By now, Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland should’ve shaken his hand and seen him off on a flight back home to Sweden. Instead, Philip Broberg has turned a week of training camp into a spot on the team’s playoff roster.
“The plan really was, he was going to come over here for Phase 3 and then about Friday or Saturday this week he was going to go back to Skelleftea,” Holland said.
The team’s first pick, eighth overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Broberg played 45 games for Skelleftea in Sweden’s top league last year. He put up just eight points but improved his skating enough to impress Oilers head coach Dave Tippett.
“He hasn’t looked out of place at all. He’s young in age but physically he’s mature and his skating is excellent,” Tippet said. “It’s great to see a young player come in — really it’s his first opportunity to be around NHL players — and he’s acquainting himself quite well.”
Broberg represented Sweden at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2018-19 and again at the World Junior Championship last year.
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“I came with the mindset that I was going to compete with the other guys and I’m still trying to compete and improve myself here and take advantage of the opportunity here,” Broberg said.
The 6’3″, 205-pound right-shot rearguard will be joined by fellow rookie defencemen Evan Bouchard and William Lagesson in the bubble, in addition to lineup staple Ethan Bear and the versatile Caleb Jones.
“Obviously we think he’s played very well,” Holland said. “I’ve informed Skelleftea and talked to Darren Ferris (Broberg’s agent) and I’ve talked to Broberg a couple days ago to tell him we’re going to take him into the hub with us.”
While it might be a long shot to see Broberg suit up in the qualifying round or beyond, Holland says he’s using this bizarre post-season to help evaluate for next year’s club too.
“This is a unique tournament,” Holland said. “We haven’t played in four or five months, so I don’t want to put all the emphasis on what transpires between Aug. 1 and the end of September. There was 71 games we played up until March that were an important part of the evaluation process for the 2021 team.”
After an exhibition tune-up against Calgary on July 28, the Oilers will open the qualifying round of the NHL playoff against the Chicago Blackhawks on Aug. 1.
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