Quick Facts
Biography
Oliver Bjorkstrand (born April 10, 1995) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League (NHL). Bjorkstrand was selected by the Blue Jackets in the 3rd round (89th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Bjorkstrand made his AL-Bank Ligaen debut playing with the Herning Blue Fox during the 2011–12 AL-Bank Ligaen season. During his second season in the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winterhawks, Bjorkstrand was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 26, 2013.
On March 16, 2016, Bjorkstrand was recalled by the Blue Jackets and made his NHL debut the following day, March 17th, against Detroit. He scored his first and second NHL goals in his second NHL game on March 19th, 2016, against Yann Danis of the New Jersey Devils.
On June 11, 2016, Bjorkstrand, while playing for the Lake Erie Monsters, scored the game winning goal in overtime of Game 4 in the Calder Cup finals versus the Hershey Bears, winning the series and also earning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | Herning Blue Fox | DEN | 36 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 65 | 31 | 32 | 63 | 10 | 21 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 69 | 50 | 59 | 109 | 36 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 8 | ||
| 2014–15 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 59 | 63 | 55 | 118 | 35 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 51 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 10 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 12 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 12 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Denmark | WJC18 | 10th | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2012 | Denmark | WJC | 10th | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Denmark | WJC-D1 | 15th | 5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Denmark | WJC-D1 | 11th | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Denmark | WJC | 8th | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Denmark | WC | 14th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 27 | 19 | 9 | 28 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Awards | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| First All-Star Team (West) | 2013–14, 2014–15, | |
| Player of the Month (January, February, March) | 2014–15 | |
| Top Scorer (Bob Clarke Trophy) | 2014–15 | |
| WHL Plus-Minus Award | 2014–15 | |
| AHL | ||
| Calder Cup (Lake Erie Monsters) | 2016 | |
| Calder Cup MVP (Jack A. Butterfield Trophy) | 2015–16 | |