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Player Report Card - #10 Joakim Nygard |
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Last summer, Ken Holland made a few low cost signings overseas, hoping to find professional hockey players from Europe that could contribute in the NHL on bargain deals. Joakim Nygard was one of those players. So how did the 27 year old winger fair in his first season in the NHL?
JOAKIM NYGARD
33GP: 3-6-9
To be honest, I expected to go through this report describing Nygard as nothing more than a replacement level forward who could be replaced by any of the Oilers AHL forwards. Breaking down the numbers however, there are certainly some favorable stats of note and the decision to sign him to another 1 year deal could end up being a great value deal.
Nygard's 9 points on the season puts him 13th amongst all forwards. While that certainly sounds like a replacement level player, it's important to note that Nygard only appeared in 33 games this season.
Nygard has only a single point less than Haas who played in 58 games and Jujhar Khaira who played in 64.
The lack of games for Nygard is twofold. First off he underwent shoulder surgery at the end of January, effectively ending his season. Secondly, it took him some time to gain the confidence of his coach.
It took Nygard roughly two months to start looking confident in the NHL. This is a player who had to adapt to the North American game and who didn't speak English as a first language. Growth pains like that should absolutely be expected.
Once he started getting more traction in the lineup, Nygard's speed became fully on display. Nygard might be as explosive as McDavid though not nearly as well with the puck, but his footspeed allowed him to be a strong on the forecheck and get back into the defensive zone in a hurry.
Nygard was not used at all on the PK and almost not at all on the PP and instead spent most of his time at 5 on 5. Averaging 10:10 of even strength time a night, Nygard sat 15th among all forwards, but his P/60 suggest there is more there.
Nygard's P/60 (points per 60 minutes of play) at 5 on 5 is 1.429, which is 8th among all Oilers forwards. Put another way, Nygard was the 8th most productive forward at 5 on 5 on the Oilers roster. He produces more with the minutes given to him, than that of Sheahan, Neal, Gagner, Chiasson, Haas, and Khaira to name a few.
Holland signed Nygard to a one year deal at 725,000 for next season, which is a decrease from the 875,000 he is making this season. Nygard may only max out at being an effective 4th line player but the numbers suggest that there could be more there and there is the potential on Nygard becoming a good top 9 player. For pennies on the dollar, Nygard is worth the risk.
FINAL GRADE: C+
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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