Saturday Sunshine: Swedish Stalwart

The Sunshine of positivity shining so bright even the smoke from BC fires can’t stop it from shining. Last week the focus was on the home that Strome built. this week we are going to bask in the positivity that is the first part of the solidification of our defensive corps. So hit play on that sultry and sexy theme song from Burt Bacharach and let us bask in the beauty that is Adam Larsson.

As with Ryan Strome in last week’s Saturday Sunshine, the first precursor to recognizing Adam Larsson as a positive for the team is for people to stop worrying about the cost of the trade to bring Adam in. Not many can argue the price was high in that we sent out a Hart trophy winner to get him, but few can also argue that Edmonton’s defence got much better the day we brought in Larsson. So, let us focus on the positivity of having him shall we?

With that aside many will remember back in 2011 the Oilers coveted the Nuge at first overall, but there was also a rumbling for the desire to fulfil the need for some help on the back end. The only defenceman in the top 8 players that year was a Swedish stud from Skelleftea AIK named Adam Larsson. The Oilers would go on to pick RNH and the Swedish D man would end up in the swamps of New Jersey. Fast forward to the summer of 2016 where the Oilers would rescue Larsson from the Jersey shore and bring him in to join his fellow countryman, Oscar Klefbom as the eventual top pairing of the Oilers going forward.

Away from the ice Larsson is always a positive. Our very own BaggedMilk has put many hours into inducting Larsson into the abs Hall of Fame.

Larsson would end up being one heck of a stalwart D man, fitting the mould of the old saying “if you don’t hear their name, they’re doing the right things”.  The Oilers would be a held pad away from the conference finals, and then last year happened. Larsson suffered one of the worst losses a young man can have to bear through last year:

I can’t imagine going through something like that, (no less in a season that the wheels fell off of) and still coming to work every game he did and playing as well as he did.

This year, can only look up for the young man. He has some new coaches, specifically in Trent Yawney, who has been highly regarded as a players coach kind of guy, who will build him up and only look to improve his game. The Oilers D corps took a hit this summer from the news that Sekera will miss about half the season, and so Larsson will be leaned on for heavy minutes once more. A position he thrived in year one of his time with the Oil.

Adam Larsson is definitely a positive.