A lot has been said, and is still being said, about Philip Broberg since his first look at the World Junior Championship, but there hasn’t been a huge amount seen at the NHL level yet. Fans and reporters have been very vocal about Edmonton Oilers’ GM Ken Holland’s choice to go with the young Swedish defenceman in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
In all fairness, it is completely understandable why since a lot of other players were available at the time—a good example is Matt Boldy who has gone on to score his first 30+ goal season with Minnesota and was available for the taking. Broberg has not gone to show fans the expected outcome that was promised as of yet. The COVID-19 pandemic can’t be used as an excuse either because it affected his whole draft class.
Broberg’s first professional year
What we saw from Broberg before he got his first taste in the NHL with his first stint in the AHL was very promising. In his first year in the AHL, Broberg topped off his the 31 games he played with four goals and 19 assists. He scored 23 points in those games, going nearly a point per game with a +14 rating. This was good enough for a recall to the NHL for 23 games where he scored one goal and two assists and with a -8 rating.
This was not a bad start for Broberg as he showed the offensive potential he has in the AHL and he also showed off his speed. From what I saw from him in his time in the AHL that year, it wasn’t just the offence that was great to see from him. Broberg’s play away from the puck and in the defensive zone was also very good. His gap control was impressive and he utilized his speed and quick feet very well. His ice time continued to increase in the AHL. His call up to the NHL was deserved and he was able to gain valuable experience.
Second professional season hiccups
In 2022–2023, Broberg scored four points in his first seven AHL games and he got a recall to the NHL. I believe this recall is where the hiccups started.
Broberg got called up due to an injury and how he played in his time in his first 10 games was very decent. He started off slow but slowly grew confident and I honestly thought he was ready to become an everyday NHL player at that time.
But, Vincent Desharnais also earned a recall due to his stellar play in the AHL. It was evident that his style of defending was what the Oilers were looking for as he had an immediate and positive impact in the defensive zone with his size and physicality. Most importantly, he brought a different dynamic to the Oilers penalty kill that was not seen in a long time. Desharnais had earned his chance to become an asset to the team as well.
How to properly utilize Broberg
From here, in my opinion, the Oilers made a mistake by not sending Broberg to the AHL. They kept him up as the seventh defenceman and sat him on the bench or scratched him to sit in the pressbox. This was a mistake by Coach Jay Woodcroft and the team is realizing this now as well.
Keeping Broberg up but not using him efficiently did not help the player nor did it help the team in any way. He was not utilized correctly and playing only five to seven minutes a night hardly gained him experience or development. The right choice would have been to send Broberg to the AHL to play top-four minutes and help lead the Bakersfield Condors to the playoffs. He would have had almost a full season in the AHL where he would’ve been leading the power play, penalty kill, and his fellow defencemen.
Something else that is of note with Broberg is he plays better when he’s paired up on the right side. At the WJC, he was very good when he defended on the right side and also when he played with the Condors.
In his time at camp so far, Broberg has shown spurts of his skill on the right side and a good example is that set up for the Xavier Bourgault goal last night and also when he played top minutes against the Calgary Flames last week. I wonder if Woodcroft will give him this chance?
Expectations for the upcoming season
From what we’ve seen Holland do in the summer and from his interviews, he expects the Oilers to give Broberg a chance to play with Mattias Ekholm. I honestly am excited and nervous to see this happen because it could end up being a huge mistake by Holland or it may end up being a genius move. It may end up hurting the youngster in his career or it may help him grab the reins like Evan Bouchard did last season when he played with Ekholm.
From what we have seen from Broberg in camp and preseason so far, it seems like he has shown everything. He has made some great plays (the pass to Bourgault for his second goal in the Seattle game and the set up on Raphael Lavoie’s goal), and had some great periods of play. But, he has also had some periods of play where he has been a little bit lost and has not stood out.
Broberg is a quiet player, who is not flashy, and not a big time points scorer. I see him as a Jay Bouwmeester type player who is solid defensively. He will most likely have a defensive partner who is perfect to learn from this season so let’s see if he will break out or stutter.
Season prediction: 72 games, 6 goals, 17 assists, +5
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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