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Player Discussion: Oliver Bjorkstrand

I never was high on Bjorkstrand since he entered the league.
Always found him to be very hit or miss.....lots of streakiness to his offense, with a lot of nothing goin on lots of the time.

But, to be fair to him, he was always on a team that was either a bottom feeder, more defensive minded, not deploying him properly and consistently, or a combination of the three.

Those excuses are now (or should be) gone now.
Bolts obviously are a fast paced, offense first team, there is plenty of talent for Bjork to gel with, and the mindset in TB is always "Win the Cup".

If Bjork can't get himself up for any of that, and take advantage of things he now has that he never did before, then he really is a bust.
But I am thinking he should do well with the Bolts.

And if he doesn't 'buy in' at first because he doesn't know the org all that well, then all he needs to do is ask someone he DOES know, being a teammate of his for a while now, Yanni Gourde, who definitely knows the TB org and what they are trying to do there.

Go get'm Bjork!
 
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5 games in, 1G 0A. Pretty underwhelming stats. Have only been able to watch 1 game since he got traded here, and he seemed to be playing very good.

But what's the outlook on him, 5 games in?
Pretty surprised he's being put on the 3rd line instead of the 2nd.
Hoping he can find the scoresheet more (although it's been pretty usual for players gotten at the deadline not to find their scoring touch early on... Only one that found it was Duclair, only to lay an egg come playoff time lol)
 
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Zwui21 said:
5 games in, 1G 0A. Pretty underwhelming stats. Have only been able to watch 1 game since he got traded here, and he seemed to be playing very good.

But what's the outlook on him, 5 games in?
Pretty surprised he's being put on the 3rd line instead of the 2nd.
Hoping he can find the scoresheet more (although it's been pretty usual for players gotten at the deadline not to find their scoring touch early on... Only one that found it was Duclair, only to lay an egg come playoff time lol)
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I like his movement on the PP. He opens up the play for everyone and has made wise choices. He far more proficient than Stamkos in that way. Whether or not the PP clicks is not his problem though. Kucherov needs to f***ing shoot. Yes the dude is a wizard and like 1/10 the power of Gretkzy but even The Great One took a slap shot on a regular basis
 
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He seems tentative on the offensive side of things, good defensively. Still looks like he’s trying to figure things out in the Ozone.

I think he could flourish playing with more skilled players once given an extended look in the top 6. He reminds me of when Coleman came in and took awhile to find his place on the team.

Hopefully Coop gives him the opportunity to find his offensive game with the top 6, he has a good shot and makes smart plays. Instead Coop likes to put Girgenson with Point and we wonder why Point has been struggling lol
 
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Hoek said:
He's had some good looks on the PP but hasn't been allowed to play with skill players otherwise. Hard to get points like that.
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Yeah, he's been deployed almost entirely on the third line, a lot less minutes...new teammates, culture, system. It really isn't surprising that Gourde looks better out there than Bjorkstrand to this point.
 
I thought he was the clear option to solidify the top 6 RW spot, and still do. It's been 6 games, and I think as he becomes more familiar with the system and his new team, he'll get more of a chance in that role.
 
JTBF81 said:
I thought he was the clear option to solidify the top 6 RW spot, and still do. It's been 6 games, and I think as he becomes more familiar with the system and his new team, he'll get more of a chance in that role.
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You've called our trade acquisitions two years in a row - I remember you mentioned Duclair a lot last year before we got him.

For anyone disappointed with him so far, it's going to matter most what Bjork and Gourde do in the playoffs. Duclair was great in the regular season, made little difference against Florida. Coop has got to try him in the top six at some point before the playoffs start.
 
It was always gonna be easier for Gourde to fit back in. He came up in a system that trained you for Coop, and then had his best years under Coop.

A lot of TDL acquisitions take time to adjust. I would say most. Guys who are immediately effective are the exception.
 
Getting diminishing returns on the 1st line right now and Hagel-Cirelli has gotten stale. Hagel needs to move back to the 1st line because he bumps their possession numbers up significantly, Guentzel is a strong enough talent where he can score goals on his own accord and it's not like Kucherov is bumping his numbers up by any significance.

Hagel-Point-Kucherov
Guentzel-Cirelli-Bjorkstrand
Goncalves-Paul-Gourde
 
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