Patrik Berglund

Patrik Berglund has been an enigma at minimum this season. He hasn’t been the same player the Blues had hoped for with 47 points in 76 games last year as a rookie. He hasn’t found that level of consistency needed from a player in the NHL. Some attribute the early season consistency and subsequent hole he dug himself to Andy Murray, however I think the issue is a bit more simple than that. Over the last 8 games he has 7 points, including a stretch of 6 straight games with a point. He had a similar stretch at the end of December with 6 points in 4 games. There was one constant in those two point streaks: Patrik using his body to win the small battles.

One thing an NHL player needs to do consistently if he wants to stay in the NHL is to use his body to win the small battles. If an NHL player doesn’t use his body to dig in the corners or along the boards to come out with the puck he’ll be pushed to the outside and kept there. For most of the season Patrik has been made irrelevant because he didn’t go into dirty areas. You can have an NHL shot such as Patrik Berglund, but if you don’t use your body to put yourself in a position to use it, you’ll take harmless shots from the perimeter.

This doesn’t mean you have to become a David Backes to be successful in the NHL. It just means that you have to be willing to force the issue and take the ice you need to be successful. If you can’t get into a good scoring area consistently with the puck, you can’t be a successful offensive player in the NHL. If Patrik Berglund isn’t a successful offensive player in the NHL, he won’t last long. This is only his second season in the NHL and he’s still trying to find his way. Hopefully this is the start of him figuring it out.

Patrik has been using his body a lot more over the last 7-8 games which has led to him being on the score sheet more consistently. Patrik is still a young player with tremendous upside but he also has the potential to fail as well. You’ll see a successful Patrik Berglund if he fights in the corners, uses his body to protect the puck to get into scoring areas, crosses the blue line and carries the puck to the net. If Patrik coasts up the right wing along the boards, curls and throws a weak wrister on net, he’ll be irrelevant.

Keep an eye on Berglund to see if he keeps his current level of play up. I believe it’s directly tied to him using his body to win the small battles.