23/24 Player Profile: Brett Kulak

Last Year

As a player who was signed to play third-pair minutes and move up to the top 4 in case of injuries (or Bouchard’s struggles) last season, Kulak exceeded expectations. Any Oilers fan who considered Kulak a liability for last year’s team must not have been watching the right player.

He nearly had a career year points-wise. He had 3-17-20 in 82 GP for the Oilers. His only better year was the one previous when he got traded to the Oilers at the deadline, where he put up 21 points that season. So he basically matched it this year, playing mostly 3rd pair minutes for the Oilers.

Kulak was 5th on the Oilers’ blue line in TOI/GP last season, 6th if you count both Barrie and Ekholm, but they mostly swapped spots. He averaged 17:30 TOI/GP, about a minute less than anyone solidly in the top 4 but a solid 4 minutes more than Desharnais and a solid 5 minutes ahead of Broberg. Kulak is a legit NHL player who can pinch up in your lineup but helps settle and dominate some 3rd pair minutes. Even though Woodcroft liked to run 7 defensemen, Kulak was always part of a regular 5. He was never the odd one out, having fully earned his ice time with the Oilers last season.

At even strength, Kulak did lose out on the shot battle, posting a 49.35% CF% at evens. However, most of Kulak’s minutes were based off of defensive zone starts, as well as being paired with a set of rotating rookie defensemen ranging from Bouchard to Broberg, to Desharnais, to Niemelainen. It’s tough to stay afloat with that many rotating partners. It’s hard to find your rhythm and groove in that role. Despite losing the shot battle at evens, Kulak won the goal share, posting a 51.33% GF%. This means that even though they were outshot, they outscored the competition. This is a hint that Kulak’s defensive skills may have helped keep the opposition to the outside of the ice, away from dangerous positions, and then helped the puck move up the ice in the right direction.

Kulak’s best match in terms of partners was Philip Broberg. Together, they posted a 57.65 CF% (Granted a very small sample size of 51 minutes). This is good news for Oilers fans if they expect Broberg to make the team out of training camp. This is a likely defense pairing that has had some success already. Kulak’s worst match was with Nurse and Barrie. The former won’t see much, if any, time with Kulak this season, and the latter is no longer with the team.

The Kulak-Desharnais pair also worked well at putting the puck in the opponents’ net, in a slightly larger sample size of 244 minutes. The duo had a GF% of 60.87! Hopefully, they can replicate that success in the upcoming season.

This Season

This season, we should expect more of the same from Kulak. Barring injury, he should solidly be planted on the Oilers’ third pair, playing against lower levels of competition that are more suited to his skill level. It is at that skill level where he really shines. The Oilers have enough depth on the roster that he can play those minutes and not get overwhelmed by playing higher up in the lineup for extended periods of time, which is where he struggled a bit last year.

In games where the Oilers run only 6 defensemen, expect Kulak to play on the 2nd unit PK. The 1st unit PK duties are probably going to be handled by Ekholm-Ceci, with Kulak stepping in based on the situation. If the Oilers end up playing games with 7 defensemen and Desharnais is that guy, I would expect the Oilers to use him over Kulak in some situations to take advantage of his long stick. The PK isn’t necessarily Kulak’s strongest suit, but he can perform well enough when called upon.

As far as power play time goes, he only averaged 0:08 per game last season. If Kulak begins getting significant play time, that means something has gone terribly wrong for the Oilers this season (Bouchard, Nurse, Ekholm, and Broberg all out for some reason). A very unlikely scenario.

Much of Kulak’s success this season is going to come from even-strength play in the third pair. Can he keep the opposition at bay while the first couple of pairs rest? A successful season for Kulak would see him averaging around 17:30 per game in ice time. He should post above 50% CF and GF. These aren’t the only important stats and are affected by others on the ice, but they are telling as to which way the puck is going with him on the ice.

The last few season’s Kulak as started to find his offensive stride posting 21, and 20 points over the last couple seasons, With the Oilers star studded lineup I expect Kulak might increase his scoring this season.

Projection

This season Kulak keeps a tight grip on the 3rd pair, providing Edmonton with some excellent minutes. Posting a CF% and GF% above 50%. He finishes the season with 4-18-22 in 82 GP.

Next Up

Vincent Desharnais