Engvall’s all-round game fits right
Forward joins list of Swedes selected in seventh round to make it in the NHL
Astudent of the game, a coachable player, a versatile forward. Pierre Engvall’s path to the NHL is almost a road map for how a seventh-round draft pick can make it these days.
Like teammate Andreas Johnsson, chosen in the seventh round in 2013, Engvall took it as a sign that there was hope for his hockey future when the Maple Leafs called his name in 2014. That he was drafted was all that mattered, not what round.
“I didn’t think too much about being a seventh rounder,” Engvall said. “I’ve seen so many guys get drafted in the seventh round and make it and then they do really good. (Henrik) Zetterberg, he was a seventh rounder. (Henrik) Lundqvist. Johnsson. Wasn’t (ex-Leaf Carl) Gunnarsson? A lot of guys … saw, like, I tried to just keep playing and have fun.”
Engvall, it would appear, is going to keep playing and having fun with the Leafs for a while. The rookie signed a two-year extension this week to remain in the fold at a very reasonable $1.25 million (U.S.) a year.
“It’s a fantastic city,” Engvall said. “Glad to be here with all the guys. I really like this group and all the coaches.”
Sometimes he’s a winger, sometimes he’s a centre. It’s that versatility that enabled him to get to the NHL, said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, who was also Engvall’s coach with the Marlies.
Engvall joined the Marlies in the spring of 2018 for their Calder Cup run and became a prized pupil — an offensiveminded player not just learning but excelling at the defensive side of the game.
“He joins our team and we put him on a checking line, and he never really played in a situation like that,” Keefe said. “But now he’s on the line with Frédérik Gauthier and Colin Greening and we’re asking him to play against the other team’s best players, we’re asking him to hold on to the puck and track and be physical to make it hard on the opposition.
“So, he’s having to learn on the fly in the hardest time of the year. With Colin Greening on his wing, he’s not going to let him do it any other way. So that really helped, and that was a real difference-making line for us.”
In the 2018-19 season, the Leafs had Engvall add to his arsenal with the Marlies.
“He started playing as a penalty killer, and that was new for him. And then he added the faceoffs and taking reps at centre, which was a new thing for him as well,” said Keefe.
“That’s what the American league is for, to be able to add versatility to players so that if they get called up, then they can answer yes to any question: Can you play the power play? Yeah. Penalty kill? Yes. Left wing? Right wing? Centre? Yes.
“The more you can answer the question with ‘yes,’ the more it helps you to take advantage of any opportunity that might come about.”
Engvall said he took pride in learning to play defence, doing so at the urging of Thommie Bergman, the Leafs’ chief European scout who recommended the team take him.
“I always did the fancy stuff while I played in Sweden, like scoring, holding on to the puck,” said Engvall. “I felt like over time I didn’t play (well) without the puck, so Bergman was on me from the beginning: If you want to make it all the way, you’ve got to play without the puck too.”
Not everybody in the minors gets it, said Keefe.
“I’ve had conversations with players sometimes in the American league where you’d say: I want you to try on your off-wing tonight. (The player responds) ‘I really like to play on the left side.’ So, just so I’m clear, if the Leafs need a rightwinger tomorrow, you can’t go?
“Those are the kind of conversations you have to get players to buy into, those types of things. Pierre did that.”
It’s not just that he’s so coachable and versatile. There are other parts of Engvall’s game that Keefe likes and the Leafs rewarded.
The six-foot-five forward was once a lanky 190 pounds; now he’s a ripped 214.
“Physically, he’s very strong, as strong as anybody in the game,” said Keefe. “From his size and the strength that he has, the power that he has, the speed that he has — all those tools — he can play with anybody, can skate with anybody in the NHL. And he has a skill set, too, that goes with that.
“So, he’s confident when he has the puck because he believes he can outskate people, and he can hang on to the puck. The background that he has playing in Sweden and European hockey, he likes to hold on to the puck, and it’s just a physical package that allows him to do a lot of things. That’s why he was able to come in right out of playing in Sweden and join the Marlies in our Calder Cup run.”