Florida Panthers: Henrik Borgstrom Needs More Minutes to Succeed

Following a relatively decent rookie season at the NHL level, Henrik Borgstrom will look to improve in 2020 for the Florida Panthers.

Essentially, if the Florida Panthers desire more production from Henrik Borgstrom, then-current bench boss Joel Quenneville must give him more playing time.

The native of Finland was previously selected by the Cats with the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Level Draft. Since being taken by General Manager Dale Tallon in the first round, Henrik Borgstrom has gone on to dominate at both the NCAA and AHL levels.

Many scouts and analysts criticized the Panthers for taking Borgstrom in the first round, considering many had Henrik on their draft board as a projected second-round pick. Nonetheless, Borgstrom has elevated himself into top prospect status and has developed quite nicely over the years.

The 2019 pro-hockey season was a relatively mediocre one for the native of Helsinki, Finland. The left-handed centerman participated in 50 regular-season contests for the Panthers, recording a slash line of 8 goals, 10 assists for 18 total points.

While Henrik’s statistics as a rookie are not necessarily eye-opening, we must take into account that he wasn’t put in an ideal position to succeed by former Head Coach Bob Boughner. Essentially, Borgstrom found himself as the team’s third-line center, playing alongside pedestrian linemates for the majority of the season.

As well, Borgstrom was given approximately 12 minutes of ice time per game, which meant he had limited opportunities to make a positive contribution.

While he must certainly improve in certain areas offensively, particularly in the faceoff circle (40.7% last year), Quenneville should still provide the Finnish product with more playing time this upcoming season.

Florida cannot continually hinder the development of Henrik Borgstrom by either placing him on the third line with average linemates or healthy scratching him on a consistent basis.

In order for him to sustain success at the NHL level, he must continue to play on the team’s second power-play unit, receive more minutes at even strength, and play alongside equally talented linemates – which looks to be the case this year, with more depth presented up front, thus pushing talent down the lineup.

If Joel Quenneville can provide Henrik Borgstrom with these main adjustments, then a 30-40 point season in 2020 is not out of the realm of possibility.

Ideally, Borgstrom possesses the innate talent and potential to become a dominant two-way center at the NHL level. In fact, Borgstrom emulates a little of what Barkov brings in terms of creativity, vision, and two-way play. And, the “Borgy” does have the upside to develop *like* his Finnish counterpart did.

In essence, Borgstrom has demonstrated that he is well above average in various categories, most notably being in his skating, vision, puck handling, shooting, and passing.

Moreover, he’s also proven himself as a fairly responsible player on the defensive end, performing adequate performances on both ends of the ice. However, now it’s time for Borgstrom to put it all together offensively and show that he is capable of upping his production.

Ultimately, Borgstrom deserves significantly more minutes during the 2020 NHL campaign. He will unequivocally develop into a premier top-nine forward (and one day, top six!) if managed properly by legendary coach Joel Quenneville.

A role as the team’s third-line center seems like a lock and as the ideal position for Borgstrom this season. Therefore, Florida Panthers fans should expect a more improved Henrik Borgstrom with some necessary changes being made, accompanied by a 35+ point season for the former top prospect.