Oskar Steen continues to make the most of his 2021-22 season. The right wing is leading the Providence Bruins in scoring down in the AHL, but providing unlikely offense in a support role with the Boston Bruins on the fourth line in his several callups. With the 23-year-old playing his best stretch of North American hockey by far since signing with the B’s in 2019, Steen is making a legitimate claim to a full-time NHL roster spot.
His 10 goals and 20 points in 16 games are just three fewer than he posted over his first full season in the AHL in 60 games, a campaign ended by the coronavirus global pandemic in March 2020. In four games with Boston, he has three helpers. While still looking for his first NHL tally in seven total games with the Bruins going back to last season, it shouldn’t be long before he finds the back of the net. Steen scored an impressive 17 goals in 46 games with Farjestads in Sweden’s top pro league in 2018-19, and his confidence is growing in leaps and bounds in his third pro season across the Atlantic.
His play in the AHL has been so polished, so productive. As a result, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s done well in Boston when given a chance to play. That big league success in spot duty is certainly no surprise to Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel, who has seen his overall play take off in recent games on the farm. It hasn’t been just about the goals and points, either. Steen’s habits and details have been an integral part of his development, and that progression hasn’t been lost on Mougenel and assistant coach Trent Whitfield.
“There was an offensive zone play with a wicked hard rim,” Mougenel told New England Hockey Journal. “And he flawlessly picked the puck up off the yellow. I turned to Whitter and said, ‘We’re not going to see him again.’”
Steen’s emergence is a prime example of why, in the NHL’s salary cap era, it isn’t as simple as keeping a player on the main roster. The biggest challenge for GM Don Sweeney and Bruce Cassidy in determining Steen’s more immediate future is the roster management piece. He is not subject to waivers and therefore provides the easiest option to move back and forth on I-95 when it comes to needed NHL roster help. Having said that, he’s provided a spark in all areas of the game where others on the roster have not been as effective.
He most recently skated on the fourth line with Tomas Nosek and Trent Frederic in Boston’s decisive 5-1 road win against the Detroit Red Wings. Inserting into the roster in place of Curtis Lazar, who got banged up in Boston’s overtime victory at home versus Buffalo the night before. With quick travel and a 1 p.m. Sunday turnaround schedule, Cassidy had the luxury of holding the veteran Lazar out of the second of a back-to-back, and Steen came through with an assist on Nosek’s third-period goal to close out the scoring.
“You’ve got some depth in our lineup,” Cassidy told media after the game. “Contract situations, roster issues so it becomes a little bit of asset management as well- he doesn’t need waivers. It happens to certain guys in the league, throughout the league at times. Eventually, you push your way through where you won’t get taken out, and then you adjust your roster, so that happens to a lot of different teams.”
Steen’s latest recall happened because Karson Kuhlman was placed into the league’s COVID-19 protocol before the Buffalo contest. Cassidy said that Lazar could have played in Detroit if the team needed him to, but with Steen in reserve, he got the opportunity to slot in on the bottom unit. To his credit, he brought the requisite energy, pace and a nifty pass off the rush to get his name on the scoresheet.
“We got a fresh guy that’s playing well in Providence; young legs, back-to-back,” Cassidy said. “So, he takes advantage of it. So, yeah- we got a decision to make when it comes to him. And those are good decisions when guys push their way up. A little bit of youth in the lineup does every team well at times.”
Why Steen is a good fit in Boston
Boston’s last pick in 2016 has made himself into a legitimate NHL option after needing time to figure some things out in his first couple of North American seasons. Although an experienced pro in Sweden, Steen was not used to the smaller ice surfaces and the smaller time/space window. It took him some time to get comfortable and figure out how to use his speed and lower body strength to get consistently inside the dots and make himself a consistent threat to generate offense, but he’s found that.
“With his offense and all-around game, Steen is a bit of a moveable piece,” Mougenel said. “I think he’s a bit of a Swiss Army Knife in that he’s got some jam to him. One of the biggest things I see is who he is. P.J. Axelsson played the game a certain way and was an amazing teammate, and it shows in a lot of his Swedish picks. I tell you, the Bruins have done a great job of identifying high-quality guys, so Steen is a guy that when he goes up in a room, people are always going to root for.”
How he could stay on the NHL roster full time
As Cassidy said, for Steen to stick on the Boston roster, the team has to make a decision to keep him. That means someone else would have to move out to make room.
One option is to send Kuhlman down to Providence. The former Minnesota-Duluth captain and national champion with the Bulldogs in 2018 would be subject to waivers, and any NHL club could claim him. Even if one of the 31 other clubs did pluck him off of waivers, it would be a depth hit down in the AHL more than a long-term loss for Boston. Kuhlman brings energy and character to the mix, but he doesn’t move the needle much offensively in his NHL time.
Steen is younger, provides a similar versatile, high-energy style, but has a bigger offensive upside.
Once upon a time, a productive young winger in Providence came to Boston, established himself initially on the fourth line, then worked his way up, up and up. While it would be irresponsible to project Steen as another Brad Marchand in the making, there are some similarities and parallels to them both. Like Marchand, Steen can motor and really shoot the puck. He’s nowhere near the agitator Marchand was at the same age and continued to be in his career, but Steen plays hard and to his credit, worked to improve his details.
At one time, Mougenel wasn’t sure if Steen could figure out what he is and could be, but now those doubts are gone. The key to that development has been patience and not rushing to failure or giving up on a young player too soon.
“When you understand the dynamics of the American Hockey League and sometimes it takes guys longer than others, I think as a coach it teaches you patience,” Mougenel said. “That’s one thing the Bruins understand is you gotta have patience with some of these guys like the (Jakub) Zborils, and Steens, and (Zach) Senyshyns. It takes time, sometimes longer than others.”
With Steen, it looks like the nearly six years since being drafted is about to pay off.
