Oliver Bjorkstrand: Prospect Profile
By Ryan Ritchie
The Early Years for Oliver Bjorkstrand (Pre-NA style exposure)
Oliver Bjorkstrand was born in Herning, Denmark while his father played in the Danish top league, and actually has dual-American citizenship. However, its clear he wanted to represent his native Denmark in international play even though the Danes have had their struggles with relegation and poor performances at the World Junior Championships.
Sep 21, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand (28) against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena. The Penguins won 1-0 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Oliver is a slightly bigger framed player than his father was, Todd 5’10, whereas Oliver stacks up around 6’0. In the 170-175 lbs. range, Oliver still has some room to bulk up. In comparison, to other 6’0 forward in the NHL, the average weight tends to range.
Guys like Vladimir Tarasenko are 6’0 215-220lbs range. The average guy comes in around the 200 lbs range. Steven Stamkos is 6’0 190lbs range, while guys like Patrick Kane come in around 5’11 175lbs.
But you can’t use Oliver’s size against him when you’ve got guys like Teuvo Teravainen stacking up at 5’11 170lbs or Johnny Gaudreau who played at 5’9 150lbs last season. In the modern-day NHL, if you’ve got the skills, you can play.
Oliver Bjorkstrand began his junior career when he was 15 years old playing for Herning of the U17 league in Denmark.
Herning has teams in its numerous mens leagues, as is the way things work across the board for most major Danish cities. The U17 league is the lowest tier of their numerous leagues in Denmark.
2009-10
As a 14/15-year-old, Oliver tallied 16 pts in 10 games for Herning’s U17 squad. While it is not uncommon to see 15-year-old players in the U17 league, you don’t see as many produce the way Oliver did in his short stint.
Little did Oliver Bjorkstrand know, this would be the beginning of a roller-coaster ride of success and call-ups that would pave the path for his hockey career.
2010-11
At 15/16 years old, he made some noise in the U17 league after producing 54 pts in just 19 games with Herning. This prompted a call-up the same season to Herning’s U20 squad where he managed to accumulate 19 points over an 11 game period to finish the season.
He followed that up with 8 pts in 6 games with the Herning U20 squad. That same season, Oliver Bjorkstrand won every scoring award across the board in the U17 league, even with his brief call-up towards the end to the U20 league. Oliver actually had a 1 game call-up in the playoffs for Herning’s team of the Denmark2 league (just a couple tiers short of the top Danish league).
2011-12
At 16/17 years old, Oliver Bjorkstrand Began the season with Denmark’s Division II Herning IK. After tallying 3 pts in 5 games, he was called up to top Danish league to play for the Herning Blue Fox (the same team his father played of his career for). Oliver managed to produce 26 points in 36 games a year before his NHL draft eligibility.
During their playoff run, he had some struggles only managing 3 points over 10 games. However, Herning did go on to become Danish Champions that season. It led to a Danish Cup Championship, where Oliver Bjorkstrand captured the Danish Cup Final MVP award. He also won the Danish League Rookie of the Year award that same season.
He got his first taste at International play in 2011-12 where he represented Denmark for both the U18 and U20 teams. He assistant captained the U18 team and was close to being a point per game player. With the U20 he only managed 2 points in 6 games.
It’s worth noting Denmark has had its struggles at the international U20 junior level. We’re talking a lot of qualifying tournaments and relegation for poor performances. The U18 team has been far more competitive.
Next: Draft Eligible Year: From Europe to the WHL