Edmonton Oilers Talk: “His game has really grown. He’s now an all-situations defenceman…”

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Cult of Hockey (Staples)

Big Swedish d-man is just the kind of defender Edmonton Oilers are looking for. Maybe, just maybe

Big Swedish d-man Philip Berglund is just the kind of defenceman that the Edmonton Oilers are looking for.
Berglund has the size, the shot and he can zip a pass. But is he agile enough to keep up with the NHL game? Is he sharp and tough enough to consistently block opposing forwards from making attacking plays around the net?
He’s got abundant experience in Sweden’s top league, where he’s already played five full seasons and seen his ice time rise from 9:30 per game in 2016-17 to 19:37 last year, 2020-21.
In his draft year of 2016, top scout Oilers Bob Green said: “He’s a big right-hand shot defenceman, can really move the puck, good hockey sense.”
Edmonton is looking for large men on defence who can block attackers and quickly and accurately move the puck to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, hitting them in stride as opposed to ringing the puck off the boards.

“His game has really grown. He’s now an all-situations defenceman with Skelleftea…. He’s a guy that has improved his skating. That was the big issue with him coming out of his draft year, could he skate? He’s improved his skating, it’s more than adequate now at that level and he’s a guy we’re going to have to decide on. He’s certainly put himself in a position to get strong consideration.” – Scott Howson (January, 2020)

Expectations for 2021-22: That he earns a job on Top 4 in Bakersfield, gets special teams time there and establishes himself as a strong AHL player, maybe even getting a few games with the Oilers when injury strikes.

BLH’s Thoughts: Anybody else feels like it’s a tad late in the day for Berglund to be starting his North American pro career? No disrespect to him, I’m just not sure what his or the organization’s expectations are here because by my count, I’ve got two or three other players that I think Dave Tippett would use ahead of the Swede in case of an injury to Bouchard, Barrie, or Ceci…

So, the question is, how long would Berglund be willing to develop in Edmonton’s system down in Bakersfield and what are the odds that he could be the Oilers’ next top shutdown dman on the right side? I would think that Michael Kesselring and Phil Kemp will have something to say about that…

Competition, eh? The Ken Holland special…

Oilersnation (Laing)

Edmonton Oilers player review and 2021-22 preview: Leon Draisaitl

In 56 games this year, Draisaitl didn’t disappoint. He scored 31 goals and 84 points putting him fourth and second in each category, respectively.
At 5×5, he scored 2.64 points per hour, a dip from 2019-20’s 2.89, but an increase from 2018-19’s 2.57.
With him on the ice this year, the Oilers controlled 50.58 percent of the shot attempts, 62.5 percent of the goals and 50.77 percent of the expected goals.
His 5×5 goals against per hour fell from 3.2 in 2019-20, to 2.17 this past season and his shot attempts against per hour fell from 60.17 to 56.08 this year.
His (faceoff) win percentage jumped up to 55.7 percent — a far cry from the 50.9 he had averaged in his first six seasons.

BLH’s Thoughts: I love that Leon’s two-way game is really coming along. That said, he’s got a ways to go before he hits Sasha Barkov levels… Check out this side-by-side comparison of the two players’ seasons from 2020-21 right here and that’ll give you a good indication as to how far Draisaitl has to go before he gets league-wide respect for this 200ft game.

I’m curious though, would you rather Leon keep up the scoring pace with Connor McDavid every year or would you be happy to see him sacrifice a bit of that offense if that meant he was a Selke Trophy nominee each season?

NHLTradeRumors.me

Nick Foligno Comments on Leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs

“I just feel like this is the right fit for me and my family. Ultimately I’m a dad [with] a family of three kids, and I want them to be just as comfortable. Because a lot of times, how they feel off the ice makes me play that much better on it. And I think that’s why I chose Boston.”

Foligno’s family dealt with a health scare early on in their daughter’s life and it ended up his daughter Milana had to go to Boston at the time for care.

Ottawa Senators: 2 Players Most Likely to be Traded Next Season

Chris Tierney: Tierney is entering the final season of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer…. expect Tierney to be dealt at the deadline for some assets.
Nikita Zaitsev: The team has a number of younger options they can play on the right-side, so if they decide to continue to rebuild, Zaitsev will be dangled on the trade market for some assets.

Vancouver Canucks: 2 Players Most Likely to Be Traded Next Season

Brandon Sutter: The Canucks are expected to compete for a playoff spot next season, but if they struggle, Sutter will be dealt at the deadline for an asset or two.
Tyler Myers: Out of the core on defense, Myers is the most likely to be moved. The towering defender has three seasons left on his deal at $6 million and could fetch a solid forward in return should Jim Benning decide to move him.