Oilers opportunities await Broberg, Holloway at Young Stars tournament

PENTICTON – One is a strapping young defender, handsome as only a Swede can be, whose step is as smooth as the roads his civil engineer father designs at home.

The other is a child of the foothills of the Alps, feels just as comfortable in the saddle of a mountain bike as with a fly rod in hand. He’s a left winger from tiny Bragg Creek, Alta., raised by ultimate helicopter parents Bruce and Torrie Holloway — he flies skiers up the mountain all winter and helps put out wildfires in the summer months.

Together, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway represent the hallmark of the cap era: two young entry-level contracts that could help a limited-cap team to a championship.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland put it simply: Broberg will lose a spot on Edmonton’s blue line while Holloway will have to earn a spot in the top 12 forwards. With Holloway just turning 20, the GM won’t allow him to languish in an NHL press box when he could be playing top minutes in the American League.

So it’s pretty easy, isn’t it? Their chance awaits, starting here at the Young Stars tournament in Penticton. You just have to seize the moment.

“I definitely don’t think it’s as simple as being the right person at the right time. You’ve got to earn it,” Holloway said ahead of the Oilers’ opening game at Penticton, a 3-2 win over the rookies Winnipeg Jets. “I’ll do everything in my power to try and get a place here as you said, a younger guy on a slightly smaller contract.”

Evander Kane will play at left alongside Connor McDavid early in the NHL season, and either Zach Hyman or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will flank Leon Draisaitl. Warren Foegele is returning at left flank and has played 282 games and four NHL seasons for young Holloway.

Still, there’s room at the inn if Holloway can force his way onto the list.

And if it’s a job Holloway faces, well, he’s got some digging experience. His first summer job was cleaning up pastures at home. “I basically shoveled the horse poo.”

He worked at Carl’s Jr. “Flippin’ Burger” and had a firewood business with his brother. “We felled trees, chopped firewood. People like to come to Bragg Creek to camp, so we sold them firewood.”

Today’s player is more like Broberg, the son of two well-educated former professional athletes. Fewer and fewer make it down the back roads into the NHL like Holloway’s did, from a town without a minor hockey system whose only rink was an outdoor one.

Broberg came through the Swedish ranks as that stud rearguard whose superior stride gave him every advantage, the classic defender of Tres Kronor, an export this country has perfected and who is captain of its World Junior team in 2021. He’s 6’1″ and added 12 pounds this summer in hopes of defending at the NHL level with a little more authority.

“I feel ready for this year. I’ve worked hard this summer, so I’m feeling good,” said Broberg.

He’ll line up on the left flank of Edmonton behind six-foot-tall Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak, with the plan being that the Oilers could have some trees in their top 4 one day.

But like Holloway, being told there’s a job waiting for you and actually snagging that ring can be something else entirely.

He took care of the physical side, but the mental side? We’ll find out soon.

“I’ve gotten stronger physically and more ready to play but you have to be there mentally. You have to be able to think that you deserve to be there. That you’re good enough to be there.”

In a team that lost left-footed Swede Oscar Klefbom to a career-ending shoulder injury, Broberg comes as the perfect replacement. The new Volvo, which may not be the same as the old one, but maybe even better.

What kind of defense attorney does Broberg want to be?

“A big part of my game is being a two-way defender,” he said. “I want to be trustworthy in the D-Zone. I want the coach to trust me defensively, play big minutes and play fast. And then the offensive comes through my skating.”

Broberg played 23 games last season. He’s way ahead of Holloway.

But the moment has come for both of them.

Who can seize the moment?