The enduring memory of Dylan Holloway’s time here was when the young winger went coast-to-coast after taking a short Leon Draisaitl pass, then blew past Quinn Hughes and inside Filip Hronek before tucking one past goalie Arturs Silovs to give the Oilers the 1-0 lead in the do-or-die Game 6 of round 2 against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place in May.
Brought the house down.
Defenceman Philip Broberg’s playoff wasn’t as dazzling, but after sitting the first 15 playoff games for Vinny Desharnais, Broberg offered up a punctuation point in Game 4 against Dallas in round 3 and drifted a 55-footer past Jake Oettinger to give the Oilers a 3-0 game lead. It started a run of 10-straight appearances for Broberg, playing his off side with Darnell Nurse in the second pairing.
Alas, the St. Louis Blues noticed, and both Holloway and Broberg will be in the Blues lineup Saturday, in the duo’s first trip back here after the Blues two-headed offer sheet in August wasn’t matched by the Oilers.
Holloway, who has eight points, including four goals, on a five-game point streak, is wearing No. 81 on the left wing with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou— Colton Parayko has dibs on Holloways’ old 55 as an Oiler. Broberg, who played 26:51 in an overtime win in Calgary Tuesday, is No. 6 after he was 86 here, their busiest defenceman after Parayko, the St. Albert native who was just named to Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off team.
Heady stuff for both kids, after their time as Oilers.
Broberg might have been Nurse’s partner again and Holloway was probably ticketed to be the third-line left wing, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner in the first and second spots this season.
Now, both are getting much more opportunity in St. Louis.
“Coming back here, it’s going to be emotional, a new experience for them like it is with every player who switches teams. I mean, if Gretzky can switch teams, anyone can switch teams in this league,” said Blues’ head coach Jim Montgomery.
“What I like about both of these young men is they’re hockey players. They love working on their craft, getting better. During team meetings, you can see them nodding, they’re studying, they want to get better,” he said.
“That’s what jumps out at me in my 10 days as new coach here.”
His book on Broberg?
“His physical gifts are very evident. His skating, but his stick, defensively and offensively … he always seems to be in the way, in the right spot, so his hockey sense combined with physical gifts makes him a valuable 200-foot defenceman,” as he plays20:39 a game, with 12 points in 15 games after being out three weeks with a leg issue after a mishap with Leafs’ Mitch Marner.
And Holloway?
“He’s tenacious, wants to have an impact on the game. His ability to reload and get above pucks defensively allows us to swarm teams, and his ability to go the other way and drive plays wide … he’s not afraid to go into hard scoring areas which is why he’s had success. His confidence has grown because he’s getting significantly more ice-time,” said Montgomery, pointing to Holloway’s eight goals and 16 points while averaging 15:31 per game.
Broberg, who was drafted in 2019, said Friday he enjoyed his time in Edmonton — the players, support staff, fans. But not the whole ball of wax.
“I got drafted here. I’m very thankful for my time here. It’s good to be back,” said Broberg, who nevertheless did ask for a trade last December, probably because he was chafing because he wasn’t getting much ice-time after being the first-round draft pick in 2019, often a seventh defenceman here where he played safe and was afraid to make mistakes, until the playoff cauldron.
“Playing in he finals, lots at stake. Playing in Game 7 was a learning experience as well,” he said.
When the offer sheet came from the Blues, it was eye-popping.
“They’re so rare. Of course you’re surprised. It was a stressful week (between the offer sheet and the Oilers deciding to match or walk away). You just try to stay off your phone and the internet,” said Broberg, with the $4.6 million AAV for two years in St. Louis maybe three and half times what Oilers were offering in a new deal. It was too good to pass up.
“Like I said, I enjoyed my time here but was ready for a new opportunity, a new chapter and here we are,” said Broberg, who has a steady spot on left side with righty Justin Faulk in St. Louis, whereas he was blocked by Mattias Ekholm, Nurse and Brett Kulak on left defence here.
Holloway admits it was very tough to leave.
“We went so far as a team, two shots away from winning the Stanley Cup. You get pretty tight with the team, the guys on the staff, such an incredible run we went on,” he said. “That said, I’ve had a great opportunity in St. Louis.”
Would he have got that here this season?
“I don’t know. I don’t have the crystal ball,” he said.
What was the week like for him, not knowing if he was going to be with the Blues or the Oilers? “It was kind of dark from both sides that week. I was trying to make sense of it all and work out the logistics but at the end of the day, the decision was made. Happy with my situation in St. Louis,” said Holloway.
“Any time you go to a new team you try and fit in as best you can, showcasing your skill set, finding a role. I was playing centre when Tommer (Robert Thomas) was hurt but mostly wing.”
He doesn’t know if he’ll get booed or cheered Saturday.
“I don’t know what the response will be. I have nothing but love for the fans here, it’s such a knowledgeable fan base. That was why it was so much fun here,” he said.