In three games with the St. Louis Blues, waiver claim Jonatan Berggren has had instant success.
His first three games with the Blues have witnessed him notch two goals and four points, which included a three-point outing against the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. In just days, he's gone from a player placed on waivers by a team that drafted him in the second round to a first-line player.
In addition to the eye-popping numbers, the 25-year-old has quickly gained the trust of coach Jim Montgomery. He's skating on the top line, on the power play, and is averaging 15:12 of ice time, a total that would be a career high by a decent margin.
Expecting him to sustain a shooting percentage of 33 percent is likely a stretch, but he's averaging two shots per game, and his analytics are very positive. Currently, the Blues own a 66.25 Corsi For percentage, an expected goals percentage of 78.24, and 65.91 percent of the shots on goal at 5-on-5 with Berggren on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. Additionally, the Blues are outscoring their opponents 3-0, own a high-danger chance advantage 17-4 and have generated 30 scoring chances while allowing just nine at 5-on-5 with Berggren on the ice.
Berggren doesn't have God-given physical tools, listed at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds. He doesn't have overwhelming strength or speed, but he has a balanced game and thinks the game at a high level.
He's done the right things to seize the opportunity given to him so far, but there's more work to be done. Players go through short offensive stretches like this all the time, but if he can continue to affect the game positively at 5-on-5, there will be room for him on a Montgomery-coached team.
“You never know,” Montgomery said. “He looks very comfortable. He’s made elite passes. His hockey sense and vision, and puck skills are very noticeable. Like that’s top-six (caliber). We want to see how he continues to progress. There’s a lot more than just the offensive side. There’s the defensive side, (too). But it’s been a really good showing.”
While Berggren is showing great things with St. Louis, it's critical to account for what we've seen from him in a larger sample size. Berggren played 169 games with the Detroit Red Wings, scoring 31 goals and 66 points. At times, the Red Wings loved what he had to offer, but more often than not, they were left wanting more. Inconsistency plagued his time in Detroit, as too frequently he would be a passenger, rather than a play driver.
He's impressed his coaches and teammates early on, but if he is going to lock down a role on the Blues, he needs to extend this stretch of games further.
“(Berggren) can make a lot of plays, and it’s been really impressive watching him,” Robert Thomas said following the Blues' 6-2 win over the Panthers on Saturday. “He wins battles, he has the puck a lot, and he’s always looking to make a pass. Just his confidence level right when he got here, you could tell he wanted the puck on his stick, and whether it’s off the rush or in the zone, he’s made a lot of great plays. Just being able to control the puck so that you can have your head up is a big thing that goes really unnoticed. His head is always up, and it’s always turning, so he’s always looking for someone. When you play with a player like that, you’ve just got to get open.”
The Blues are back in action tonight against another difficult opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Berggren is being given another opportunity on the top line, skating with Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.
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