Columbus Blue Jackets: Oliver Bjorkstrand Season Expectations

The Danish forward is entering his second full NHL season for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Columbus Blue Jackets struck gold in the third round of the 2013 draft when they got undersized forward Oliver Bjorkstrand. He’s coming off of his first full NHL season, although it feels as if he’s been an NHL regular for a while now.

Bjorkstrand put up 40 points last year with 11 goals and 29 assists. This season we should expect to see a lot more from Bjorkstrand as he’s primed for a breakout season. I’d expect the goal numbers to at least double as he will get a large boost to ice time, especially if his performance continues to grow.

Bjorkstrand’s development to this point seems reminiscent of a young Cam Atkinson, who until this past season had scored more goals than the prior season in every single season of his NHL career.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Bjorkstrand reach his potential as an elite goal scorer, however he’ll never quite be a 40 goal scorer. He’ll likely max out at 30 goals per season when he reaches his late twenties.

He’s starting the season on the second line of the Columbus Blue Jackets alongside Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno. The playmaking ability of Wennberg centering him will certainly help his goal numbers, while Foligno’s above average goal scoring ability when he’s at his best will be a boost to Bjorkstrand’s assist numbers.

As all seasons tend to have for young players, there will be ups and downs for Oliver Bjorkstrand this year. If he can produce at his highest skill level, I’d expect close to 25 goals, but instead I think the season goes like this:

21 goals and 45 assists for a total of 66 points on the second line. Definitely a big increase from last season, but it certainly seems possible for Oliver Bjorkstrand this year.