Columbus Blue Jackets F Oliver Bjorkstrand Providing Late Boost

Columbus Blue Jackets F Oliver Bjorkstrand is Making a Late, but Strong Impression Down the Final Stretch

Columbus Blue Jackets F Oliver Bjorkstrand was recalled from AHL Lake Erie back on Wednesday, March 16th. He has since appeared in 11 games, posting four goals and three assists over that span.

He is averaging 16:07 of ice-time per game. After scoring a pair of goals in his second game, Bjorkstrand saw ice-time of 18:33/18:49 the following two games.

Oliver is a plus 5 (+5) in 11 games with 22 shots on goal. He has four points over his current three-game point streak (2 goals 2 assists).

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We wrote a large piece on Columbus Blue Jackets F Oliver Bjorkstrand back in October before the season started highlighting his Danish roots and family history. His father Todd is the All-Time leading scorer in the Danish Hockey League.

Believe it or not, Columbus Blue Jackets F Oliver Bjorkstrand is still adjusting to the NHL level. He has just barely scratched the surface in terms of his talent level. This final stretch is providing little more than a sneak peek into the future of this young man. His creativity level is off the charts, and he possesses an excellent shot.

Once he gets more confidence, we’ll see him hold on to the puck a little more. Bjorkstrand has a tendency to draw opponents to him creating space for linemates. As he gets more comfortable, he will also shoot the puck more often.

It’s difficult to gauge what Oliver Bjorkstrand projects to be in the NHL. He has elite talent that suggests he can produce big numbers. But it’s a matter of size/stature. He’s listed at 6’0 177lbs. That weight works for undersized forwards such as Patrick Kane who are 3-4 inches shorter, but it’s too big of a body to have a small forward’s elusiveness.

If Columbus Blue Jackets F Oliver Bjorkstrand hits the weight room hard this summer and gets closer to 190-200lbs, he should be able to preserve his quickness/speed to make him an impact player from day one in training camp next fall.

Here’s a guy the Blue Jackets handled improperly during his first pro season. While normally, a third round pick will spend time (usually significant amount) in the AHL after finishing their junior career, there are exceptions.

Oliver Bjorkstrand finished 1st in league scoring with 63 goals (118 points) in 59 regular season games (2 points-per-game) for WHL Portland in 2014-15. He also finished 5th in scoring during the playoffs, tallying 13 goals, 12 assists (25 points) in 17 games. When you consider that vast improvement he showed each of the last two seasons following his third round selection back in 2013, the indicators were there for immediate success.

Yes, there were questions surrounding his size or physicality. Logic dictates in these scenarios that extra time to develop in the AHL won’t hurt his development. While true, it doesn’t do any favors to the player or NHL club itself.

The only exceptions are teams such as Toronto aiming for a top pick, and we saw it this year with William Nylander. But for a team such as Columbus, who had postseason aspirations, this was a critical error not giving Oliver Bjorkstrand a look sooner. Especially considering his outstanding training camp, we thought he deserved a roster spot in October – and called for him at several big moments (i.e. Todd Richard firing, Ryan Johansen trade, etc).

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It’s not as though Oliver Bjorkstrand would have been the Blue Jackets savior in 2015-16, but he would have provided a boost in some manner. Maybe they don’t have an atrocious start to the season, or perhaps Bjorkstrand’s presence could have made another player expendable other than Ryan Johansen to address the blueline. We’re dealing with hypothetical’s obviously – much of it is “what if” speculation, but I think we can agree on one thing: Oliver Bjorkstrand’s presence in 2015-16 couldn’t have made things any worse.

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Instead, Columbus could end up with a top three draft pick, with a possibility of landing Jesse Puljujarvi, at which point Oliver Bjorkstrand’s bid for a top six spot grow even slimmer. GM Jarmo Kekalainen will have to learn from experience on this one. Particularly, if you’re not overly deep up front talent wise, you may want to give top prospects who tore apart the CHL in scoring a deeper look.

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