The duo of Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae is bolstering the Flyers’ defense

There’s been a bit of a shake-up to the Flyers’ defensive corps.

The top pairing of Travis Sanheim and Cam York is still intact, but the bottom four are looking a little different right now. During Thursday night’s win against the visiting St. Louis Blues, Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale were split up, as were Emil Andrae and Noah Juulsen.

After speaking with assistant Todd Reirden following the first period, and with the Flyers trailing by two, coach Rick Tocchet said, “Let’s make the switch here.”

So Andrae was moved into the top four alongside Drysdale, and Seeler was switched to play with Juulsen. It seemed to work as Andrae and Drysdale were on the ice for both of the Flyers’ goals in regulation before Travis Sanheim won the game in overtime.

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Based on who stayed out late for the team’s optional morning skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday, before facing the New Jersey Devils, it looked like Juulsen will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season, and he was. Therefore, Egor Zamula slotted in alongside Seeler for his first game since Nov. 1.

It’s an interesting dynamic putting Drysdale and Andrae together. Both are puck-moving defensemen who are known for their offensive upside. “We don’t complicate it that much,” Andrae said on Saturday.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Andrae and Drysdale played 54 minutes, 21 seconds together last season. They had a 54.26% Corsi For and were on the ice for 31 scoring chances for the Flyers compared to 25 by the opposition. But, while they were also on the ice together for four goals by the Flyers, five were scored against with a .762 save percentage.

Drysdale has changed his game, becoming better in the defensive zone. As noted by the stat site, when he is on the ice, Corsi For percentage has risen from 46.22% to 51.97%, expected goals against has drop (49.14% to 12.49%), and save percentage has risen from .876 to .893

He’ll now be skating with Andrae, and when the Swede is on the ice the Flyers have an expected goals against of 5.69 along with a .914 save percentage.

But, in a game dominated by big men with teams across the league hyper-focused on adding size, they are a smaller pairing; Drysdale is listed at 5-foot-11 and Andrae at 5-9.

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But as the saying goes: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.

“I think Emil, he’s shown ability to go in a corner, and he’s not afraid to squash a player or hit a guy,” Tocchet said Saturday morning. “He’s a small guy, but he’s built pretty good, so I don’t see that being a problem.”

Tocchet likes Andrae’s abrasiveness and his ability to use his brain, body positioning, and quickness to read plays and be smart on the puck in the defensive zone. When the bench boss was playing, it may have been taboo to let a guy get the puck first in the corner, but he’s OK with seeing a defenseman like Andrae let the heavier opponent get the puck and then defend after that.

New to the organization, Tocchet’s seeing what the Flyers front office has noticed for a long time about Andrae: his competitiveness, grit, and determination.

“I’ve never been the biggest guy and I’ve always had to find a way to get around that and to play the style of game that I can with my size,” Andrae said. “I’m strong on the walls, strong on the puck. I think it comes with a lot of competitiveness, too. I like to use that to my advantage. Maybe it’s a little surprising for the guys out there that I play against.”

In May 2024, Flyers general manager Danny Brière told The Inquirer that Andrae is “a special package” and “patience is the key.”

That’s coming to fruition.

Forward Nikita Grebenkin stayed on late during the optional skate and was a healthy scratch again. “It’s tough because in our position right now, we’re looking for a fourth line identity, and he’s kind of stuck in the middle there,” Tocchet said. “We’re trying to find out what is Grebby, in a sense. But that’s a process, a 23-year-old. Eventually, we’ve got to make a decision; he’s got to play. Trust me, we’re talking about it all the time, Danny and management about it, the best way to handle him if he’s not going to play much. So we’ll figure that out as it goes.”