By Robert Brent -
On Sunday, the Minnesota Wild announced that exciting prospect Liam Öhgren would return to the lineup from his stint in Iowa.
The most inspiring part of the news? Öhgren was going to get an opportunity in the team’s top six. In an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, he discussed what would be different with this opportunity than his early-season struggles in Minnesota.
“I missed that when I was up for the first time. I didn’t have that confidence,” said Öhgren, 20. “So, it was great to be down there, playing a lot of minutes — PP, PK, everything. And obviously to score some goals and throw up some points, it was good, for sure.”
A confident Liam Öhgren could be a massive addition to the Wild, but they’ll have to give him chances to succeed. If the Wild can exercise patience, they could unleash a considerable force for their lineup.
Öhgren’s Early-Season Roller Coaster
Öhgren got his first look in the top six over the weekend, but it’s been a long road. He started the season with the Wild after being one of the team’s most exciting prospects coming into the season.
However, the talented young winger didn’t stick on the NHL roster. In limited action, Öhgren scored no points and failed to register a single high-danger shot attempt. He also averaged less than 10 minutes per game before being sent to the AHL. To make this season a success, Öhgren would need a massive bounceback in Iowa.
Fortunately, Öhgren responded well to his assignment in Iowa. The Swedish left-winger scored at nearly a point-per-game pace, with 12 goals and 11 assists in 23 games. In his 23 AHL games, Iowa’s opponents only held Öhgren to zero shots in a game once and had three or more shots on goal 14 times. His increased assertiveness and willingness to use his shot produced excellent results, and he seemed primed to get another shot in Minnesota.
Despite his resurgence in Iowa and Minnesota’s myriad injuries throughout the year, Öhgren remained in Iowa. While spots were opening on the Wild, most were in the bottom six, a role where Öhgren had struggled. Letting him thrive in Iowa was better than risking his development. While Öhgren’s situation required patience in Minnesota, it’s likely the best move. Öhgren perfectly fits the Wild’s needs when he’s playing at his best.
A Perfect Fit For the Wild’s Needs
If the Wild can fully unleash Liam Öhgren, he's a perfect fit for the roster. The Wild are reasonably well set with high-end skill players like Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi, and Matt Boldy. However, they haven’t surrounded those players with the size and grit Bill Guerin prioritizes.
The Wild aspire to have the identity of a club that's hard to play against and plays with physicality. That's why players like Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman continue to get minutes despite their waning offensive production. It’s also why Minnesota signed Yakov Trenin for his defensive ability despite his offensive shortcomings.
Those players are challenging to play against, but the team isn't posing much of a scoring threat when they're on the ice. Minnesota could use another scoring threat who plays with grit.
If Liam Öhgren plays to his potential, he can be that player.
Öhgren's shot, motor, and physicality are the most celebrated parts of his game. When The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler profiled Öhgren, he wrote about his offensive skill that could help the Wild, should they develop it correctly.
"He's a bigger, stronger player than his two contemporaries in Djurgården and while he doesn't have Lekkerimäki's dynamism or Östlund's breeziness, that doesn't make him any less interesting as the shot-and-pass, power-and-finesse combination player that he is." Wheeler wrote. "His offensive arsenal is multi-faceted and he's got some really sneaky craftiness and evasiveness to his game to complement the tools of strength over the puck/through his shot that are obvious."
Now that Minnesota has Öhgren playing higher in the lineup, he'll have a greater opportunity to showcase these skills. Öhgren doesn't profile as a superstar, but the Wild lack a player with his skill set in their forward group. A highly competitive power forward could completely change the dynamic of Minnesota's scoring lines.
Mixed Results In His First Action
While Öhgren is theoretically suited for the Wild’s needs, he must deliver on his potential. The skilled forward will still have to earn his spot. We got the first taste of Öhgren playing in the top six against the Nashville Predators over the weekend, and the results were negative.
Still, before we analyze Öhgren’s early results, we must note that none of the Wild's players had a good game in Nashville. That is to say, take the Predators game con grano salis. We’ll use Moneypuck’s game review for all the stats we discuss.
Let’s start with the negatives. Liam Öhgren and his linemates didn’t produce many offensive chances. Öhgren’s most common line was with Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman, and the trio only produced .093 on-ice expected goals for. That number was fourth on the team out of the five lines that played more than two minutes together.
Öhgren fared even worse defensively. He was on the ice for four goals against, including two after the Wild demoted him to a line with Frederick Gaudreau and Yakov Trenin. However, the trio only played 25 seconds of ice time.
After a poor performance in Nashville, Öhgren needed a bounceback against the Colorado Avalanche. Just as he did when he went to Iowa, he responded. Öhgren made a play in the first period when he penetrated the zone and kicked it back to Jacob Middleton, who scored.
The assist was Öhgren’s first NHL point of the season and was the perfect way to start what ended up being a positive game. He later assisted on another goal. When looking at Moneypuck’s game review for this game, his results were completely different than they were in Nashville. Öhgren dominated puck possession with a 66.7 Corsi-for percentage and a 73.6 expected goals percentage, the best mark among forwards. He was also among the team’s top contributors in raw expected goals despite playing only 9:04 minutes.
Öhgren’s had a good game in Denver. It was encouraging to see how well he played, even in limited minutes. If the Wild want to see what they have in Öhgren, they’ll need the patience to give him the chance to succeed. Öhgren’s latest game was a colossal step in the right direction. Games like that could greatly benefit Minnesota in meaningful games late in the season.
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