The Details
Back in July, the Oilers acquired Swedish goalie Anders Nilsson in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Oilers didn’t have to give up much: just long shot no-shot prospect Liam Coughlin (an Oilers’ fifth round draft pick in 2014).
The six foot-five, 220-pound netminder was originally drafted by the New York Islanders in 2009 with the 62nd overall pick. Nilsson played three seasons with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Islanders and was also able to get some NHL action with the Islanders. He started off well in 2011-12, but the following two seasons were disappointing.
2011-12/AHL/25 GP/.921 SV%
2011-12/NHL/4 GP/.910 SV%
2012-13/AHL/21 GP/.899 SV%
2013-14/NHL/19 GP/.896 SV%
2013-14/AHL/29 GP/.901 SV%
2014-15/KHL/38 GP/.936 SV%
Last season with the KHL’s Kazan Ak-Bars, Nilsson posted an impressive .936 save percentage. However, Nilsson’s teammate Emil Garipov also had a high save percentage (.933), so one wonders if the team’s defensive system inflated Nilsson’s save percentage.
Anders Nilsson 1-way, 1M
— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) July 7, 2015
The twenty-five-year-old Nilsson signed a one-year, one-way contract, which means that the Oilers now have three goalies on one-way contracts: Cam Talbot, Ben Scrivens, and Nilsson. As of now, Nilsson appears to be third on the Oilers’ goalie depth chart and the most likely goalie to start the season in the AHL. However, because of the one-way contract, Nilsson will have to clear waivers if he’s sent to Bakersfield.
The Scouting Report
In an interview with Oilers Nation‘s Jason Gregor, Kevin Woodley had this to say about Nilsson’s strengths and weaknesses:
His size is his strength. He has a really good athletic base, he moves very well for his size. That is the strength, the weakness, at least early in his career in the NHL was that he moved too much. When you are that big and that long and you move too much you are opening up holes. Pucks go through you as opposed to using your size effectively, and you tend to open up and create more holes than you need to.
It is a fine line for bigger goaltenders, in terms of how long it takes them to realize how to use their size efficiently. When you move as explosively as Anders does, sometimes the saying less is more is applicable, it can take a while to figure it out and learn it at the NHL level.
Elite Prospects gives a similar evaluation of Nilsson:
A huge goaltender that is technically skilled. Nilsson has good hockey smarts plays with calmness and has good mental strength. Challenges the shooters and has been very consistent during his career, rarely having bad games. Furthermore, he is athletic and quite agile.
What to Expect
Nilsson will be competing with Scrivens in training camp for the chance to be the Oilers’ number two goalie. Having two goalies compete for one NHL spot is a welcome change for the Oilers.
Though Scrivens was awful last year, he is probably the favourite to start the season backing up Talbot. That means Nilsson will be sent to the AHL and, if he clears waivers, will share the goaltending duties in Bakersfield with Laurent Broissoit. You could say that Nilsson is insurance in case Scrivens doesn’t have a bounce back season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
