Hurricanes prospect Jack Drury is a ‘coach’s dream.’ But he still wants to be better.
So much has happened to Jack Drury since his first Carolina Hurricanes’ prospects development camp last year.
A productive first college season at Harvard. A spot on Team USA for the World Junior Championship. A silver medal.
OK, he wanted gold. They all did. Losing to Finland in the championship game, on a late goal by Kaapo Kakko was a crusher of sorts.
But for the 19-year-old forward, being there, being a part of it, was memorable. During some games, he centered a line with Jack Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft.
“It was incredible,” Drury told The News & Observer on Thursday. “Obviously a devastating ending but a really special experience. The way our team pulled together and our management pulled together made it a lot of fun. Hopefully I’ll get to go again next year and make the push for gold.”
As for his freshman year of college hockey, it was rewarding. A second-round draft pick by the Canes in 2018, he was named to the ECAC Hockey all-rookie team after scoring nine goals and finishing with 24 points in 32 games for the Crimson. A tough guy in the circle, Drury also was 19th nationally on faceoffs at 58.2 percent.
“I think it was a good step in the right direction and a lot to build off of,” Drury said. “But I’ve still got a lot of work to do. I’ve still got to get faster, stronger through my process. But definitely a strong year to build off of.”
Sergei Samsonov, the Canes’ director of forwards development, likes what he has seen of Drury at this year’s camp, on and off the ice, calling him a “coach’s dream.”
“With Jack, really, I don’t have to hold his hand,” Samsonov told the media on Thursday. “He’s a driven kid. He wants to get better and is doing everything in his power to get better. On the ice, you tell him one thing and he gets it right away. Easily coachable. He’s a kid who’s only going to get better and better.”
Drury came to last year’s Canes camp soon after the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas, after being the 42nd player taken overall. Also at camp was defenseman Adam Fox, soon to be his Harvard teammate.
Fox was a part of the trade Carolina had made during the 2018 draft with the Calgary Flames, bringing forward Micheal Ferland and defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the Canes. The Flames had drafted Fox, but when Fox decided to return to Harvard for his junior season instead of signing an entry-level contract and turning pro, the Flames dealt the D-man to the Canes as part of the trade.
The Canes believed they would sign Fox this year, after Harvard’s season ended. That didn’t happen, either, and things turned messy and became a test of wills -- Fox saying he might go back for a senior season -- until the Canes traded Fox to the New York Rangers on April 30 for a second-round draft pick in this year’s draft and a conditional third-rounder in 2020.
Drury watched from afar as the Fox saga played out but has little to say about it other than, “He was a big part of our Harvard team and obviously it didn’t work out here but I’m sure for both parties it will work out being beneficial in the end.”
And Drury’s college plans? “It’s day to day, not even year to year,” he said. “I’ll stay focused on my process and let the rest sort itself out.”
For now, one of the next steps in the Drury process is improving his first two steps, he said.
“If you look at the NHL and the offense created these days, it’s all guys with speed,” said Drury, who is listed at 6-0 and 180 pounds.
Until his sophomore year in high school, Drury wasn’t sure what his best sport might be. He was a centerfielder and left-handed pitcher, saying he was a “on-base” kind of hitter with good speed and a southpaw whose off-speed stuff was his out pitch on the mound.
“My passion for hockey was a little greater than baseball,” he said.
That’s understandable given his hockey lineage. His father, Ted, played for Harvard, was a Hobey Baker Award finalist, on Team USA in two Olympics and played for six NHL teams. His uncle, Chris Drury, won a national title and the Hobey Baker at Boston U., had a long NHL career and won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche.
“And Mom’s the best athlete in our family,” Jack said of Liz Drury, once a three-time All-American in lacrosse at Harvard.
Drury’s second development camp ends Saturday with the prospects game during the Canes’ Summerfest at PNC Arena. The Canes have a different vibe after all that has happened the past year -- the playoffs, the Storm Surge, the “jerks.” The perception of the franchise has changed.
“It’s really impressive and was incredible to watch,” Drury said. “Everyone is excited about it.”
This story was originally published June 28, 2019 at 11:15 AM.
