Rookie defensemen take time to develop and it is usually never a good idea to throw one to the wolves and into a top four role against the toughest competition. Broberg should be allowed to grow and improve as an NHL defender as a third pairing option but if he can surpass the odds and shoulder more responsibilities than he will be a vital asset for this team.
What is Broberg as a player? Here is a scouting report on Broberg, from scout Curtis Joe, prior to being drafted by Edmonton:
Philip Broberg is a gifted two-way defenseman. His fluid skating ability allows him to punish over-extension immediately with how quickly he can start plays from his own end. On the fly, he pays close attention to where the puck's going and where it's been. This allows him to read the play early and make the most of any time and space found. On the downside, his defensive play could be more consistent as well as his decision making. Additional improvement when it comes to his release as well as puck distribution could make him a high-scoring defenseman.
In 23 games last season, the skating ability and conscious two-way play were both on display. Broberg certainly fell into the category of "if you don't notice him, that's probably a good thing," but on a few noticeable occasions, he would break out with the puck or quickly cut off a potential rush against the Oilers and limit a scoring chance. For Broberg to develop into a top four defender, he needs to make those types of plays on a regular basis.
We were able to get at least a bit of an idea of what Broberg is capable of last season, albeit in a smaller 23 game sample size. In that time he played a total of 277 minutes at 5 on 5. 53 of those minutes were against elite competition where the team went 2-2 in goals for/against while Broberg was on the ice. 92 of those minutes were against middle six and second pairing defensemen where the team went 5-5 while Broberg was on the ice.
Most interesting, the remainder of those minutes. roughly 131 were against bottom pairing players and defenders. The Oilers were outscored 3-9 while Broberg was on the ice in those minutes. While Broberg posted basically right at a 1.00 PDO in his minutes versus elite and middle competition, he posted a 0.900 PDO in the minutes against lower level so that may simply be some bad puck luck.
The bigger concern that I have is who Broberg will play with. Right now it seems like the most likely course of action is to pair Broberg with Tyson Barrie as the third pairing. The issue with this is how this duo faired last season. Barrie and Broberg played 53 minutes together at 5 on 5 over the course of 20 games. That duo was outscored 4-8 and out-chanced 28-37 in that time.
Comparatively, Broberg played 223 minutes at 5 on 5 without Barrie and while he was outscored 6-9 in that time, keep in mind that in nearly 150 additional minutes, the opposition only managed a single extra goal against when Broberg was on the ice. His most common linemate was actually Cody Ceci of whom he played 89 minutes with. In those minutes the team went 3-4 against opposition.
The best player to pair with Broberg would be a shutdown defender that would allow Broberg to better utilize his mobility, having a partner that could play more defensive and help to make up for any rookie mistakes that will happen. Tyson Barrie is not that player in any regard. Over the past couple weeks we have discussed how the Oilers can shed cap... I remain of the mindset that trading Barrie and replacing him with a cheaper more defense oriented option and is the best course of action.
Ultimately with Broberg, in regards to reasonable expectations, we should be talking less about total points and more about the types of minutes that he will be playing. I don't care if Broberg only puts up 10-12 points over the course of an 82 game season. What will be far more integral to the Oilers is if he can average between 16-18 minutes a game and help to take some exertion off of the other two lefty's in Nurse and Kulak.
The Oilers depth on the blueline remains a big concern. An injury to Kulak or worse, Nurse means that suddenly Broberg is playing top four minutes and then the likes of Niemelainen, Desharnais, or Samorukov is being asked to be a regular every night player as well. Broberg taking big strides forward in his development this year would go a long way in helping to mitigate that concern but so would adding at least one more veteran player into the fold.
Thanks for reading.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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