Oliver Wahlstrom is officially a member of the Boston Bruins. The black and gold claimed the 24-year-old after he was put on waivers by the New York Islanders this week, the team who drafted him with the 11th-overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. The Bruins are hoping that a change of scenery will be good for a player who struggled to get his feet under himself with the team that drafted him. Let’s take a look at the hockey career of the newest member of the Bruins.
Early Days
After a 2017-18 season with the U.S. National Under-18 team where he averaged over a point and a half per game, Wahlstrom appeared set to be a high first-round pick. He slid to the Islanders at 11. Wahlstrom was widely regarded as a player with the potential to be an elite goalscorer at the NHL level, and he joined the Boston College Eagles for the 2018-19 season.
Related: What Went Wrong With Oliver Wahlstrom and the Islanders?
The right winger put up a respectable 19 points in 36 games in his first season at Boston College and he joined the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Bridgeport Islanders at the conclusion of the college season. In five late-season games in Connecticut, Wahlstrom stacked up two goals and an assist. He spent the majority of the 2019-20 campaign in the AHL, posting 22 points in 45 games in Bridgeport and going pointless in nine games in the NHL. He joined the Islanders for good after the summer of 2020.
NHL Struggles
Wahlstrom has seen a lot of ups and downs throughout his NHL career thus far. He showed some promise during his rookie season in 2020-21, scoring 12 goals in 44 games, however, that promise has not ended up translating to stardom at the highest level since. He played in nearly every game for the Isles in 2021-22, however, he posted just 24 points throughout the season. Less than halfway into the following campaign, Wahlstrom suffered a torn ACL, putting an end to what to that point had been a solid start to the season for the young winger.
Wahlstrom has been unable to find a consistent spot in the Islanders’ lineup since his injury. 2021-22 is the last time he played in more than 35 games in an NHL season. Over the past two seasons in New York, he has scored just four goals in 59 games, good for a minus-12 rating. Quite simply, he has had a rough start to his NHL career. Now, all of this may not be Wahlstrom’s fault. His injury set him back, he has seen three head coaches already in his young career, and the Islanders have not necessarily been an offensive powerhouse set up well for an up-and-coming star to hop in and thrive. That said, the things that scouts found concerning when Wahlstrom was a prospect have proven to be legitimate issues at the NHL level, the largest of which was his lack of speed.
New Situation
Wahlstrom is joining a situation in Boston that may bode well for him. The Bruins are in need of an offensive spark in the form of a goalscorer, and at his best, their new acquisition could be just that. The Bruins’ lineup likely suits Wahlstrom better than the Islanders: he will be surrounded by veterans like Elias Lindholm, David Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand. These are all players that Wahlstrom may get the chance to show off his skill set alongside, learn from, and feed off their talent. Wahlstrom should feel at home in Boston. A native of New England, he went viral as a child for a highlight-reel goal he scored on the TD Garden ice. At worst, he will be unable to solidify himself as a mainstay in the Bruins’ lineup, but at best, this new situation will be exactly what he needs to turn his career around and prove that he belongs at the NHL level.
