2021-22 Game 17: Blackhawks at Oilers

The early season Saturday night games were always fun, because a new crop of rookies created a great deal of hope for each NHL franchise. In those days, the original six teams would have monster crops, like the Montreal Canadiens in 1970-71 (Guy Lapointe, Marc Tardif, Rejean Houle, Phil Roberto) but as time went on the expansion teams learned about the value of the draft. One of the earliest home runs by new teams: The 1973-74 New York Islanders (Denis Potvin, Bob Nystrom, Garry Howatt, Dave Lewis).

The Oilers best rookie crops over the last decade (2014-15, Leon Draisaitl and Oscar Klefbom, plus 2015-16 Connor McDavid, Darnell Nurse) are long past entry deals and making monster do-re-mi. Edmonton needs the pipeline of inexpensive quality rookies to continue, and this year’s crop (currently Ryan McLeod, Stuart Skinner and Tyler Benson) is about to get another name in recall Philip Broberg.

What this Oilers team needs is a rookie crop like 2010-11: Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Jeff Petry, Devan Dubnyk, Magnus Paajarvi. That’s impossible, but Broberg could be a key piece for the organization and his arrival is cause for hope and excitement.

THE ATHLETIC!

• New Lowetide: Philip Broberg is ready for his NHL audition
• Lowetide: Why Kailer Yamamoto is still on the Oilers’ No. 2 line
• Lowetide: Three auditioning Oilers who are finding their groove and hope to find their place
• Lowetide: Should the Oilers move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the 3rd line?
• DNB and Max Bultman: How Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Holland helped create ‘the Harvard of hockey management’
• Lowetide: How good is Matvey Petrov and is he on an NHL trajectory?
• Lowetide: Will Ken Holland make an early-season trade to bolster the Oilers?
• DNB: Oilers lament Connor McDavid not drawing penalties
• Jonathan Willis: How the Decade of Darkness did — and didn’t — set up the current success
• Lowetide: Why can’t the Oilers put together an effective third line?
• DNB: Oilers’ Stuart Skinner on the right track after second NHL start
• DNB: What I believe and what I know about the Oilers after 10 games
• Lowetide: How close to balanced are the 2021-22 Oilers?
• DNB: Connor McDavid’s otherworldly goal
• DNB: Kevin Lowe Q&A
• Lowetide: Is this Connor McDavid’s peak season, and how good could it be?
• Lowetide: Who is the Oilers’ top prospect now that Evan Bouchard has graduated?
• DNB: Oilers’ Tyson Barrie says what needs to be said as NHL faces reckoning
• DNB: The Duncan Keith-Cody Ceci pair have helped to overcome a notable loss
• Jonathan Willis: Seven Oilers surprises so far in 2021-22

WHAT TO EXPECT IN NOVEMBER

• At home to: SEA, NAS, NYR (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 3-0-0)
• On the road to: DET, BOS, BUF, STL, WPG (Expected 3-2-0) (Actual 2-3-0)
• At home to: WPG, CHI (Expected 1-1-0) (Actual 1-0-0)
• On the road to: DAL, ARI, VEG (Expected 2-1-0) (Actual 0-0-0)
• Overall expected result: 8-5-0, 16 points in 13 games
• Actual November results: 6-3-0, 12 points in nine games
• Oilers in 2021-22: 12-4-0, 24 points in 16 games

The projection assumed the heart of the order remained intact, and the last four games of this month are going to be an uneasy trip. I think tonight is one of two possible wins (Arizona) for the team over the last four games of November. Oilers could surprise, but this is going to be a climb for Edmonton’s blue.

THE DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

I don’t think there’s an ‘ideal’ set of three pairings for tonight, but would like to see Philip Broberg in the lineup. As my preference has no chance to be the winning formula, I’ll list it for giggles:

• Duncan Keith-Evan Bouchard: 19 mins, 50 percent goals, 70 percent expected goals
• Kris Russell-Tyson Barrie: 44 mins, 60 percent goals, 28 percent expected goals
• Philip Broberg-Cody Ceci: To be determined

I think Dave Tippett will dress seven defensemen so the final combinations will look like blood pie (traditional Klingon dish). The most likely trad pairings are Keith-Ceci, Russell-Barrie and Broberg-Bouchard, although that’s a ton of inexperience on the third pair. In a way, it’ll be fun. In another way, it’ll be nerve city, like watching my Dad negotiate the Fraser Canyon roads in our 1955 Flathead Ford. You could SEE all the way down!

EXPANSION TEAMS

I saw someone on twitter last night call the Seattle Kraken one of the worst expansion teams and it started me thinking about how knowledge doesn’t get passed from generation to generation about these things. I understand hockey history being passed along is less important than “wash your hands, don’t you know that’s how the plague got going!” but history is a delight and has value.

So here are the leading scorers, by team (one for each club) via the Hockey News January 21, 1972 edition.

1. Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers: 39 games, 26-45-71
2. Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins: 39 games, 34-36-70
3. Bobby Hull, Chicago Blackhawks: 40 games, 28-25-53
4. Rick Martin, Buffalo Sabres: 42 games, 29-20-49
5. Frank Mahovlich, Montreal Canadiens: 38 games, 21-24-45
6. Norm Ullman, Toronto Maple Leafs: 41 games, 16-27-43
7. Garry Unger, St. Louis Blues: 41 games, 24-16-40
8. Mickey Redmond, Detroit Red Wings: 41 games, 22-17-39
9. Gerry Pinder, California Seals: 39 games, 16-19-35
10. Bill Goldsworthy, Minnesota North Stars: 39 games, 17-16-33
11. Andre Boudrias, Vancouver Canucks: 38 games, 12-18-30
12. Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers: 39 games, 10-20-30
13. Greg Polis, Pittsburgh Penguins: 40 games, 14-15-29
14. Juha Widing, Los Angeles Kings: 42 games, 14-12-26

So much happened in the calendar year 1972 you could write a book. Example: Bobby Hull, who had been hammered and humiliated for years over money by the ‘Hawks, jumped to the WHA Winnipeg Jets and instantly gave the upstart league enough credibility to sustain itself for seven years before the merger.

Several teams (Toronto, California, Chicago) were ravaged by the new league, Montreal having so much depth their losses (J.C. Tremblay the chief one in 1972) weren’t able to derail them.

Boston lost a lot, it basically ended the team’s Stanley Cup run. Goalie Gerry Cheevers, center Derek Sanderson, right wing Johnny McKenzie and defenseman Teddy Green all bolted, and the 1970 and 1972 Stanley teams were never the same. The Philadelphia Flyers were the big winners through this period, some fantastic moves brought them glory in 1974 and 1975.

PHILIP BROBERG

Broberg is viewed by many Oilers fans as “not Trevor Zegras” and while I understand why discerning fans would have been disappointed, there was (and is) enough we don’t know for us to reasonably see how this plays out. Going back to my “Here Comes the Sun” 2019, here are three names who were still available when Edmonton made its pick. Note what I wrote about each man.

• 5 LW Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton (OHL). He scored 51-51-102 in 67 OHL games, age 17. I’ve read about skating, hockey sense and playing on the perimeter. I can’t ignore the math. A June 2001.
• 8 LC Trevor Zegras, U.S. National Development Team (USHL). Undersized and highly skilled, elusive and aggressive with very good speed. I think he’s a Ken Holland type.
• 16 LD Philip Broberg, AIK (Allsvenskan). He’s big and can skate like the wind, while also displaying puck moving ability. Offense may be shy, but Swedish blue can fool you.

I was a big believer (and remain so) in Kaliyev, he has four goals and six points in 16 games so far in his NHL career. Zegras has posted 9-14-23 in 40 NHL games and all the cool kids love him. I do too, he’s a fun player to watch.

I don’t believe Zegras’ success automatically makes the Broberg pick a poor one. It is not the choice I would have made, but once a team commits to a player by drafting him, it’s important to give that player time to show you what he can bring. I wrote “offense may be shy, but Swedish blue can fool you” and had Oscar Klefbom in mind when writing it.

Klefbom played in the AHL age 20, scoring 1-9-10 in 48 games. Broberg played in the AHL age 20, scoring 0-10-10 in 13 games.

Klefbom played his first NHL game March 11, 2014. He was four months and 10 days from turning 21.

Broberg will reportedly play his first NHL game November 20, 2021. He is seven months and five days from turning 21.

Perhaps we should give him some time before making a decision on him as a player. Fair?