Article content continued

Here’s what Uffe Bodin of Sweden’s Hockeysverige has said of the player: “Speed is the key word here. Joakim Nygård is one of, if not the fastest player in the SHL right now. He owns the kind of footspeed that can overwhelm opposing defensemen and leave them in a pile of dust, but also to put pressure on the forecheck and the backcheck. Carl Hagelin would be an obvious comparison…Early in his career, speed was the only asset Nygård really had. Thanks to hard work and good schooling, he has been able to build a nice game around that foundation.”

Nygard had the second most goals of any player in the Swedish elite league last year

The Journal’s Jim Matheson reports on the player: “Book on Joakim Nygard, Swedish forward Oilers are trying to sign: ‘real fast, OK skill, 3-4 liner, unless I’m not seeing something.’ That’s former Oiler goalie Mike Zanier who works as Vaxjo Lakers broadcaster in the Swedish Hockey League.”

At The Athletic, writer Corey Pronman ranked Nygard as the 11th most desirable UFA out of major junior, U.S. colleges and Europe this summer: “There are some scouts who don’t see him as a real prospect, but some teams gave him attention, and folks in Sweden think he has the right skill set to produce offense in North America.”

My take

Nygard sounds promising and is a good fit here. He immediately slots in on the Oilers second line, with a centre like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Leon Draisaitl. He has a chance to do something with the opportunity handed to Tobias Rieder, Ryan Spooner, Drake Caggiula, Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto and others last season. It won’t be difficult to accomplish more than they did, but the Oilers will be hoping for much more, not 0 to ten goals but 15 to 20. The Swedish publication Värmlands Folkblad reports that 20 NHL teams were after Nygard. Edmonton also has a strong contingent of Swedish players, starting with Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom. The Oilers are going to have to be clever in procurement. The UFA market will be crazy. For example, Brock Nelson, 27, of the Islanders just signed a six year deal at $6 million per. Nelson is a big centre who doesn’t win most of his draws and scores 40 to 50 points per year. If the Oilers want a winger who scores around 50 points per year and is in his UFA years, that’s the price point. It’s high. It’s too high.