Prospect Info: 2019 1st Round Pick: Philip Broberg Part 3

[McSuper]

My "negativity" consists of me believing his upside is a Klefbom level defender. I think it is likely he gets there but not guaranteed and I expect him to marinate another couple years in Sweden/AHL.

By other top prospects I'd loosely rank him below guys like Zegras and Soderstrom. Via scouting reports, overall talent, and my viewings at the WJC. Of our prospects I have him behind Bouchard.

My expectations are that he maintain a top 4 role with ample special teams ice time. Which he is doing and I've posted in support of.

His strengths are straight line speed and size. His strength/weakness is being very aggressive in the offensive zone. His weakness is defending in his own zone.

My perceived negativity can be summed up because I find it unreasonable that some here think he is a guaranteed top 4 NHL defender and likely top pairing star. That and I repeatedly say I hated picking him 8OA with our glut of LD and need of a forward in a forward heavy draft.

I watched almost every minute of his last WJC and like others came away less than impressed. His limited role/ice time last year in his draft +1 year was mildly disappointing.

I don't like putting too much stock in the WJC but since that is where I have, and most likely will, watch him it's all I have for awhile. I hope this time he can establish himself in the top 3 of team Sweden and maybe even get on the PP this time.

Broberg supposedly had a great preplayoff camp but a stinker of a preplayoff game versus Calgary. He had a great start to his season but has reportedly and statistically struggled over the last month. Pointing this out to the ultra sensitive Broberg fan club has blown my "negativity" way out of proportion.

If Broberg hits the nhl like a hurricane and becomes Hedman 2.0 no one will be happier than me.

Everyone is entitle to their own opinion . If 5 people watch a game you will get 5 different reports . With that said I have to ask these question
1) You see his upside as Klefbom who was a top pairing D before injuries took their toll . So why do you only see Broberg as a top 4 D ?
2) You also said you don’t have time to watch him . Klefbom never showed the offensive talent Broberg has which you can see by watching a game or 5 .

3) Context matters . Broberg is playing on a bad team with bad offence . If he was playing on a good top 5 team how many points would he have ? That can’t really be answer but I guarantee it would be a lot more then Klefbom ever dreamed of .

4) How many times has it been stated big players take longer to develop? The kid is big let’s give him time to fill out before setting limits on what he might become . Ditto for young developing D . On top of that he a kid in a mans league playing against older player that has their man strength.

5) one last thing you say you did not like the pick because of our left hand D . Are you not will to change that view as Klefbom may be done or only a shell of his former self . What LD is going to replace Klefbom and possibly Nurse if he prices himself out of Edmonton ? Jones ? We don’t have high end LD prospect and while I have high hopes for Samorukov . Laggesson isn’t anymore then 5 at best given his age and development

 

[Aerchon]

Everyone is entitle to their own opinion . If 5 people watch a game you will get 5 different reports . With that said I have to ask these question
1) You see his upside as Klefbom who was a top pairing D before injuries took their toll . So why do you only see Broberg as a top 4 D ?
2) You also said you don’t have time to watch him . Klefbom never showed the offensive talent Broberg has which you can see by watching a game or 5 .

3) Context matters . Broberg is playing on a bad team with bad offence . If he was playing on a good top 5 team how many points would he have ? That can’t really be answer but I guarantee it would be a lot more then Klefbom ever dreamed of .

4) How many times has it been stated big players take longer to develop? The kid is big let’s give him time to fill out before setting limits on what he might become . Ditto for young developing D . On top of that he a kid in a mans league playing against older player that has their man strength.

5) one last thing you say you did not like the pick because of our left hand D . Are you not will to change that view as Klefbom may be done or only a shell of his former self . What LD is going to replace Klefbom and possibly Nurse if he prices himself out of Edmonton ? Jones ? We don’t have high end LD prospect and while I have high hopes for Samorukov . Laggesson isn’t anymore then 5 at best given his age and development

1. Top 4 is a general term that can and does include top pairing. I'm a fan of Klefbom. It would be great if Broberg meets or exceeds him.

2. I have watched Broberg, just outside of the SHL. I followed Klefbom as a prospect and he was consistently described as a very talented offensive defenseman. His points didn't reflect it but he was billed as a very promising puck mover. Broberg showed very little offense in last year's WJC and next to nothing in his preplayoff appearance, albiet mostly due to the role he was used in. His current play sounds very promising and I will watch every game of the up coming WJC.

3. Truth be told I'm far more concerned about Broberg's defense than offense but compared to Klefbom yes he could end up much better offensively.

4. Agreed.

5. Agreed that with Klefbom, from my limited understanding, most likely having a career limiting/ending injury that does indeed improve Broberg's positional importance.

As you mention Broberg could take a long time to develop. In the mean time Nurse, Russell, Jones, Laggesson, Samourukov and potentially one of our RD switching sides will hold down the fort. Big picture Nurse imo is immovable now and hopefully another LD rises quickly to replace most if not all what Klefbom brings. Bouchard has been playing on the Left side I understand, maybe he ends up being his long term replacement.

Losing Klefbom hurts bad and I hope the team can overcome it quickly.

 

[DropTheGloves]

I followed Klefbom as a prospect and he was consistently described as a very talented offensive defenseman. His points didn't reflect it but he was billed as a very promising puck mover. Broberg showed very little offense in last year's WJC and next to nothing in his preplayoff appearance

That awkward moment when you realize Klefbom had just one more point than Broberg (for a whopping two overall) in their respective D+1 WJC appearances.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

That awkward moment when you realize Klefbom had just one more point than Broberg (for a whopping two overall) in their respective D+1 WJC appearances.

He also says he watched almost every minute of Broberg in the WJC when he didn't actually post about "tuning in for his first time" until sweden's 4th game.

 

[sportsfan944804]

Not sure if this is speculation by Matheson or what. He's been pretty useless for a while now, so who knows. A bit surprised Broberg wouldn't be at the Oilers camp though.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

1. Top 4 is a general term that can and does include top pairing. I'm a fan of Klefbom. It would be great if Broberg meets or exceeds him.

2. I have watched Broberg, just outside of the SHL. I followed Klefbom as a prospect and he was consistently described as a very talented offensive defenseman. His points didn't reflect it but he was billed as a very promising puck mover. Broberg showed very little offense in last year's WJC and next to nothing in his preplayoff appearance, albiet mostly due to the role he was used in. His current play sounds very promising and I will watch every game of the up coming WJC.

3. Truth be told I'm far more concerned about Broberg's defense than offense but compared to Klefbom yes he could end up much better offensively.

4. Agreed.

5. Agreed that with Klefbom, from my limited understanding, most likely having a career limiting/ending injury that does indeed improve Broberg's positional importance.

As you mention Broberg could take a long time to develop. In the mean time Nurse, Russell, Jones, Laggesson, Samourukov and potentially one of our RD switching sides will hold down the fort. Big picture Nurse imo is immovable now and hopefully another LD rises quickly to replace most if not all what Klefbom brings. Bouchard has been playing on the Left side I understand, maybe he ends up being his long term replacement.

Losing Klefbom hurts bad and I hope the team can overcome it quickly.

I appreciate your point of view. There's no guarantee that Broberg will meet the potential promise of his elite skating and size.

However some of your opinions don't align with facts. Regarding the U20 tournament, it's been established Broberg was a primary shutdown defender last year which was a key, defined role on a stacked Gold medal contending team. Given his age and more advanced teammates (age 19 year talent including Sandin a guy who had NHL taste under his belt ), Broberg was not looked upon to produce points but to match up against opposition top lines which he did consistently and well. A look at Team Sweden's approach over time shows pretty consistently that experienced age 19 defensemen get the power play time and put up counting numbers. Sandin himself went from 4 points to 10 points.

I like Klefbom a lot going back to his U20 tournament where I saw every game he played with Team Sweden based in Calgary. He was a worthy tournament all-star who got better each and every game on a Swedish team that broke through to win gold. But Klefbom's point production was 1 goal and 1 assist ... quite comparable to Broberg's numbers and similar shutdown responsibilities. Similarly, Klefbom's latent offensive abilities didn't show with his meagre counting numbers in a similar development path as a teenager in Swedish pro hockey.

Your opinion that Zegras may be a better pick and player than Broberg may be valid. But your belief that Broberg was a reach has been disproven and ultimately a deeply experienced newby GM in Edmonton looking holistically at organizational talent and pipeline deemed Broberg best player available and here we are. Offensive players are always the shiny toy that's easy to watch and like but high end defensemen are an immensely valuable commodity. I'd argue the Oilers rebuild model is a textbook case of how to fail - start the process by drafting a string of high number of smallish finesse forwards while ignoring defense for an extended time.

This player's development path is quite reasonable and he appears to be ticking off many of the boxes that led Klefbom to become the Oilers best defenseman. On the Oilers organizational depth and team construction, I think Broberg was an excellent pick and his progression is following realistic development to be a top four NHL d-man with realistic possibility to be a 2/3 defender. Development is a slow, steady process for like 95% of NHL prospects. We all get teased by some sick youtube videos that cherry pick great plays or even horribad ones made by prospects but realistically these are just snapshots of the volume of work, time and effort put in to strive for the NHL dream.

EDIT: I'm glad the Oil have announced Broberg will return to his Swedish club team following the U20 tournament. Eliminate all noise around this player who has much more development needs and zero reason to be rushed into a chaotic NHL covid season.

 

[OiledUp]

Not sure if this is speculation by Matheson or what. He's been pretty useless for a while now, so who knows. A bit surprised Broberg wouldn't be at the Oilers camp though.

Both Holland and Broberg himself have been pretty standfast in interviews about him staying the full year in Sweden though Broberg has always been careful to add that ultimately it's up to the Oilers. And with it likely being a very short camp I think we'll more or less only see guys who might get NHL games.

 

[Aerchon]

I appreciate your point of view. There's no guarantee that Broberg will meet the potential promise of his elite skating and size.

However some of your opinions don't align with facts. Regarding the U20 tournament, it's been established Broberg was a primary shutdown defender last year which was a key, defined role on a stacked Gold medal contending team. Given his age and more advanced teammates (age 19 year talent including Sandin a guy who had NHL taste under his belt ), Broberg was not looked upon to produce points but to match up against opposition top lines which he did consistently and well. A look at Team Sweden's approach over time shows pretty consistently that experienced age 19 defensemen get the power play time and put up counting numbers. Sandin himself went from 4 points to 10 points.

I like Klefbom a lot going back to his U20 tournament where I saw every game he played with Team Sweden based in Calgary. He was a worthy tournament all-star who got better each and every game on a Swedish team that broke through to win gold. But Klefbom's point production was 1 goal and 1 assist ... quite comparable to Broberg's numbers and similar shutdown responsibilities. Similarly, Klefbom's latent offensive abilities didn't show with his meagre counting numbers in a similar development path as a teenager in Swedish pro hockey.

Your opinion that Zegras may be a better pick and player than Broberg may be valid. But your belief that Broberg was a reach has been disproven and ultimately a deeply experienced newby GM in Edmonton looking holistically at organizational talent and pipeline deemed Broberg best player available and here we are. Offensive players are always the shiny toy that's easy to watch and like but high end defensemen are an immensely valuable commodity. I'd argue the Oilers rebuild model is a textbook case of how to fail - start the process by drafting a string of high number of smallish finesse forwards while ignoring defense for an extended time.

This player's development path is quite reasonable and he appears to be ticking off many of the boxes that led Klefbom to become the Oilers best defenseman. On the Oilers organizational depth and team construction, I think Broberg was an excellent pick and his progression is following realistic development to be a top four NHL d-man with realistic possibility to be a 2/3 defender. Development is a slow, steady process for like 95% of NHL prospects. We all get teased by some sick youtube videos that cherry pick great plays or even horribad ones made by prospects but realistically these are just snapshots of the volume of work, time and effort put in to strive for the NHL dream.

EDIT: I'm glad the Oil have announced Broberg will return to his Swedish club team following the U20 tournament. Eliminate all noise around this player who has much more development needs and zero reason to be rushed into a chaotic NHL covid season.

Most of your comments are bang on with my assessments. He has a realistic shot at being a good 2/3.

But.

The reach comment is very layered. How do we judge if he was a reach? I know he was a reach by general consensus even on this board right up until he was drafted. Many were in disbelief we would move down so many spots to grab a left shooting defenseman of all things instead of a needed forward. I would say most were doubly shocked when we left Zegras on the board to do so. It's pure revisionist history to claim Broberg wasn't a reach at the #8 spot.

Right now he is tracking good and its debatable if he is tracking on par with that 8 spot.

In the future? Who knows. Even if he does become a solid 2/3 defender down the road we "could" be kicking ourselves for not taking Zegras or another of the highly touted forwards on a strong draft class. I don't expect we will know that answer for at least another 5 years.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Most of your comments are bang on with my assessments. He has a realistic shot at being a good 2/3.

But.

The reach comment is very layered. How do we judge if he was a reach? I know he was a reach by general consensus even on this board right up until he was drafted. Many were in disbelief we would move down so many spots to grab a left shooting defenseman of all things instead of a needed forward. I would say most were doubly shocked when we left Zegras on the board to do so. It's pure revisionist history to claim Broberg wasn't a reach at the #8 spot.

Right now he is tracking good and its debatable if he is tracking on par with that 8 spot.

In the future? Who knows. Even if he does become a solid 2/3 defender down the road we "could" be kicking ourselves for not taking Zegras or another of the highly touted forwards on a strong draft class. I don't expect we will know that answer for at least another 5 years.

Fans will pretty much never have consensus on draft picks nor do we have the resources or access to be effective talent advisors who have million dollar consequences on their decision making. Mackenzie's aggregated NHL scouting based ranking had Broberg highly placed all year and Button, a lifelong NHL talent evaluator had high marks. Sportsnet, league broadcast partner with significant resources behind it, had Broberg at 11 in final ranking. Too much noise gets created via hobbyists and opinionators who simply can't have full pictures on players across a global scope and in dramatically different world of quality of play and competition. I trust Ken Holland's decision whose done the work for a quarter century+. As confirmed in a previous post, Holland had substantial viewings of Zegras' All Star American National Team over years yet bet his experience and knowledge on a different player.

We could 'kick ourselves' every year for players missed by our favourite teams (often with the benefit of hindsight). It is just a hard reality. Your Zegras is my Getlaf and Parise back in 2003 when the Oil drafted Mar Anton Pouliot within a generational draft. Just how it is as we project from the comfort of our couches without the depth of information in hand of NHL organizations and the extreme volatility of projecting pimple faced teenagers into future professional hockey players.

 

[Broberg Speed]

I was always pleased with the Philip Broberg selection. He is a very intelligent young man with elite physical attributes which will contribute to a very long NHL career. Wait 'till this kid puts it all together and he'll put the doubters to rest.

 

[snipes]

Most of your comments are bang on with my assessments. He has a realistic shot at being a good 2/3.

But.

The reach comment is very layered. How do we judge if he was a reach? I know he was a reach by general consensus even on this board right up until he was drafted. Many were in disbelief we would move down so many spots to grab a left shooting defenseman of all things instead of a needed forward. I would say most were doubly shocked when we left Zegras on the board to do so. It's pure revisionist history to claim Broberg wasn't a reach at the #8 spot.

Right now he is tracking good and its debatable if he is tracking on par with that 8 spot.

In the future? Who knows. Even if he does become a solid 2/3 defender down the road we "could" be kicking ourselves for not taking Zegras or another of the highly touted forwards on a strong draft class. I don't expect we will know that answer for at least another 5 years.

If you land a player that develops into #2 which is for intents and purposes a top pairing D man at pick 8, then you’re over the moon and it was an excellent pick.

Heck, even a #3 is a bona fide top 4 D man, in which case it was still an excellent pick at #8.

These guys are players that organizations don’t let go of and find ways to keep after developing them into a top 4 D man.

 

[McJadeddog]

If you land a player that develops into #2 which is for intents and purposes a top pairing D man at pick 8, then you’re over the moon and it was an excellent pick.

Heck, even a #3 is a bona fide top 4 D man, in which case it was still an excellent pick at #8.

These guys are players that organizations don’t let go of and find ways to keep after developing them into a top 4 D man.

Yeah a #3 Dman is hitting a triple, if not a home run, with a 8th overall pick. Here are the 8th overall picks from 2008-2013. All of these players are finished products.
finished products" at this point.

Mikkel Boedker - middle 6 winger
Jared Cowen - bottom pairing D
Alexander Burmistrov - fringe NHLer
Sean Couturier - top line C
Derrek Pouliot - bottom-pairing/7th D
Rasmus Ristolainen - 2/3 D

So from those 6 drafts, you have 3 Dmen taken and only 1 has become a 2/3 defender, the other 2 are guys you pick up on waivers or as UFAs for league minimum. The 3 forwards taken have one bust, 1 decent pick, and 1 home run. The 8th overall pick isn't some "sure thing" pick at all. Getting a 2nd pairing dman with that pick should be considered a wild success. I don't know if Broberg becomes that player or not, but if he does, it's a win for sure.

 

[Aerchon]

If you land a player that develops into #2 which is for intents and purposes a top pairing D man at pick 8, then you’re over the moon and it was an excellent pick.

Heck, even a #3 is a bona fide top 4 D man, in which case it was still an excellent pick at #8.

These guys are players that organizations don’t let go of and find ways to keep after developing them into a top 4 D man.

Realistic shot is not a guarantee. We all have to wait and see how he develops. So far so good, but there is a significant gap to close before we start penciling Broberg into the lineup.

Not to mention the competition in our organization is extremely tough. Which is awesome, but may limit his opportunities.

Going off on a tangent but I absolutely want to see Samorukov given a long long look before Broberg even sniffs the nhl regular season. He is further along in his development and needs a legit chance to make the team. I see Broberg spending a year in the AHL next year with Sammy being a more regular depth/call up for the big club. Long ways off tho and you never know how young players will develop.

EDIT:

Looking forward to watching Broberg at the WJC. How he will be used by the team and how good he does against junior elite competition will be a strong indicator where he is in his development.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Love to see our boy get the C slapped on his jersey for the WJC.

He deserves it.

 

[GrinningBuddha]

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Pretty good 'Report Card' update by Holland and Tippett via Jim Matheson: Oilers prospect Philip Broberg on display for Sweden at World Junior Championship | Edmonton Sun

“I hate comparing (kids to NHL veterans) and putting undue expectations or pressure on a player. I would say he will be a top-4 (NHL defenceman). We hope he can be an impact player and impact to me is top-4 D,” said Holland. “If you tell me in two years, Broberg can defend, can make a good first pass and eats up minutes, I would take that all day long.”

Oiler coach Dave Tippett concurs.
“I’ve watched a bunch of Philip’s games (streamed) this season and his game has matured. When I watched him last year in Sweden his team was protecting him (match-ups) but he plays a key role now (Skelleftea). He’s playing 17 to 21 minutes a game,” said Tippett, who had his eyes opened in Phase 3 camp last summer.

“I’ve developed more skills … there’s more to just rushing the puck now to my game. I was more one-sided last season and now I’m more difficult to shut down because I can move it and skate it,” said Broberg.
“Philip came to our camp with something to prove and took real steps forward. He was pushing his agenda hard, seems like he had points or goals in every scrimmage. He played well enough so we kept him (bubble). I like the wild stallion part … you just have to figure out when to be wild and when not. It’s part of the maturity of a player,” said Tippett. “What I see from Philip is a passion to not just be an NHL player but to be a top NHL player. “He’s young and aggressive but this year when I watch him, he’s much smarter. He’s recognizing things. There’s times to go with the puck, and others to just move it and play the game that’s in front of him and not force the issue.”

 

[LTIR]

Not sure if this is speculation by Matheson or what. He's been pretty useless for a while now, so who knows. A bit surprised Broberg wouldn't be at the Oilers camp though.

Way too many bodies on D to keep yet another young kid.

 

[Aerchon]

Pretty good 'Report Card' update by Holland and Tippett via Jim Matheson: Oilers prospect Philip Broberg on display for Sweden at World Junior Championship | Edmonton Sun

“I hate comparing (kids to NHL veterans) and putting undue expectations or pressure on a player. I would say he will be a top-4 (NHL defenceman). We hope he can be an impact player and impact to me is top-4 D,” said Holland. “If you tell me in two years, Broberg can defend, can make a good first pass and eats up minutes, I would take that all day long.”

Oiler coach Dave Tippett concurs.
“I’ve watched a bunch of Philip’s games (streamed) this season and his game has matured. When I watched him last year in Sweden his team was protecting him (match-ups) but he plays a key role now (Skelleftea). He’s playing 17 to 21 minutes a game,” said Tippett, who had his eyes opened in Phase 3 camp last summer.

“I’ve developed more skills … there’s more to just rushing the puck now to my game. I was more one-sided last season and now I’m more difficult to shut down because I can move it and skate it,” said Broberg.
“Philip came to our camp with something to prove and took real steps forward. He was pushing his agenda hard, seems like he had points or goals in every scrimmage. He played well enough so we kept him (bubble). I like the wild stallion part … you just have to figure out when to be wild and when not. It’s part of the maturity of a player,” said Tippett. “What I see from Philip is a passion to not just be an NHL player but to be a top NHL player. “He’s young and aggressive but this year when I watch him, he’s much smarter. He’s recognizing things. There’s times to go with the puck, and others to just move it and play the game that’s in front of him and not force the issue.”

I love these assessments. Very much on par with mine to date. Tempered and measured assessment, nothing grandiose. I especially love how Tippett describes his sheltered play last year and calls out the same concerns I had last year. It's great to hear he is potentially developing into a responsible two way guy.

 

[Cerebral]

I love these assessments. Very much on par with mine to date. Tempered and measured assessment, nothing grandiose. I especially love how Tippett describes his sheltered play last year and calls out the same concerns I had last year. It's great to hear he is potentially developing into a responsible two way guy.

I think "tempered and measured" is a great mindset to have with regards to Broberg.

In some ways, he reminds me a little of Eric Brewer, Jay Bouwmeester, and Braydon Coburn in that he's a big, strong skating defenceman who was drafted relatively high in the first round. People kept expecting the offence to develop in those three and while it never came in a "big" way, all three developed into reliable, top pairing guys for a period of time who could play a lot of minutes and chip in a bit as well.

Broberg is going to bring a lot of skill to the table and even if the offensive numbers never come, he's still going to be a strong player for a long time.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

I love these assessments. Very much on par with mine to date. Tempered and measured assessment, nothing grandiose. I especially love how Tippett describes his sheltered play last year and calls out the same concerns I had last year. It's great to hear he is potentially developing into a responsible two way guy.

Smart management does that ... especially after Matheson led with a Boumeester comparison citing the 1,200 game career he had. The guy who made the pick at 8 expresses “If you tell me in two years, Broberg can defend, can make a good first pass and eats up minutes, I would take that all day long.” Though this might bump up against your expectations and value of Broberg being picked at 8.

No offence but regarding Tippett's comments, I think the majority of people were realistic about an 18 year old's minutes and play against men in one of the top pro leagues in the world. Moreso his message takeaway is how much Broberg has grown this year with his play and ice-time earned. Some measured platitudes about the young players ability to learn and strong drive to be successful.

As the moto suggests always 'under promise and over deliver'. No guarantees for Broberg or any young player but this is a nice, brief, pramatic assessment.

 

[DropTheGloves]

In some ways, he reminds me a little of Eric Brewer, Jay Bouwmeester, and Braydon Coburn in that he's a big, strong skating defenceman who was drafted relatively high in the first round. People kept expecting the offence to develop in those three and while it never came in a "big" way, all three developed into reliable, top pairing guys for a period of time who could play a lot of minutes and chip in a bit as well.

The one thing going for Broberg versus those guys is that he has found a way at every level to keep a bit of riverboat gambler in his game. While Coburn, JBo, and Brewer all more or less settled down once they hit the NHL (although 2005-2009 Bo was a joy to watch) being a "wild stallion" as Tippett refers to it is the big X factor which will make Broberg much harder to gameplan against. Imagine seeing this 6'5 D trucking up ice with the hand skills and skating of a forward- suddenly McDrai is not your only concern.

 

[Aerchon]

Smart management does that ... especially after Matheson led with a Boumeester comparison citing the 1,200 game career he had. The guy who made the pick at 8 expresses “If you tell me in two years, Broberg can defend, can make a good first pass and eats up minutes, I would take that all day long.” Though this might bump up against your expectations and value of Broberg being picked at 8.

No offence but regarding Tippett's comments, I think the majority of people were realistic about an 18 year old's minutes and play against men in one of the top pro leagues in the world. Moreso his message takeaway is how much Broberg has grown this year with his play and ice-time earned. Some measured platitudes about the young players ability to learn and strong drive to be successful.

As the moto suggests always 'under promise and over deliver'. No guarantees for Broberg or any young player but this is a nice, brief, pramatic assessment.

Interesting take. Bouwmeester was a 3rd OA that was consistently considered to have under performed to his draft pedigree despite a great career.

But.

I'll take a Bouwmeester comparison every day and twice on Sunday. I see that as a good upside for him for sure. As a draft comparison I'm not sure you made the point you were trying to. Comparing draft years is extremely tough to find common ground.

The great management comment is absolutely accurate at thus point in time. Unfortunately the test of time can be cruel. I look forward to Holland's reign to be full of success... Unlike his last few disastrous years in Detroit. Yzerman has a big mess to clean up there.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Interesting take. Bouwmeester was a 3rd OA that was consistently considered to have under performed to his draft pedigree despite a great career.

But.

I'll take a Bouwmeester comparison every day and twice on Sunday. I see that as a good upside for him for sure. As a draft comparison I'm not sure you made the point you were trying to. Comparing draft years is extremely tough to find common ground.

The great management comment is absolutely accurate at thus point in time. Unfortunately the test of time can be cruel. I look forward to Holland's reign to be full of success... Unlike his last few disastrous years in Detroit. Yzerman has a big mess to clean up there.

My point was Holland didn't seem to take the bait of comparing (and likely enflaming) a comparison of Broberg to Bowmeester. Holland seems to deflect defining success for this 8th overall pick as a top four defenseman. Pretty modest, pragmatic projection of this high pick versus spewing hyperbole of falling into an a high end projection to a 1200 NHL game defender. As fans, we always want to see and believe in the high-end likelihood of prospects being achieved, yet, Holland in this piece keeps it simple.

Interesting that you support the Bowmeester comparison and feel Broberg's potential is that level. I wouldn't necessarily have expected that with some of your belief that he was a reach and that the Oil missed out on not taking Zegras. Last post and this one is just (an attempt) a bit of fun with you. Sounds like you're firmly on board the Broberg train!!

Regarding Holland, I think one measures the scope of his career as a leader of a long-term, sustained winning franchise with reality that all good things come to an end. We're seeing some early roots of his management success with a great coaching hire, conservative and realistic prospect development, and cautious communication on the work required to turn around a long-term sustained losing organization.

Appreciate your post and my weak attempt at some fun!

 

[OiledUp]

My point was Holland didn't seem to take the bait of comparing (and likely enflaming) a comparison of Broberg to Bowmeester. Holland seems to deflect defining success for this 8th overall pick as a top four defenseman. Pretty modest, pragmatic projection of this high pick versus spewing hyperbole of falling into an a high end projection to a 1200 NHL game defender. As fans, we always want to see and believe in the high-end likelihood of prospects being achieved, yet, Holland in this piece keeps it simple.

Interesting that you support the Bowmeester comparison and feel Broberg's potential is that level. I wouldn't necessarily have expected that with some of your belief that he was a reach and that the Oil missed out on not taking Zegras. Last post and this one is just (an attempt) a bit of fun with you. Sounds like you're firmly on board the Broberg train!!

Regarding Holland, I think one measures the scope of his career as a leader of a long-term, sustained winning franchise with reality that all good things come to an end. We're seeing some early roots of his management success with a great coaching hire, conservative and realistic prospect development, and cautious communication on the work required to turn around a long-term sustained losing organization.

Appreciate your post and my weak attempt at some fun!

I think Holland's last few seasons in Detroit was him painting himself more and more into a corner trying to maintain the playoff streak and wasn't really his style of GMing. I also think that if the last couple of years in Detroit had gone better he'd been retired by now. Taking on the Oilers is him making sure his legacy isn't tarnished by the end in Detroit. I think he's very very motivated to finish his career as a GM in style. I certainly hope so.

 

[MoontoScott]

I love these assessments. Very much on par with mine to date. Tempered and measured assessment, nothing grandiose. I especially love how Tippett describes his sheltered play last year and calls out the same concerns I had last year. It's great to hear he is potentially developing into a responsible two way guy.

I really like what Holland said in this article:

"He can be an impact player and by impact I mean a top 4 D-man." I also like the comment about not putting huge pressure on teenagers by comparing them to NHL stars.

Bang on. Drafting a good D-man doesn't necessarily mean acquiring a top pairing guy, it just means latching on to an everyday player who can rack up all kinds of minutes, skate past the forecheckers and clear the zone-- but not necessarily have the offensive skill of a Paul Coffey type.

Something I like about Holland is his common sense, low key approach. He's not flashy but to me he does and says a lot of the little things correctly--much more measured and thoughtful than his predecessor.