Edmonton Oilers Talk: “…his skill set is much needed in Edmonton.”

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

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The Cult of Hockey (Staples)

Will the real Philip Broberg please stand up? (Or maybe we should have a bit of patience)

Is he the Philip Broberg who wowed Edmonton Oilers coaches and insiders at the training camp for the 2020 play-in round?
Or is he the Philip Broberg some are already questioning as a top draft pick, especially when the Oilers could have drafted a young American scorer like Trevor Zegras or Cole Caulfield in 2019?
Or, just maybe, we should all take a deep breath and muster up a bit of patience before proclaiming this kid a surefire NHL top-pairing d-man or an NHL draft bust. That’s almost certainly the way to go, correct?
For the first time in many years, however, the Oilers have had the luxury of slow-cooking a d-man, which is why Broberg stayed in Sweden.
I’d rather have Bouchard with the puck on his stick passing it out of the d-zone. But I’d rather have Broberg go back to retrieve the puck and rush it out of the d-zone.
…in Craig Button’s Top 50 prospect rankings for TSN in April 2021, Button ranked Broberg 8th overall, behind only Moritz Seider and Jake Sanderson when it came to d-men.
Given how enamoured the Oilers coaching staff was with the player in July 2020, maybe he’s even got a shot, but he’s have to beat out two or three of Darnell Nurse, Duncan Keith, Kris Russell, Slater Koekkoek and William Lagesson.
Expectations for 2021-22: That he play on the top-paring in Bakersfield, get power play and short-handed time there, and earn a call up for at least a few games at some point this season.

BLH’s Thoughts: Broberg has proven to be one of those rare European players who excel on the smaller ice surface and I’m not sure he’ll spend the whole year in Bakersfield. He’s big, he takes up a lot of space on the ice, and he’s a blood freight train when he gets going.

My concern is his health going forward. Will he be able to withstand the physicality of the North American game?… I hope he’s put on some muscle weight this summer and continues to do so for another couple of years in order to prevent further injuries.

Lowetide.ca

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

Agitators and intimidators over the last decade

LW Mitchell Moroz, 2012 draft. He was well known to the Oilers and played on a strong checking line.
LC Jujhar Khaira, 2012 draft. One of my favourite draft picks over the decade, he had a great mix of size, attitude and enough skill to play in the NHL.
LC Leon Draisaitl, 2014 draft. You may not think of him as physical but the big man wins fierce battles and is strong as an ox as well as being supremely skilled.
RW Jesse Puljujarvi, 2016 draft. The big man doesn’t know his own strength, but this past season he was pissing off opponents regularly just by being a giant wall. It will be a bigger part of his game each winter as he learns to use his gifts effectively.
LW Tyler Benson, 2016 draft. Although we never saw it after he was drafted (Benson was hurt a lot post-draft), he had a physical edge to his game.
RW Tyler Tullio, 2020 draft. Fascinating player who hasn’t seen enough action since draft day due to the pandemic, his skill set is much needed in Edmonton.

BLH’s Thoughts: If you head over to LT’s site by clicking the link above, you’ll be able to read the “Black Book” and “Red Line Report” blurb on each of these players that will lend a little more weight to Lowetide’s take on each player.

Interesting to note on that list of players, only one is a proactively physical player. I mean, he goes out looking to make a hit before touching the puck and that’s Tullio. The rest of them were or are reactive hockey players, meaning, they don’t go out looking to make a point with their physicality, but it’s there if they need to utilize it.

Could you imagine the damage Pulju could do if he found his inner Eric Lindros? Yikes…

Spector’s Hockey

PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski believes the Montreal Canadiens made the wrong choice acquiring Christian Dvorak to replace Jesperi Kotkaniemi. He points out the 25-year-old center hasn’t cracked the 40-point barrier in his five NHL seasons, adding some believe he lacks the necessary work ethic.

THE ATHLETIC: In a recent mailbag segment, Daniel Nugent-Bowman was asked about the possibility of the Edmonton Oilers acquiring John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks. He doubts that’s likely to happen, citing his annual salary-cap hit ($6.4 million through 2026-17) and 10-team no-trade list.

BLH’s Thoughts: I reckon Dvorak is more suited for the third line center’s position and Kingerski might be on to something.

As for Gibson to the Oilers, that kind of trade would cost them big time. Major prospects and picks would be headed Anaheim’s way and I don’t think anybody gets the sense that Gibson would leave his own country to go to Canada and play. He’s a Pittsburgh boy and if I was going to put money on where I think he’s headed, I’d probably put a few pennies on the Pens.