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OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Jamie Drysdale is determined to show the Philadelphia Flyers what he’s capable of when healthy.

Playing through the entire season, the defenseman, aged 22, underwent surgery in April to mend a sports hernia located on the left side of his abdomen.

He underwent his second significant surgery in the last two seasons, this time for a sports hernia. Due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder, which occurred on October 28, 2022, he only managed to participate in eight games for the Anaheim Ducks during the 2022-23 season.

During the Flyers Community Caravan at Ocean City Sports and Civic Center on Wednesday, Drysdale shared, “While I’ve technically been a part of the League for four years, I prefer to say that I’ve only actively played for approximately a year and a half. I believe my true potential and abilities have been somewhat overlooked in the past couple of years. It’s important for me to showcase my skills and prove what I am capable of.”

Drysdale had five points (two goals, three assists) in 24 games for the Flyers, who acquired him in a trade with the Ducks for forward prospect Cutter Gauthier on Jan. 8. He never was healthy after sustaining the sports hernia in Anaheim’s season opener, when he had an assist in 22:54 of a 4-1 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 14.

Drysdale expressed that playing with it was not very enjoyable, but we were able to endure it and do our best to manage the situation.

The doctors expressed that the situation was far from ideal and possibly even worse than their initial assessment. They referred to it as a sports hernia, although it is essentially a muscle tear.

Last month at the NHL Scouting Combine, Flyers’ general manager Daniel Briere expressed his admiration for Drysdale’s determination to continue playing despite a notable injury.

According to Briere, he expressed the desire to engage in games. Despite facing numerous injuries in recent years, he demonstrated admirable determination and resilience by actively pursuing the opportunity to participate. His exceptional display of character and leadership in handling the situation deserves commendation.

“This season, he is expected to be in a significantly improved position and will have much more freedom to play.”

According to Drysdale, his sports hernia surgery recovery progressed rapidly, and he began skating last week. His objective is to obtain full clearance in time for the commencement of training camp in September.

“After the year, I pretty much stayed in Philly the entire time. I underwent surgery, immediately started the rehab process, and have been training there ever since. I’ve been dedicated to staying on top of it and feeling great.”

Drysdale has the potential to enhance the Flyers’ offensive capabilities by driving plays from the defense and contributing with a powerful shot during power plays. These are crucial aspects that require improvement for the Flyers, as they ended up 27th in scoring with an average of 2.82 goals per game and ranked last in power play efficiency, with only 12.2 percent success rate.

He was selected by the Ducks with the No. 6 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and has 50 points (10 goals, 40 assists) in 147 NHL games. But he’s only played one fully healthy NHL season, when his 32 points (four goals, 28 assists) in 81 games for the Ducks in 2021-22 were second among rookie defensemen behind Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings.

His teammates are equally eager to witness Drysdale’s abilities when he is in good health, as excited as he is.

“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,” Flyers forward Joel Farabee said 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 5-on-5, power play, you name it, he’s going to be playing, so it’s really special and he’s a great player.”