Defenceman Klefbom taking shot at stardom
Two things we can take away from the Edmonton Oilers’ home opener:
1) Defenceman Oscar Klefbom seems poised to take another giant stride in his development as an elite top pairing defenceman.
2) Mike Smith’s mask works. Klefbom turned Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over the Calgary Flames into a shooting gallery, launching 15 shot attempts at their beleaguered goalie, none more dramatic than when he walked up to the ladies’ tees midway through the second period and drilled Smith right in the face.
For a split-second there, it looked like the Flames’ goalie would be spending the next half-hour in concussion protocol asking everyone when the season starts, but he popped right back up, inspected the cage for damage and said a silent ‘thank you’ to Jacques Plante.
“I hit that one really good from the dot,” said a wincing Kelfbom. “I actually thought they were going to pull him for a short time there. I hit him straight in the face.”
Cam Talbot felt immediate sympathy pains at the other end of the ice.
“I don’t know how he got up from that,” said the Oilers’ goalie. “I’ve taken Klef’s shot just everywhere in practice, and off the head is the worst. He got him square in the cage, and that’s probably the worst place to take it.”
It’s all part of Klefbom’s evolution. Not necessarily braining helpless goalies, but firing the puck like time is running out on a shot clock. He got nine through against the Flames and his coach is challenging him to put up 250 by the end of the season, which would have been second behind Brent Burns among defencemen last year.
“I talked to Jimmy (Johnson, assistant coach) the other day about having a mindset and a goal just to shoot as much as I can, just to have something to strive for,” said Klefbom, who still only has 191 NHL game to his credit. “It was a pretty good result last year (38 points on 201 shots) and we want to aim for that again, if not better.”
As Klefbom gets stronger and more confident, and as his game begins to expand, so do expectations that were already very high when the Oilers first picked him 19th overall in the 2011 draft.
“When you first start in this league, you want to keep it simple and play a solid defensive game, but I’ve been here a couple of years now and I have a lot of confidence now,” said the 24-year-old, who struggled with terrible injury luck early but is now healthy and able to close in on his true potential.
“I told myself last year to shoot the puck a lot and it was effective, right? And obviously when you play with a lot of good guys on the ice, it helps. I just want to play my game and develop even more of my offence.”
It’s been a tough ride with the shoulder surgery and staph infection, but he always knew he’d get here.
“With time,” he said. “It was very good for me to have some time to watch and learn, and obviously with that injury, it was tough, a bit of a setback, but today I feel really good on the ice.”
The question now is where this evolution ends. Does that next giant step bring him to a place where he is being mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Burns and the Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty.
“I think there’s a really good chance that can happen,” said head coach Todd McLellan, who is seeing a real hunger on Klefbom’s part to strengthen every aspect of his game. “From our time in Edmonton, his approach has increased immensely. His maturity, his goal setting. The homework that he does. The stuff that he asks for from the coaching staff, saying ‘Hey, I need to look at this.’
“That didn’t necessarily happen a couple of years ago, so he’s taken that step. He’s a lot like Connor, he wants to get better. The shot totals? Why not? It’s on his tape, it’s off his tape, why not have 250 shots?”
Talbot might have a better handle on Oilers defencemen than just about anyone in the NHL and he sees a complete and increasingly dynamic presence emerging before everyone’s eyes.
“Every year, he just keeps getting better, not just offensively but defensively,” said Talbot.