So I was talking to my source in Sweden this morning because I wanted to know who might be looking to come to North America when hockey resumes. It’s quite the list, but first things first. We got talking about Edmonton Oilers 2019 first-round pick Philip Broberg!
How that conversation started was with me asking if a player in this year’s draft, William Wallinder, could be compared to Broberg and the answer was yes but the Edmonton pick was a better skater and Wallinder has a very heavy shot. In the end, the thought was that Broberg was taken a bit too high and that Wallinder will be an NHL player.
17-year-old LHD William Wallinder (2020) not lacking confidence apparently. He did this on the PK. #JCWC2019 pic.twitter.com/be1gUdshr3
— Jokke Nevalainen (@JokkeNevalainen) August 27, 2019
Then I commented on how there’s some talk that the Oilers might keep their young Swedish defender in Sweden for another year instead of bringing him over and instead sign Filip Berglund since the Oilers will lose his rights should they not.
What I didn’t know and that I was informed was that Skelleftea will not have Berglund or another of their top-4 defenders in Jonathan Pudas next season as they’ve signed elsewhere. Berglund in Linkoping (SHL) and Pudas is rumored to be heading to Switzerland to play.
That means if the Oilers agree to leave Philip Broberg in Sweden, he’s going to get a real uptick in TOI in all situations too. He’ll be one of that team’s main men at the ripe old age of 19!!!
This year, he had one goal and seven assists in 45 games and I saw a graphic that had him compared to such Swedish legends as Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, and maybe Nik Lidstrom in their 18-year-old season but I’m having trouble finding that one, so here’s another one that illustrates a find point as well,
18 y.o. SHL seasons
Broberg 42, 1-7-8, 0.19 P/G
Klefbom 33, 2-0-2, 0.06 P/G
Klingberg 26, 0-5-5, 0.19 P/G
Karlsson 45, 5-5-10, 0.22 P/G— Eastern Oil (@OntarioOilers) March 6, 2020
Here’s a link to the SHL’s all-time best stats for 18-year-old defenders in a season. Broberg’s .178 PPG puts him at 37th on the list. Adam Larsson sits at 25th (.243) out of 50 defenders.
Now, I think that Philip can probably double his output next season if his role is increased and his TOI goes up from the 13:59 average it was at this year. If he does double it and for example, throws up 16 points in 40-ish games, he will have equaled Niklas Lidstrom’s production in his 19-year-old season. That would be notable I feel. But let’s say he has a really good year and finishes it off with 20 points or more. Well, that would put him in the top four all-time behind Tim Erixon (Former CGY), Nils Lundqvist (NYR), and Gustav Forsling (CAR) for 19-year-old players in the SHL.
Philip Broberg! Här hänger backtalangen dit sitt första SHL-mål 💥 @skelleftea_aik #twittpuck #SHL pic.twitter.com/pHU7fFzqMh
— C More Sport (@cmoresport) February 29, 2020
🎥 Philip ”Chara” Broberg. pic.twitter.com/c2umJyVkxm
— Skellefteå AIK (@skelleftea_aik) February 23, 2020
For me, I wouldn’t mind one bit if he spent one more year in Sweden and matured both physically and mentally. He’d be that much more equipped to come to North America as a 20-year-old and I feel he’d be that little bit closer to being an impact player than if they brought him over as a teenager. There’s really no rush as Edmonton has a pretty strong glut of players looking for ice-time on the Oilers left side of their defense. Klefbom, Nurse, Jones, Lagesson, and Samorukov to name a few.
It would mark a real change in the player development philosophy with the Oilers if they kept their European players in Europe for one or two seasons post-draft, but that’s what Ken Holland brings to the table here. His goal is to create a team that will compete for the playoffs for years to come, not just one year at a time.
European Free Agents
Speaking of Euros, it’s a shame that the season had to stop. I was really enjoying what Gaetan Haas brought to the table and now I’m not sure if they’ll offer him another contract. That said, Ken Holland is on record saying that he’s been looking at some players across the pond and I went to the trouble to find a few and offer them up to you for your judgment.
Pius Suter – The 5’11” 170lb forward had a breakout season under Rickard Gronberg for ZSC in Switzerland. He led the Swiss League in scoring with 30 goals and had 53pts in 50gp. he’s fast, he has a great shot, good hands and he still gets to the slot to score on deflections and rebounds. He can play both wing and at centre and is reliable on PP and PK. Played juniors in Guelph from 2013 to 2015. Has an NHL-out clause and is only 23-years-old.
Malte Stromwall – Fun fact: This stocky RWer spent two seasons with the Tri-City Americans during his junior days where he amassed 93pts. Not that amazing BUT here’s something that is pretty interesting I think. From 2015 to this past year, Stromwall played in the SHL for AIK, the SM-Ligga for Kookoo, and the KHL with Socchi where he put up 20+ goals in each league. He did have a go in the AHL/ECHL in 2016 that could be considered “underwhelming”, but he’s back on the radar of NHL clubs. The book on him is that he’s got some real speed to his game and the release on his shot is incredible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37MXMU2sUNU
Johannes Kinnvall – There always seems to be a right-shot offensive defenseman coming out of Sweden, doesn’t there? This is what Dobber’s Prospects had to say about him,
Kinnvall is an average-sized (5-11, 181) offensive defenseman who has really taken his game to another level this season (40 points in 49 games) after moving to the HV71 organization. He is second in the league in points among defensemen, and he’s done that while only averaging 16 minutes of ice time per game. About three minutes of that ice time has come on the power play where he has scored 21 of his 40 points.
Kinnvall is not ready to play in the NHL right away but an organization that’s willing to spend a couple of years developing him could get a very effective power play specialist who plays limited minutes at even strength. The problem is that NHL teams don’t really like using power play specialists but instead giving power play time to players who earn it with strong all-around game, so it is difficult for a player like Kinnvall to become a full-time NHL player at any point – unless he can improve his all-around game first.
Julius Nattinen – A former 2nd round pick of the Anaheim Ducks, Nattinen couldn’t find his stride in California and unconventionally had his contract terminated. This year though, he battled my boy Jesse Puljujarvi in the SM-Liiga’s scoring race for much of the season and actually beat him by two points (55-to-53). Nattinen was a scoring machine this year though with 33 lights of the lamp for JYP. Here’s what The Hockey News had to say about him earlier this year,
Nattinen’s game has come a long way in the past few seasons. The 23-year-old was taken in the second round by Anaheim in 2015 (59th overall), but despite a promising junior career, Nattinen was relegated to depth duty with the San Diego Gulls and went back home. It’s been a successful reunion for Nattinen with his boyhood club JYP. He leads the league with 31 goals and 52 points – a huge step up from his 23-point output one year ago. At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, he has plenty of size and could contend for a third-line center role next season. If there isn’t a perfect opportunity on an NHL team, however, it’s doubtful that he would be willing to have another go in the AHL.
I’ll tell you what. I really like this Suter fella. He looks like he’d fit right into Dave Tippett’s system and be able to provide whatever the coach needs. Nattinen also is intriguing. It’s not easy to score goals in the Finnish pro league, but I also feel that the chance of Jesse Puljujarvi returning to the Oilers is getting better too. Reckon Holland would have to choose one out of that trio unless he moves out some bodies which he may very well do as it is.
As far as the players that have most been mentioned in connection to the Edmonton Oilers, Konstantin Okulov, Anton Slepyshev, and I’ll add another in Anton Burdasov, these players will be a bit more difficult to procure in my opinion. I feel like Russian players coming from the KHL have certain expectations when they arrive in North America and I’m not sure the Oilers could assure these players the spots they want or with the money they require.
Out of the three, I think Slepyshev might price himself out and have his rights traded since the Oilers still hold his them. But, if I understand this right, they only hold them for one more year and then Slepy is free to sign where ever he chooses and you can be sure that the NHL will be in a much better place financially by then, so he could be in a really good spot.
Questions About the Next NHL Season
It sounds like there’s going to be some massive pain ahead for NHL players and clubs. The longer this stoppage is, the more money is lost and that means the more escrow the players will need to pay when they get going again. No player wants that.
Another thing to consider, remember when we were all giddy about the salary cap going up as high as $7M dollars for the next season? Well, you can probably kiss that goodbye. If this season gets scrapped altogether, the salary cap will actually go down and that will throw an absolute wrench into off-season plans for nearly every NHL team. I think the fact that pundits like Brian Burke are talking about compliance buyouts coming back will offer some reprieve but most likely not from the owner’s perspective.
The UFAs that were set to clean house this summer like Taylor Hall and possibly Alex Pietrangelo and Braden Holtby have to be right pissed. All of this is going to affect their new contracts going forward.
So, it would not shock me if there was a massive influx of European players on cheap contracts that get signed and some free agents that take really big haircuts for the year simply because once the NHL does come back for a season, you can be sure the cap will see a large increase the following season save for another pandemic or an economic collapse of biblical proportions.
How do you think it’ll affect the Edmonton Oilers moving forward? Could we see both James Neal and Kris Russell bought out if there are multiple compliance buyouts available to them? How does all of this impact their expansion draft strategy and/or even their amateur draft one? All things to ponder, but all secondary to what’s going on in the world today.
I hope you’re doing the right thing. Meaning staying away from large crowds and keeping clean and sanitary. If the weather is good, step outside your house and get some fresh air and a little bit of sunshine on you. Nobody said you can’t do that and it feels so good. Can’t stay all cooped up in the castle all day long, can you?
Now, if you do have to leave your house, wear a first-aid mask. It won’t help if somebody coughs in your face, but if you’re feeling unwell or maybe you’ve caught the virus and are asymptomatic, it should help prevent you from passing it on to others. Gloves probably wouldn’t hurt either. The question here is, did you buy toilet paper or masks?…
Take Care!
