Adam Edstrom was a bit of a revelation for the Rangers last season before an upper body injury ended his season. A consistent winger on one of the better fourth lines in the league, Edstrom played 51 games before his injury ended his season. He put up a solid 5-4-9 while getting overwhelming defensive zone starts. Alongside Sam Carrick and a rotation including Matt Rempe, the Rangers fourth line was surprisingly solid in their own end, proving they can be a shutdown line.
The key with the Rangers fourth line was limiting high danger chances, which Adam Edstrom did much better than most other Rangers, despite the team issues. Edstrom’s high danger shot share was a touch under 50% at 49.72%, far better than most other forwards when taking zone start context into account. Some may point to Edstrom’s 45% xG share, but that was weighed down by low danger chances (37% shot share).
The numbers translate somewhat well to our standard player cards, but again context does matter. Edstrom isn’t on the ice to produce offense, which checks out with most of his advanced and microstats. Instead his role was defensive, where he clearly excelled. As this was just his first season, there’s plenty of room to grow into a premier shutdown winger with size and an ability to move the puck up the ice.
The ideal fourth line starts in the defensive zone, limits chances against, pushes the play up the ice, and finishes the shift in the offensive zone. Edstrom did just that. Now it’s a matter of fine tuning his game with one of the best coaches in the NHL today.
There isn’t much more to say about Adam Edstrom’s rookie season. He was flat out solid and should continue to improve.
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