Oliver Wahlstrom knows a thing or two about scoring goals. Ever since he was a youngster, he’s been champing at the bit to shoot as many pucks as possible.
It’s part of the reason he scored 48 goals in his NHL draft year with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.
“It started with my father always making rinks in my backyard when I was little. In the summer he’d always put Plexiglas on the grass and put netting by a couple of trees. I’d just rip pucks into the goal every time I came home from school. The best way to learn is on your own with a bucket of pucks,” Wahlstrom said.
“You’re talking about putting him up there with Phil Kessel, Patrick Kane, Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews,” said Seth Appert, his coach with the NTDP U-18 team this past year, when asked to put his gaudy point totals in perspective.
A resident of Quincy, Mass., who grew up in Cumberland, Maine, Wahlstrom is projected to be selected in the first 10 picks of June’s 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He’s proven himself time and time again over the past two seasons competing on the national and international stage for the red, white and blue.
The 6-foot-1 right wing is a power forward with a spectacular shot and an innate ability to find the back of the twine from just about anywhere on the ice surface.
“I’m a big, strong power forward with skill and creativity,” said Wahlstrom when asked to describe his style of play. “My shot is one of my biggest assets. I can score goals and create shots all over the ice. I use my big body to cut to the net.”
“The shot and his goal-scoring ability are his best weapons, but he’s become a real complete power forward,” Appert said.
Shooting a lot of pucks is just part of what makes him such a special talent. It takes a firm commitment to put so much time into improving your craft. It also requires studying the game and learning from the best.
“I take a lot of notes and study players in the NHL on how they shoot,” said Wahlstrom, who noted his favorite player to watch currently is Patrick Laine."
Wahlstrom has a hard shot that comes off his stick quickly and with zip. He’s accurate, too, but it’s another trait that he’s particularly proud of when it comes to his shot.
“My specialty is where I can get pucks off from,” said Wahlstrom. “I’m confident picking a corner from the goal line or where I am on the ice. I see a lot of net no matter how big the goaltender is.”
While Wahlstrom’s shot and overall skill-set has given him notoriety for years, he’s developed into more of a complete player who is willing to go into the dirty areas to score goals, which Appert was quick to point out.
“So many people fixate on his shot that they don’t give him enough credit for how far he’s come in other parts of his game,” Appert said. “He doesn’t get enough credit for how physical his play has gotten. He added a lot of goals in the hard areas. He didn’t just score goals from the one-timer position like he’s known for in the past.”
While his play in the offensive zone is what will be talked about mostly, Appert is proud of the player Wahlstrom has become in all three zones.
“Scoring dirty goals combined with being more of a complete, responsible player,” Appert said of Wahlstrom’s biggest areas of development over the past year. “He got to the point where you could play him against other team’s top lines. He was good on the penalty kill in the U-18 World Championships. That says a lot about how far he’s come from just being an offensive player.”
Wahlstrom credited Appert and the entire USA Hockey staff with helping him round out his game.
“Coach Appert and I sat down and watched video on some of my favorite players. I’ve figured it out a lot. I still need to get better playing without the puck, but I’m slowly learning how to strip guys with the puck and backcheck with my body. At worlds, I started doing that more and more and my play was even better,” Wahlstrom said.
As is the case with all potential first-round picks, scouts, media and fans will try to compare them to previously established players in the NHL. Appert tried to shy away from that but did admit there were similarities to a goal scorer currently in the Stanley Cup Final with the Washington Capitals.
“Everyone is different. The natural comparison that a lot of people talk about is Alex Ovechkin because they’re both right shots, both goal scorers and both score similar style of goals,” said Appert, a former goaltender at Ferris State and longtime head coach at RPI.
The similarity to Ovechkin comes as no surprise, as the Russian winger with a lethal one-timer from the left-wing circle was one of the first players Wahlstrom idolized as a young child.
“My childhood hero was Alex Ovechkin. Ever since my dad and I watched games on TV, I always had fatheads of Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in my bedroom,” said Wahlstrom of the two Washington stars.
Appert recognizes that Wahlstrom’s best hockey is still ahead of him, despite all the accolades and scoring totals he’s already amassed.
“Oliver is his own player,” Appert said. “He’s a goal scorer at heart, but he’s developing into a complete power forward. He’s getting closer to that.
“Like all 17- and 18-year-olds, he’s not all the way there yet, but nor should he be at the age he’s at. He projects out to the NHL level as a top-six forward who’s a power-play player. He has the ability in his talent, shot, strength and power to be a goal-scoring power forward.”
In addition to Ovechkin and other NHL stars he watched on TV, Wahlstrom had another good hockey player to look up to as he grew up playing the game. His father, Joakim, played college hockey at Maine and played professionally in Sweden.
“When I was little, he was hard on me, but that was very helpful for me,” said the younger Wahlstrom. “I had a father who cared so much. He put his blood and tears into driving me to games. He was on me, but once I got older and I grew as a player, he let loose. Now he just sits back and tells me to have fun and work hard.”
With the draft looming, Wahlstrom has had the chance to reflect positively on his two years with the NTDP.
“These two years at the program have been unbelievable. It was an experience of a lifetime,” said Wahlstrom, even though he admitted the schedule was grueling. “Some days were brutal. Wake up, go to school, go to the rink and do some homework. They push us to the max. Everyone at USA Hockey was so good to us. It was the best decision I ever made to come here and grow as a player and a person.”
In addition to the on-ice aspect of the NTDP, the off-ice preparation was equally beneficial to Wahlstrom, especially as he takes the step to the next stage of his hockey career.
“We lift three times a week during the season. We lift four or five times in the offseason. It’s a total grind. Your body is never 100 percent. They’re just pushing us to develop. They want us to go on to the next level,” Wahlstrom explained.
On top of all that, Wahlstrom had to deal with lofty expectations and hype surrounding him that few young American hockey players ever have had to deal with.
“He’s handled it with flying colors,” Appert said. “He’s had an intense amount of scrutiny on him. He still comes to the rink with a lighthearted smile on his face. He’s still a young kid in a good way, not in an immature way. He works extremely hard to get better every day, but he does so with a smile on his face. It’s still fun to him. It’s a game.
“He didn’t let the pressure of the NHL draft take away the love of showing up at the rink everyday with his teammates.”
Wahlstrom concurred. “The draft is the draft. At this point there is nothing I can do,” he said. “I’m very thankful to be in the position I am in. To be able to get drafted is a dream come true. It’s exciting, but I just take it one day at a time. I’m enjoying life, and to have the draft experience with my family is very special to me.”
After speaking with a handful of scouts who talked on the condition of anonymity, it seems the Chicago Blackhawks or New York Rangers are possible landing spots at eight and nine in the first round. However, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Wahlstrom went before then.
After the dust from the draft settles, Wahlstrom can begin to set his sights on playing college hockey for the legendary Jerry York (Watertown, Mass.) at Boston College, where he committed last month.
“It’s a great school with great coaches right in my backyard,” Wahlstrom said. “Amazing players have come out of that program. I’m very thankful to have that behind me, and it’s going to be a fun experience.”
With Wahlstrom’s uncanny ability to find the back of the net, it will be no surprise if there are some big goals in his future as an Eagle and beyond.
