By Russ Cohen
The Flyers just signed him to an ELC. I had a bad flight back from his draft in Las Vegas and had a long time to chat with the talented center, plus he’s a very mature young man.
As I have stated on shows, Berglund was very physically developed, so he was able to steamroll players at the World Juniors, and he got a gold medal. He was the captain, and both of those things are extreme positives.
At 6-4, 209, he has a pro body. Can he improve on some things? He is going to have to. His offense at the SHL level needs improvement. If he were to go back on loan, there is still a lot for him to gain playing there. For now, he will play with the Phantoms and then take some direction from the Flyers’ training staff, and those are big positives.
According to InStat, Berglund had only 6% of defensive zone starts. So that tells you the coaches sheltered his minutes to some degree. The smaller ice surface will help, but it’s about what he can gain in foot speed. His stride is good, but his turning and speed bursts are what the Flyers will work on to improve. In a lot of SHL game film, he had to really work on getting into the offensive zone at the same speed as teammates, and I think that affected his scoring. His work around the net is solid, and his passing has gotten even more creative. His stick work is good, but his big moves can be sped up in the future.
His 53% on face-offs is impressive, and he played in all situations, at 19, that’s a huge positive. He averaged 1.26 hits per game, another positive. I like him as a potential second line center if it all hits right for him. Could be the third line otherwise. But the development he gets from the Flyers will be a big key but I’m not sure that will speed up his timeline.
