Prospect Info: Bakersfield Condors '23-'24 Thread

[Dazed and Confused]

Unless we can trade him for a clear upgrade on D it's time to move on from Kulak and give him at least 40 games next season to show what he can do. He should compliment Desharnais game if Vinny doesn't leave.

I'm not sure Kulak's role is one I want Broberg in. As @CycloneSweep says, he's arguably your 3rd best defensively, that's not the player you move out to add a rookie.


I get the surface logic of giving him the 3rd pairing LD; but with how the Oil deploy their top 4, you want someone who plays a safe and stable game anchoring the 3rd pairing. That's Kulak, not Broberg.

Imo the best bet is keeping Kulak and hopefully Vinny as a defensively trustworthy 3rd pairing, and playing Broberg with Nurse on a 2-way pairing.

Ekholm-Bouchard
Broberg-Nurse (doesn't matter who's on which side)
Kulak-Vinny

The top pairing and third pairings are proven quality options, and that second pairing is one of the most physically gifted in the league. That's a bet I'd be willing to take, as you'd be hard pressed to give Broberg a more supported role to establish himself in. It also get's Nurse out of pure shutdown role, that he's just mediocre-at-best at.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I'm not sure Kulak's role is one I want Broberg in. As @CycloneSweep says, he's arguably your 3rd best defensively, that's not the player you move out to add a rookie.


I get the surface logic of giving him the 3rd pairing LD; but with how the Oil deploy their top 4, you want someone who plays a safe and stable game anchoring the 3rd pairing. That's Kulak, not Broberg.

Imo the best bet is keeping Kulak and hopefully Vinny as a defensively trustworthy 3rd pairing, and playing Broberg with Nurse on a 2-way pairing.

Ekholm-Bouchard
Broberg-Nurse (doesn't matter who's on which side)
Kulak-Vinny

The top pairing and third pairings are proven quality options, and that second pairing is one of the most physically gifted in the league. That's a bet I'd be willing to take, as you'd be hard pressed to give Broberg a more supported role to establish himself in. It also get's Nurse out of pure shutdown role, that he's just mediocre-at-best at.

That would be an absolutely awful pairing and a 2nd pairing to boot.

 

[joestevens29]

That would be an absolutely awful pairing and a 2nd pairing to boot.

Playing one of those guys on the wrong side might result in them being the third pairing IMO

 

[Giggleplex]

Alternatively, you could play Broberg 3LD and Kulak 3RD...

 

[belair]

That would be an absolutely awful pairing and a 2nd pairing to boot.

Playing Nurse on his offhand with a weaker partner to salvage a third pairing D that saw him minutes reduced this past season. Nurse's is far, far, far more important to the Oilers than Brett Kulak.

Kulak moving on is an easy thing to project this summer. And him playing well only bodes well to the Oilers getting a positive return for the asset.

 

[McDNicks17]

Packaging Broberg for that top4 rightie makes the most sense to me.

There's no point having a third pairing that needs soft offensive minutes when the two pairings above them would do far more with those offensive minutes.

The team is better off with a defensive-focused third pairing. Keeping Kulak makes the most sense for that, but you could replace him with a cheap veteran instead if you're looking to save some cap.

 

[belair]

Packaging Broberg for that top4 rightie makes the most sense to me.

There's no point having a third pairing that needs soft offensive minutes when the two pairings above them would do far more with those offensive minutes.

The team is better off with a defensive-focused third pairing. Keeping Kulak makes the most sense for that, but you could replace him with a cheap veteran instead if you're looking to save some cap.

Sustainability is what makes the most sense to me. Holding on to guys who will be in their mid 30s when McDavid and Draisaitl re-up just makes little sense. Especially someone as low impact as Kulak.

And as mentioned prior to the deadline, your market of RD is rather limited unless you're spending the additional assets to have a team facilitate the necessary cap adjustments. It has to be a pretty substantial upgrade on Cody Ceci to even be worth the cost.

Broberg is still showing a strong trajectory and I think at the very least he's worthy of filling a bottom pairing role next year with a more seasoned stay-at-home in #73.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Sustainability is what makes the most sense to me. Holding on to guys who will be in their mid 30s when McDavid and Draisaitl re-up just makes little sense. Especially someone as low impact as Kulak.

And as mentioned prior to the deadline, your market of RD is rather limited unless your spending the addition assets to have a team facilitate the necessary cap adjustments. It has to be a pretty substantial upgrade on Cody Ceci to even be worth the cost.

Broberg is still showing a strong trajectory and I think at the very least he's worthy of filling a bottom pairing role next year with a more seasoned stay-at-home in #73.

And again this only works if you upgrade on Ceci cause Nurses pairing will then have to take more of the tough minutes again that Kulak was taking.
And Nurse and Ceci have proven all year they can’t really handle it.

Replacing Kulak with Broberg makes the team worse on its own. It’s the cup window this year and next year. After that…

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Playing Nurse on his offhand with a weaker partner to salvage a third pairing D that saw him minutes reduced this past season. Nurse's is far, far, far more important to the Oilers than Brett Kulak.

Kulak moving on is an easy thing to project this summer. And him playing well only bodes well to the Oilers getting a positive return for the asset.

Nurse in his current state is meh. If not for his contract I would ship his out so fast that his head would spin. Broberg brings similar offensive skills and brain farts to Nurse while not being nearly as tough. The problem is that Nurse doesn't even play tough anymore so we wouldn't lose much in that regard. Broberg brings more offense but less defense than Kulak. At some point we have to move out some vets for cap purposes.

 

[belair]

And again this only works if you upgrade on Ceci cause Nurses pairing will then have to take more of the tough minutes again that Kulak was taking.
And Nurse and Ceci have proven all year they can’t really handle it.

Replacing Kulak with Broberg makes the team worse on its own. It’s the cup window this year and next year. After that…

If it's realistic, yeah, you upgrade on Ceci. The Kulak discussion doesn't really take into account what happens with Ceci.

If the end result is you starting the season with that pairing again, you have games 1-62 to figure out where you need to make your improvements. But that's the kind of runway you need to give a prospect who you expect to make a noticeable impact.

Your bottom pairing means next to nothing when it comes to where team goes one way or another. 'Downgrading' from Kulak to Broberg isn't likely to make the kind of impact you suggest it would in terms of how the entire team would perform.

 

[CycloneSweep]

If it's realistic, yeah, you upgrade on Ceci. The Kulak discussion doesn't really take into account what happens with Ceci.

If the end result is you starting the season with that pairing again, you have games 1-62 to figure out where you need to make your improvements. But that's the kind of runway you need to give a prospect who you expect to make a noticeable impact.

Your bottom pairing means next to nothing when it comes to where team goes one way or another. 'Downgrading' from Kulak to Broberg isn't likely to make the kind of impact you suggest it would in terms of how the entire team would perform.

Except we don’t deploy them like a normal bottom pairing. This is something you all most refuse to acknowledge. They have almost an even share of elite competition as Nurses pairing because they can’t handle it. That’s not something Broberg would be able to handle, so Nurse will have to seee more of those tough minutes again, which he can’t handle.
and what happens with Kulak absolutely has to be linked to Ceci. Intentionally making your d worse and moving out your arguably 3rd worse d to do so is an awful move if you aren’t then improving on Ceci.
I don’t get how you can’t see that.

I think it’s cause you have super high expectations for Broberg and you consider Kulak to be some replacement level player.

 

[belair]

Except we don’t deploy them like a normal bottom pairing. This is something you all most refuse to acknowledge. They have almost an even share of elite competition as Nurses pairing because they can’t handle it. That’s not something Broberg would be able to handle, so Nurse will have to seee more of those tough minutes again, which he can’t handle.
and what happens with Kulak absolutely has to be linked to Ceci. Intentionally making your d worse and moving out your arguably 3rd worse d to do so is an awful move if you aren’t then improving on Ceci.
I don’t get how you can’t see that.

I think it’s cause you have super high expectations for Broberg and you consider Kulak to be some replacement level player.

I'm aware of how they deployed that pairing this season and I'm aware of how the Nurse pairing performed. I don't think that history repeats itself. I think that Darnell Nurse is a better defenseman than the results showed this season. I also think that Brett Kulak is a sturdy, yet limited one. And if his game happens to fall off a bit, he becomes a cap issue that will cost assets to remove.

Expecting Broberg to fill a bottom pairing role isn't a 'super high expectation'. It's how a team should integrate one of their top prospects. And how a cap ceiling team can navigate the salary cap in years where the team has Stanley Cup aspirations, funneling that limited cap space to more integral areas of depth.

Kulak is a replacement level player. And he's been outperforming his contract for some time. It's a good idea to move him while that stock is high. Because his role isn't all that important.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I'm aware of how they deployed that pairing this season and I'm aware of how the Nurse pairing performed. I don't think that history repeats itself. I think that Darnell Nurse is a better defenseman than the results showed this season. I also think that Brett Kulak is a sturdy, yet limited one. And if his game happens to fall off a bit, he becomes a cap issue that will cost assets to remove.

Expecting Broberg to fill a bottom pairing role isn't a 'super high expectation'. It's how a team should integrate one of their top prospects. And how a cap ceiling team can navigate the salary cap in years where the team has Stanley Cup aspirations, funneling that limited cap space to more integral areas of depth.

Kulak is a replacement level player. And he's been outperforming his contract for some time. It's a good idea to move him while that stock is high. Because his role isn't all that important.

If he was a replacement level player he wouldn’t be outperforming his contract?
We will just have to disagree but Kulak out and Broberg in makes the team worse full stop. And it’s a bad move unless they replace Ceci. Going into next season with an intentional worse defense is a wild plan.

The team will probably do that and have to panic and replace Ceci or something mid season but stuff like the Brown contract does that to a team.

 

[belair]

If he was a replacement level player he wouldn’t be outperforming his contract?
We will just have to disagree but Kulak out and Broberg in makes the team worse full stop.

That money addressing a more impactful role makes the team better. Having the cap to keep a guy like Foegele or Desharnais makes the team better in lieu of having to fill those roles with late summer UFAs.

Kulak outperforming his contract has a lot to do with the supporting cast. We've had this discussion countless times when discussing other depth defensemen who have shown promising numbers.

The idea of moving on from him, or from Kane for cap flexibility has little to do with criticizing the player. It's always been about utilizing cap space effectively and sustaining a competitive roster for as long as possible.

 

[CycloneSweep]

That money addressing a more impactful role makes the team better. Having the cap to keep a guy like Foegele or Desharnais makes the team better in lieu of having to fill those roles with late summer UFAs.

Kulak outperforming his contract has a lot to do with the supporting cast. We've had this discussion countless times when discussing other depth defensemen who have shown promising numbers.

The idea of moving on from him, or from Kane for cap flexibility has little to do with criticizing the player. It's always been about utilizing cap space effectively and sustaining a competitive roster for as long as possible.

Foegele is an easy to replace player for his cap and if Desharnais wants more than 1.5 when you can find guys if his ability for less, how is that good use of cap?
I much rather send Ceci out and play him on his off side honestly

 

[belair]

Foegele is an easy to replace player for his cap and if Desharnais wants more than 1.5 when you can find guys if his ability for less, how is that good use of cap?
I much rather send Ceci out and play him on his off side honestly

Foegele is a rare breed of Oiler forward. He's a winger that has shown that he can produce both with and without the support of our offensive catalysts.

We've also seen what happens when Kulak's responsibilities and minutes are elevated. It ended with the Ekholm trade.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Foegele is a rare breed of Oiler forward. He's a winger that has shown that he can produce both with and without the support of our offensive catalysts.

We've also seen what happens when Kulak's responsibilities and minutes are elevated. It ended with the Ekholm trade.

To be fair to Kulak, he also had to drag Ceci around.

 

[Fourier]

Packaging Broberg for that top4 rightie makes the most sense to me.

There's no point having a third pairing that needs soft offensive minutes when the two pairings above them would do far more with those offensive minutes.

The team is better off with a defensive-focused third pairing. Keeping Kulak makes the most sense for that, but you could replace him with a cheap veteran instead if you're looking to save some cap.

You have a catch 22 here. I doubt that Broberg has much real trade value right now. GIven how far he is from his draft the only way he could resurrect much value is if he plays in the NHL and shows that he is more than a bottom pairing defenseman.

 

[On The Prowl]

I would keep Broberg simply because if you asked other teams who they would want going forward between the two I am almost certain they would all take Broberg for contract and potential reasons.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Sustainability is what makes the most sense to me. Holding on to guys who will be in their mid 30s when McDavid and Draisaitl re-up just makes little sense. Especially someone as low impact as Kulak.

And as mentioned prior to the deadline, your market of RD is rather limited unless your spending the addition assets to have a team facilitate the necessary cap adjustments. It has to be a pretty substantial upgrade on Cody Ceci to even be worth the cost.

Broberg is still showing a strong trajectory and I think at the very least he's worthy of filling a bottom pairing role next year with a more seasoned stay-at-home in #73.

This team needs to keep one eye on the future mid-range and long-term. It also needs to shave some dollars as they live through their organization's mature phase. They've bet draft collateral and finally a realistic development plan on Broberg who has delivered big minutes, all situational play among the best in AHL this season. He's ready to onboard with realistic deployment at 3LD with upward mobility to support both specialty teams over time and a strong transitional game to snap pucks to the Oilers forward group and attack system.

For some reason, it's used as a slur 'butter soft' to describe support role responsibilities. It's just smart deployment to place all your team members into the right situations to succeed and thrive. We saw for an extended decade of dumbness where young Oiler players were deployed above where they are. Benefit now of a Window team is you can nurture young, cheap and upside into support role with runway to continue growing their confidence and contributions over time. Broberg's shown in episodic small samples as early as his first North American pro season to step up into bigger responsibilities when Nurse was injured and a stretch drive cooker in Calgary when a Barrie injury required a 22+ minute lead roll.

It's been clearly articulated by management that there is a clear future for Broberg on their blue line. He's ready. Now maybe that changes with a new GM but I'm skeptical as the financial need is there, the hard miles and tough love of poor development challenge has been met, and integrating a quality young d-man to sustain the window of this league's oldest team is important.

 

[Morpheus]

TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League

theahl.com

Game 1 tonite -8 pm
Condors @ Reign
I’m assuming Broberg is #1 dman minute wise

 

[Tobias Kahun]

TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League

theahl.com

Game 1 tonite -8 pm
Condors @ Reign
I’m assuming Broberg is #1 dman minute wise

Is Broberg with the AHL or NHL team.

 

[Morpheus]

Is Broberg with the AHL or NHL team.

AHL
He flew to LA and should be in the condors lineup tonite

Edit: confirmed, Broberg in and Campbell starting

 

[joestevens29]

What is a continuing altercation penalty? See there was a few in the game

 

[CycloneSweep]

Condors outshot 35-31, lose 5-1

Not a great game from anyone it seems.