2023-24 Season in Review: Emil Bemstrom

A mid-season “change of scenery” acquisition, Emil Bemstrom came as advertised.

Vitals

Player: Emil Bemstrom
Born: June 1, 1999
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 195 pounds
Hometown: Nykoping, Sweden
Shoots: Right
Draft: 2017 4th round (117th pick) by the Columbus Blue Jackets
2023-24 Statistics (NHL): 56 games, eight goals, eight assists, 16 points
Contract Status: Completed year two of a two-year, $1.8 million contract. Will be a restricted free agent as of July 1, 2024.

Monthly Splits

Story of the Season

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Bemstrom from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade for forward Alex Nylander and a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2026 just before the 2024 NHL trade deadline.

The condition on the pick was if Bemstrom scored six goals with the Penguins by the end of the season, that draft pick could have been upgraded to a third-round pick. Bemstrom only scored three goals with the Penguins.

Bemstrom’s tenure in Columbus can be summed as this: the potential was there to blossom into something more lethal for the Blue Jackets, but it never clicked for the young Swede.

After being waived and going unclaimed by Nov. 16, Bemstrom was sent to the AHL. In 33 career AHL games, Bemstrom has shined, scoring 26 goals and 47 points.

Bemstrom tallied only five goals and six assists in 32 games with the Blue Jackets during the 2023-24 season.

Longtime Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was fired on Feb. 13, and team president John Davidson took over on an interim basis. Davidson traded Bemstrom to their division rivals on Feb. 22.

Bemstrom came out swinging, scoring a power-play goal in a 7-6 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 27.

But look above to see that Bemstrom only scored three goals in the black and gold, with one of those three coming in his debut game. Bemstrom totaled those three goals with two assists in 24 games with the Penguins.

Regular season 5v5 advanced stats

Data via Natural Stat Trick. The ranking is out of 17 forwards on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.

Corsi For%: 49.18 (13th)
Goals For%: 50.00 (12th)
xGF%: 50.52 (12th)
Scoring Chance %: 52.74 (6th)
High Danger Scoring Chance%: 55.22 (6th)
5v5 on-ice shooting%: 8.79 (9th)
On-ice save%: 90.48 (12th)
Goals/60: 0.62
Assist/60: 0.31
Points/60: 0.93

Bemstrom is decidedly average, if not unimpressive in these advanced statistical categories. As you’ll see below, Bemstrom carries an NHL-caliber shot, but in terms of driving play, finishing, and producing tangible offense, much remains desired from a player who just turned 25 years old.

Charts n’at - Via HockeyViz and JFresh

Bemstrom started out with a brief look with Lars Eller but quickly was moved down to the Jeff Carter line.

It’s a brief sample of 193 minutes, but like many on the Pens’ bottom six this year, the good news is Pittsburgh didn’t give up a lot defensively with Bemstrom on the ice. The bad news, also like most of the Pens’ bottom six, is that there wasn’t much to write home about on the offensive side either.

Bemstrom has been touted for having a quality shot — look back to the clause in the trade that Pittsburgh would have to give up a third-round pick if Bemstrom scored six goals for the Pens to see that Columbus was worried that he and not Alex Nylander might be the breakout star of that trade. But Bemstrom wasn’t able to generate or finish a lot over 24 games with Pittsburgh.

Bemstrom has notched 26 total goals in 33 career AHL games, and while no one would dream about him carrying that up to the NHL level, it is indicative that the ability to fill the net is in there somewhere. Figuring that out in the big league against the world’s top goalies and defenders has proven to be easier said than done so far.

Bemstrom is young and gets around the ice pretty well in terms of 20 mph bursts and overall top speed compared to other forwards in the league. He’s not the absolute fastest player, but his skating is a positive attribute and benefit to his game.

WAR ranks Bemstrom as just OK. He’s got a history of good defensive impacts and added with the chance creation on first assists, his shot, and skating ability. It all is tantalizingly close enough to imagine something that adds up to more than the sum of what he’s shown so far.

Highlights

Questions to ponder

Can Bemstrom become the “total package” for an NHL team? The data indicates that, while he may be an adequate to below-average player thus far, he may never take the enticing next step to become a permanent top-six forward.

Ideal 2024-25

Bemstrom enters the 2024 offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning the Penguins can extend a qualifying offer to him, retaining his rights, while he can test the open market.

Given his unremarkable tenure during the second half of the season, no one should be surprised if Kyle Dubas lets Bemstrom walk into free agency as an unrestricted free agent.

Bottom line

Given his draft status, earning a sweater for 228 NHL games is no small feat, even if the bulk of those games were spent with an uninspiring Columbus team. The offense has been there through the Swedish leagues and into the AHL, but beating the world’s best goaltenders in professional hockey’s top league has been a tough nut to crack.

His age and shot may be enough for him to latch onto another organization heading into training camp, but the 25-year-old could be primed for a stay in the AHL or an overseas league if general managers look elsewhere to fill out their rosters.