How good is Philip Broberg?
The Edmonton Oilers bet on a tall, low-scoring D at 8th overall five years ago. Here's the result so far.
“This young man will be facing some challenges,” I thought as I looked across the hotel lobby.
It was June 2019 and we were in Buffalo, NY for the annual NHL draft combine.
A dozen feet away, a sharply-dressed Philip Broberg was conferring with his agent.
As the Hockey Operations Assistant for the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of my responsibilities was putting together video scouting reports on select 2019 draft-eligible prospects. I had come to the conclusion that Broberg was one of the most overrated player of his cohort.
The 6’3” left-handed defenseman had a projectable frame and moved beautifully across the ice, but he also preferred to play a complimentary role rather than take charge of the action. With the puck on his stick, he didn’t show deception or forethought, preferring to mechanically advance the puck rather than improve its condition. Due to his lack of gamebreaking ability, I figured Broberg would either stall out at the AHL level and make a career in Europe, or make the NHL in a depth role with replacement-level results.
Weeks later the Edmonton Oilers drafted Broberg 8th overall. Trevor Zegras went 9th. Matt Boldy went 12th. Thomas Harley went 18th.
Anyway, that’s in the past.
I’ve thought more about Broberg since Oilers writer Bruce Curlock tweeted the following.
Defensive depth, or lack thereof, is the Oilers’ number one problem. The Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard pair is elite, but after that EDM must contend with some combination of the overpaid Darnell Nurse, the limited Cody Ceci, the imperfect Brett Kulak, the underskilled Vincent Desharnais and the inexperienced Broberg.
This D corps has done well to get the Oilers to the Cup finals, but the team will probably need to elevate in order to beat the Florida Panthers.
A possible solution would be to promote Broberg alongside Bouchard and have the ever-reliable Ekholm anchor a second pair.
Is Broberg good enough?
(+) Rush Defense
This is what the Oilers’ scouts fell in love with.
Broberg might already be the best defenseman on his team in this regard.
EDM86 pivots quickly, glides efficiently and chooses good angles to the puck carrier. Against a wide entry, he knows when to use shuffle steps and when it is safe to cross over for an extra bit of closing speed.
Broberg is especially proficient at neutralizing re-entries. As the play boomerangs in the neutral zone, EDM86 sprints to gap up, stops on a dime and then smoothly attaches to the correct player.
In the first clip above, Broberg anticipates the turnover and easily angles off the FLA forward. In the second clip, he holds his edges long enough to help EDM survive a poor line change leading to a FLA odd-men rush.
(-) DZ Puck Play
Broberg’s biggest draft-year strength persists, but so does his biggest weakness.
On the breakout, EDM86 typically looks to get rid of the puck ASAP. There is no deception and little forethought as to what the next play could be. Many times the pass goes directly to the opposing team.
Once in a while, a Broberg quick up leads to a dangerous rush for EDM, but usually the play dies along the boards somewhere in the neutral zone. Or worse.
A handful of times per game, Broberg steps out of his comfort zone with a middle carry or a F4 play off the rush.
And the results are quite good!
Broberg’s elite skating allows him to take more chances than the average D.
This is where things can get interesting.
(?) Partnership with Bouchard
I really do think a 86-2 pairing can be a viable solution for the Oilers.
Look at first half of the shift Curlock alluded to.
Bouchard quarterbacks the play from deep in the Oilers zone, while Broberg sprints the middle of the ice, both as a potential passing option and to neutralize re-entries.
EDM2 doesn’t quite connect on his passes and EDM86 is a bit tentative moving off the puck, but there’s definitely something there. Florida hardly touches the puck before the whistle.
Maybe, just maybe, Edmonton is this close to finding its version of Siegenthaler-Hamilton, or Grzelcyk-McAvoy, or Toews-Makar.
It’ll be a matter of 1) Broberg’s defensive game holding up in heavier usage and 2) Bouchard using his hockey IQ to tease some more offense out of a conservative-minded partner.
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