Report: Edmonton Oilers sign D Filip Berglund
By Zach Laing
3 years agoThe Edmonton Oilers have signed defenceman Filip Berglund, the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson reported.
Details of the contract are yet to be made available, but his contract would be an entry-level deal.
The Oilers have signed Swedish draft pick defenceman Filip Berglund but he’s going to stay with his club team Linkoping for this upcoming season and he may come over in 2021.
The 6’3, 209 lb. rearguard was drafted by the Oilers in the third round of the 2016 draft, but has played all of his hockey since in the SHL.
Post-draft, Berglund returned to the SuperElit Swedish junior league scoring seven points in 10 games. It didn’t take long, however, for him to join the ranks of the SHL as he played in 47 pro games in 2016-17 there.
In 200 SHL games, Berglund has scored 10 goals and 53 points giving him an NHLe of 13 points per 82 NHL games.
According to Matheson, Berglund will remain with Linköping HC of the SHL for this season. Matheson noted that Berglund may come to North America in the 2021 season.
Berglund had recently signed a two-year deal with Linköping. His deal there doesn’t mean he’s locked in Sweden, and could come over to North America at anytime.
Here’s a scouting report of Berglund from EliteProspects:
A big and strong two-way defenseman with good hockey sense and passing ability. Valuable on the man advantage with a strong release and good puck control. Not a speedster and should use his large frame to his advantage.
The Oilers clearly have lots of depth on the blue line. On the left side, they have Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse, Kris Russell, Caleb Jones, William Lagesson, Philip Broberg, and Dmitri Samorukov under control, and, on the right side, they have Adam Larsson, Ethan Bear, Matt Benning (RFA), Evan Bouchard, Logan Day (RFA), and Ryan Mantha (RFA) under control.
So having Berglund to percolate overseas is no issue for me. He’s still young at only 22 years old, and could develop into a depth player or maybe a trade chip in the future.
On Twitter: @zjlaing
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