23/24 Player Profile: Philip Broberg

Last Year

Last season, Philip Broberg managed to make it into the Oilers’ lineup for 46 GP, posting 1 goal and 7 assists for a total of 8 points in those games. The year before that, Broberg only played in 23 games and scored 3 points. So, year over year, he doubled both his games played and his production.

Broberg often only made the Oilers lineup due to coach Woodcroft’s decisions to run his team in an 11-forward, 7-defensemen configuration rather than the typical 12-6 rotation. Being the team’s 7th defenseman for much of the season had an impact on his playing time, as Broberg averaged only 12:36 TOI/GP throughout the season, the lowest of any regular Oilers defender. It was even lower than Vincent Desharnais, who came on strong for the Oilers as a 7th option near the end of the regular season.

Part of the reason Broberg’s TOI/GP was so low was because he was basically still a rookie, also he didn’t kill penalties, and didn’t see any time on the power play. He didn’t really have a defined role on the team and was mostly just trying to fit in. The Oilers wanted him playing games; he was performing decently well but never had a truly defined role last season.

Broberg only averaged 0:58 TOI/GP on the PK, more than either Bouchard or Barrie, but they already had defined roles on the power play and were not built to shine on the penalty kill. Broberg also only averaged 0:07 TOI/GP on the power play throughout the season. He had just under 6 minutes of total power play time.

Without special teams time, Broberg had to make his impact at even strength, where he found most of his ice time in a game. Usually in 3rd pair minutes, or rotating through with a few different partners but usually against the opposition’s bottom half of the lineup.

Broberg’s most common linemate this past season was Evan Bouchard, spending 337 minutes together as a third-pair tandem. His next closest pairs were with Kulak for 51 minutes, and Desharnais for 39 minutes. It wasn’t until the Barrie-for-Ekholm swap when Bouchard got elevated in the lineup that Broberg found any other partners on the blue line.

With Bouchard as his main partner, Broberg actually fared very well in 3rd pairing minutes. At even strength throughout the season (all partners), Broberg had a 56.95 CF%, meaning that when he was on the ice, the Oilers were outshooting the opponent by a large margin. He also posted a positive GF% of 52.73, indicating success in creating goals for his team. These are both important categories he’ll need to build on next year in order to continue his success.

This Year

Before we can make predictions for stat lines and anticipate how this year is going to go for Broberg, we have to establish what his role is going to be on the team this season. It will be important for the Oilers’ coaching staff to solidify that with Broberg so he’s not just sent out for 12 minutes a night with another rookie defenseman just so the top 4 can catch their breath. That isn’t going to do anybody any good.

What’s available?

PK time? Not likely, he wasn’t used on the PK last year, and the Oilers still have Ekholm, Ceci, Nurse, and Desharnais for those roles. If Ceci falters this season, maybe you see the coaching staff try Broberg on the PK, but it is unlikely.

PP time? Definitely not, the Oilers have given full control of PP duties to Evan Bouchard, next in line for that throne would be Darnell Nurse, followed by Ekholm. Broberg is probably 4th in line.

What’s left? Even strength.

Broberg is going to be counted on for sure to play 3rd pair minutes for the Oilers and play solid two-way hockey. The Oilers coaches will want to be able to trust Broberg to play smart, responsible hockey at any point in the game, hopefully chipping in some offense along the way. He had a positive CF% and GF%. For Broberg to stick in this lineup, he will need that to continue on the third pair. Hopefully, he can take a step forward and begin taking on some more minutes as the season rolls along. If Broberg is playing 17 minutes a night by the end of the season, I think that should be considered a huge success for Oilers fans. It would mean that he is taking reps alongside one of Nurse or Ekholm (probably on his off hand), meaning the competition he is playing against will be better too.

The goal for Broberg should be to try and establish himself as a responsible minute-eating second-pair defender. Someone who can contribute some offense and not give it away to the opponent. If he can take his 53% GF (goals for) playing 12 minutes a night and translate that into a 53% GF while playing 17 minutes a night against tougher opponents, that should be music to Oilers’ fans. It’s perhaps a high bar to set for Broberg in just his third season with playing time, but he has to take a step up at some point, and what better time than this year.

If he can do that it would also mean reducing Ceci’s role as he steps up and trying to fill those shoes.

Projection

Broberg plays in all 82 games and completes his first full season with the Oilers. He increases his playing time to nearly 17 minutes per game. Although he doesn’t receive much, if any, penalty kill or power play time, he becomes a dependable second or top-third pair defenseman in the league. Alongside his improving defensive awareness, he maintains a GF% of 52 throughout the entire season. Additionally, he scores 5 goals, 16 assists, and 21 points in 82 games.

Next Up

Brett Kulak