Edmonton Oilers Talk: The Broberg Era Starts Tonight

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

Not good. Not good at all. Darnell Nurse out a few weeks, TSN reports

This in from TSN’s Ryan Rishaug on Darnell Nurse’s injury: “Sounds like a broken finger for Nurse, and potentially 2-3 weeks recovery time. Huge loss for the Oilers but opportunity for Broberg to be tested.”
This is not good. This is not close to good. Nurse has been playing like an all-star, like a Team Canada d-man, and there’s no one close to his level of play on the left side who can step up and replace him.
Might we see Lagesson team up with Cody Ceci on a shut-down pairing, with Keith and Barrie on the top-pairing and Bouchard and Russell or Broberg on the third?
Broberg did not stand out at rookie camp or main camp this season… Broberg seemingly took 2-3 big hits on puck retrieval in each exhibition game and it became evident that, while he was indeed a high-ceiling prospect, AHL development time was needed.
While Broberg is a big man, the one things Nurse has that Broberg does not, is the mean streak and physicality.

BLH’s Thoughts: Did anybody have Darnell Nurse hitting the IR early this season on their Bingo card? I sure as hell didn’t. When I saw the news this morning it hit like cinder block to the gonads. There was only one position on the team that would be in dire straits if hit by injury and that was Nurse’s…

So here we are again, a blue chip prospect in Edmonton is getting called up and thrown to the lions…

The Oilers are going to face the Blackhawks tonight and I haven’t watched Phil play in Bakersfield this year, so I’m not sure if he’s learned not to put himself in such vulnerable positions on the ice like he was doing in preseason.

That said, Chicago doesn’t really have any headhunters on their team, so it’s less of a concern, but in two days Edmonton is going to play Dallas and they’ve got some physical players like Jamie Benn, Radek Faksa, and Roope Hintz. Our young Swede will need to be on his toes then.

Oilersnation

Philip Broberg Will Have to Play Big Minutes

Philip Broberg will make his NHL debut tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks after being recalled from Bakersfield earlier this morning.
The eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft is going to play close to 20 minutes most likely in his NHL debut, because of injuries to Darnell Nurse and Slater Koekkoek.
If Nurse was healthy, Broberg would likely play sheltered third-pair minutes, but with the Oilers top D-man out of the lineup for a few weeks, Broberg will likely play close to 20 minutes.

AHL SCOUTING REPORT

He is physically fit. He is big. He has got fantastic legs on the breakout (good at transporting the puck).
We have asked him to help run our power play. He has been excellent.
In terms of coachability, natural ability and being a factor on the backend, he is off to a very good start in the American league.
His points have come from making good reads at the offensive blue line and on the power play… He is getting his points from playing the right way.
He is someone who wants to make good plays with the puck when you are in a tight situation.

BLH’s Thoughts: Woodcroft is very deliberate with his choice of words and I hear him saying that Broberg is doing very well at the AHL, but I feel like there’s a bit of uncertainty with the call-up because there’s a lot of praise for the offensive aspects of his game without mention of how he’s doing defensively.

Personally, I might’ve went with Niemelainen and Samorukov, because they can both skate and pass the puck, but offer a physical element. However, I get why Broberg is being summoned and I’m excited to see how he does. Chicago’s skilled forwards will be a good test for him.

The Daily Goal Horn

On TSN’s Insider Trading, Darren Dreger noted what the Blueshirts are looking for on the market… “Chris Drury, the general manager for the New York Rangers, is looking for a middle-six forward, which isn’t a term we use often in hockey,” Dreger explained. “That can be a third-line player or someone who can punch into the top six.”
- Keep an eye on Reilly Smith in Vegas as a potential fit.
Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning held a press conference to discuss the team’s awful start… He openly admitted that he’s been trying to work the trade market for deals that can help shake the Canucks out of their slumber… J.T. Miller is a name that continues to come up in talks, and last season Brock Boeser was a featured name in trade rumors…
While many thought that Gary Bettman was opposed to the idea of returning a hockey team to Quebe, it sounds like he may be open to listening… “I spoke with [Mr. Bettman], and we have meetings with him in the coming months,” Quebec Premier François Legault told RDS.