The Edmonton Oilers have selected defenceman Philip Broberg with the 8th overall pick in Friday night’s NHL Entry Draft.
The six-foot, three-inch, 203 lb. left-shot rearguard played for AIK in Swedish Allsvenskan league last season, scoring nine points in 41 games.
.@Philip_broberg1 wearing @EdmontonOilers orange. #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/2OeMd4GGob
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) June 22, 2019
Broberg’s name had been floating around the Edmonton rumour mill for a few weeks now, with many media members suggesting he was the man the Oilers had been targeting all along. Those came to fruition Friday.
“I’m just so honoured to be an Oiler now and I’m so happy right now,” Broberg told The Nation Network’s Ryan Pike. “I saw some of the (Edmonton during the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament) and it looks really good. The arena’s awesome and it’s just great. (Edmonton) has a great history and I want to be part of that one day.”
There already is a connection to Edmonton for Broberg, who trains at the same gym as Adam Larsson in Sweden.
A relatively quiet prospect coming into the season, he flew up draft boards during last year’s Hlinka-Gretzky tournament last year. There, however, he turned heads scoring five points in four games.Broberg also represented Sweden in last year’s under-18 championships, where he too, had a great showing posting 14 points in 17 games. He was named the tournament’s top defenceman.
Here’s what The Athletic’s Corey Pronman had to say of the pick:
“In Broberg, the Oilers get an immensely talented defenseman and a unique player in terms of how elite his skating is for 6-foot-3. It’s a dimensional attribute and will make him stand out in the NHL. He’s not a high-end puck skills or passer, but he gets a bad rap in that area. He has skill, he makes plays, he can operate on a power play. His game is projected to be a top-pair guy who can drive play. It’s interesting to see how he fits in Edmonton, with left-handed defensemen in Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom, who have some rhymes of Broberg’s game. But he’s a heck of an asset to add to a team. The Oilers have depth at defense in their organization and can take their time with him.”
“He’s the best forward skating defenceman in the draft,” Sportsnet’s Louie Debrusk said after the choice. “This guy can absolutely fly at 6’3.
“The ceiling is limitless for him and I think that’s why he’s been picked so high. He has the frame, he has the speed.”
The selection was one that turned heads, as top forward prospects like Matthew Boldy, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield and Peyton Krebs were still on the board. Despite that, there’s no denying Broberg is a very high-end prospect who projects to be a very good NHL’er.
Just last month, Broberg signed with Skellefteå AIK in the Swedish Hockey League — a contract that runs through next season.
On Twitter: @zjlaing
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He needs to be able to skate backwards too. What does that mean? Best forward skating?
It means hes the best forward skating.
Wow I’m actually believing are fans are related to chirelli
So do you billsbills
I mean I get it. Defence wins championships. You need a solid blue line.
I like most other people see a lot of holes in the top six and you certainly don’t plan on getting top ten picks every year.
If a gifted goal scorer is available that high, I think you need to do that. And it’s not like Broberg dropped to you. Nobody had this kid in the top ten that I saw.
Some of the more credible mock drafts had Broberg in the 20’s. Ken Holland just wasted an 8th overall selection.
How many times did you scout him and see him in person?
Wasted like you know? Rember Karlsson was drafted 15 overall nobody new him
Damn we shoulda hired bob mackenzie as GM, youre totally right. Gregor can coach and struds will do skills, you can analyze craig buttons list and well call you asst GM. GENIUS
Awesome pick. Big, good skating defensemen will bring home the chrome. I like the D pipeline even more after today. Now we wait to see if Yamamoto, Marody, Benson & Gambardella can chip in some secondary scoring.
Bush league site. Tell us what Giordano projected as in his draft year.
Whogives a flying F about Marc “first rount exit” Giordano
I was just using him as an example of how draft projections mean nothing.
Ken a question. If you wanted to pick him, WHY DIDNT YOU TRADE DOWN! I mean come on man! You have a top 6 forward, something we DESPERATELY need, waiting for you to call out, and instead you choose Broberg! Like what are you whacked? Please do us all a favour and fire yourself IMMEDIATELY. You just wasted an 8th overall selection (and before anyone criticizes, most other credible mock drafts had him going above 20). PC would’ve picked a forward. THAT much I trusted him in doing correctly.
Just a few examples here:
The Athletic: 9
Hockey Prospect: 21
Future Considerations: 17
ISS: 16
McKeen’s: 9
EliteProspects: 29
McKenzie: 15
Those are all places where Broberg was projected to be taken. 2 inside the top 10, 2 inside bottom 20, 3 inside the middle. Why didn’t Ken trade down again? Also Ken let it be known MONTHS in advance that this was their guy. Serious amateur hour by our supposed Messiah! Ken, you just erased all your good work. Please, go and select more plugs for us to trade away.
This is the result of stubbornness. He had made his mind up on Broberg (Detroit bias to towards Swedish defensemen? Does he see lidstrom in every Swede prospect?) And was prepared to camp out at eight regardless of what the other teams thought. Did he even try to wrangle a trade down that got him Broberg and a little more? I doubt it.
Yeah, this is the same idiot who drafted Lidström 53 overall, zetterburg at 210, and Datsyuk at 171. Where did the media have those guys pegged?
If you have someone ranked 8th, but are aware that most other teams are likely to have them ranked lower, then you trade down, and still draft that player.
We don’t know what efforts were made to do this, but we know the pick was a bit of a reach, which is something you want to avoid if at all possible.
And apparently holland had let many know this was the guy he wanted?
He didn’t draft lidstrom and had only been on the job a month when datsyuk was drafted – using a scouting system set up by Devellano and zetterburg was drafted the next year at 210th likely chosen by the same scouts who were hired by Devellano.
And yet everyone passed on those guys, and the media never had them even close to the first round. I’m just using those guys as a critique of the media, not to talk about how great Holland was as a gm. We all know he got lucky. I’m just amazed that no media experts figured a young Nick Lidstrom was likely to win 7 Norris trophies,
Alex the Oiler fan is a play on words or something? What kind of fan whines constantly about every move the team makes?!? You’re no draft expert and none of the media are either. You sound like that moron Gord
I don’t think its certain other NHL teams had Broberg ranked lower, just because independent scouting agencies did. I don’t think the scouting agencies have actual access to the player. It make a huge difference, getting to know their background etc. which every NHL would go check on. Just my thoughts
I don’t think its certain other NHL teams had Broberg ranked lower, just because independent scouting agencies did. I also don’t suspect the scouting agencies have actual access to the player. It make a huge difference getting to know their background etc. which every NHL team would go through. Just my thoughts
If you think a raw 18yr old forward will solve all Edms problems then you are sadly mistaken.
Agreed
Omg. The oilers drafted the player they thought was the best available at the time. Quit complaining.
Drafting for current team need is level ten stupid.
We’re so used to seeing our top draft selections making the lineup immidiately we can’t see responsible drafting when It smacks us in the face. Holland isn’t going to have anyone that was in that draft board at the time the oilers picked on the roster next season. No one.
After next year we have no idea what this roster looks like. You always take the best player available. Drafting for need then rushing players to fill that need is not the Holland way. It’s the old Oiler way. Take this as the first sign those days are done
and never coming back. Move on.
The oilers just drafted a beast of a defender with a skill set that is highly sought after in the nhl now. Enjoy it.
This type of defenceman is very hard to come by.
1. There were better players in Caulfield, Zegras, Boldy.
2. We have enough young defenceman, and not enough forwards.
3. This guy scored, what, less that 10 goals. Yeah, real game changer there.
4. He wasn’t projected to go this high. Very few people had him in the top 10. Most had him in the 15-20 range.
Man you idiots who think year after year that draft picks at 18yrs old need to jump right into the lineup need to get a clue. Broberg shouldnt see the NHL for at least 2 more years and thats the way it should be
Broberg is also 17
Lidström 53rd overall.
This pick solidifies the defence for years to come.
Klefbom Larsson
Nurse Bouchard
Broberg Jones
Samurokov Bear
Sekera Russell Benning will all be gone in a couple years and the 11.5 Million in cap space can be used to improve the forward group.
Larsson will be down on the third pairing by the time this guy should be ready to play.
Larsson will have been traded away by the time this guy is ready to play
FTFY
Good thinking Mr. Holland.
We won’t know for a few years how this will shape up.
But from non-Edmonton related sites, the Oilers were listed as day-1 losers. If they wanted Broberg, they could have traded back. Especially if there was a team out there interested in Zegras.
In the interests of fairness, the Oilers were listed as Day 1 winners when they drafted Puljujarvi. Hasn’t turned out that way.
Trading back can’t be that easy. What if nobody wants to pay anything useful for moving up? What if they move down and miss their guy? I’m comfortable with Holland picking the guy he likes.
Did he even try?
No, he’s hopeless as a gm. Why didn’t you get offered the job?
Just what I was going to say. We loved the Yak and JP picks, and they didn’t work out. Loved the Bouchard pic last year, and I would have preferred Zegras, Boldy or the Russian this year. However you never know how the draft will ultimately end up. You can be sure that one or two of the top 10 will be busts, and that there will be superstars drafted late in the first and in the second rounds. Its not all the scouts fault either, 18 year olds develop differently, sometimes you are as good as you are ever going to get and end up a bust, other players improve dramatically and become late-round steals. Its a crapshoot…in three years we could be saying how great Broberg is and what an idiot we were for taking Bouchard who is tending towards bust (I don’t think this is how it will turn out, but who knows).
Just what I was going to say. We loved the Yak and JP picks, and they didn’t work out. Loved the Bouchard pic last year, and I would have preferred Zegras, Boldy or the Russian this year. However you never know how the draft will ultimately end up. You can be sure that one or two of the top 10 will be busts, and that there will be superstars drafted late in the first and in the second rounds. Its not all the scouts fault either, 18 year olds develop differently, sometimes you are as good as you are ever going to get and end up a bust, other players improve dramatically and become late-round steals. Its a crapshoot…in three years we could be saying how great Broberg is and what an idiot we were for taking Bouchard who is tending towards bust (I don’t think this is how it will turn out, but who knows).
Red Wings is my other team so I’ve been following Holland for a while. He is always picturing the team 5 years down the line, he doesn’t draft to fill a need for next season. That’s the Oiler way of doing it.
Holland can still draft talented wingers with his other picks, but for next season he will probably sign a couple of experienced, well-liked but unspectacular free agents who’ve been around the block and can score 10 goals.
I didn’t realize that so many ppl on here followed second division Swedish league hockey so closely
Highlights man. Lots and lots of highlights.
People crying about “rankings” really need to be quiet. You all should be elated that we have a GM that dives deep on scouting and picks with confidence. We can trade for wingers. No one trades their stud D-men. If he was still available I would have chosen Kirby Dach, but other than him, Broberg is a very solid pick. The kid can flat out fly, he’s big, and he played forward until 5 years ago. Watch how fast he receives passes and walks the line on the PP. Be excited.
Yeppers. There was more than one GM who placed a higher premium on big mobile defencemen.
Usually we wait for picks to try to be a a pro before we question the Gm. I thought when Stevie Y went well of the board we might of went forward. I am kind of glad he stuck to his guns. We stock the Condors with blue chip defence. Maybe he tried to trade down but didn’t like the return. To call for his head is nuts.
Cough Shane doan cough.
Posting is blocked on Zach’s article.
I think some of the argument here is hey should have take Caufield. A winger that dropped. How have the Oiler done with wingers that drop in the draft? Broberg is the best European defenseman in the draft. I believe if Cozens was there they would have taken him they probably already new he would not be.
Eight players off one team is crazy. If they all play a thousand games then hats off but most of their games are against us college teams? Am I way off here? I would love to see our junior nats play a year together before worlds.
I think American player were way overbought in this draft.
it will be interesting to see how all the pics off the USDT will turn out. Some will have ridden on the coattails of others, which is why I think Caufield dropped (he might be like Gagner, in benefitting from playing with a future superstar). Some of them will definately turn into superstars, and others will be exposed as having been hangers-on.