going second and third in some order - though, as we have seen in recent years, those projections are never a guarantee.
Neither is this one. But, over the coming days we can do our best to profile some of the candidates who might be available when the Sabres pick. We complete the series today with Erie defenseman Jamie Drysdale.

8 for 8 profiles: Marco Rossi | Jack Quinn | Cole Perfetti | Anton Lundell | Lucas Raymond| Jake Sanderson| Alexander Holtz

Jamie Drysdale - RHD, Erie (OHL)

5-foot-11, 175 pounds

2019-20: 49 GP, 9 G, 38 A, 47 P

Drysdale averaged .96 points per game for the Otters last season, an impressive number that ranked 10th among OHL defensemen but first among those who are draft-eligible.
He also earned the rare distinction of representing Canada at the World Junior Championship as a 17-year-old, becoming just the seventh defenseman to do so since 1991.Though his role was limited, he tallied three points (1+2) in seven games and earned a gold medal on a team that also featured Sabres prospect Dylan Cozens.
Drysdale is touted for his dynamic skating ability and the way he can use it to lead a rush and create in the offensive zone. NHL Central Scouting Services ranks him third among North American skaters and first among defensemen, one spot ahead of Jake Sanderson.

What they're saying

Marr: "Jamie Drysdale is a dynamic defenseman. In today's NHL game, it's all about puck movement and he has that game. But he's a strong two-way player. We recently did a height and weight update on the prospects. So, in this offseason Jamie's gone from 175 (pounds) to 185. … He has the game where he just relies on his smarts and his skating and his skills. He doesn't have to rely on his size. Now, he's got this 185 to where he's going to be a little bit more involved in the one-on-one plays and winning those battles.
"But when he has the puck on his stick, good things are going to happen. I've said this many times, I had an opportunity to watch him 3-on-3 in overtime and just the way he plays the game, he is one of those guys who is worth the price of admission. So, the talent level is there, the commitment is there, the compete is there. He's just an all-around, solid, top-end defenseman for a National Hockey League club."

What he's saying:

Drysdale on what he watches for in the NHL: "The confidence that these young defensemen have in their game, I think they know they can make a play and if they see it, they're going to try and make it. I think that that's big. That's kind of the way I want to play. I want to have the confidence to make a play if I see it, not kind of refrain from that. That's one thing as well as obviously just being mobile on the ice, having the ability to get up and down the ice so you're not a liability on the back end but you also can contribute on the offensive side."

Watch this

Check out the highlights from Drysdale's five-point (1+4) performance against Hamilton from last September.
Drysdale (No. 4 in blue) wins a battle, digs the puck out of the corner in the offensive zone, and sends a backhand pass to the slot to set up a goal at 00:38. On the next clip, he starts with the puck down low, rotates back up high and picks the corner from the blue line.
Watch here.