2015 Season in Review: Jakob Silfverberg

2014-2015 Season Stats

2014-2015 Anaheim Ducks - (13G-26A-39P) in 81 regular season games played

2014-2015 Anaheim Ducks - (4G-14P-18P) in 16 playoff games played

A Bit of History

Jakob Silfverberg was originally drafted 39th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He was part of the big Bobby Ryan trade (July 5, 2013), where the Sens obtained Ryan for Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen, and a 1st round 2014 draft pick (Nick Ritchie).

Well, Silf embraced the trade and came into Anaheim hot. 4 goals in the first 4 games played. It looked like the trade came in the favor for the Ducks early on in the 13-14 season. Ironically he ended up breaking his hand against his former team shortly after his exciting start, resulting in 24 missed games. The injury definitely set him back as his production slowed, finally finishing his first regular season with Ducks with 10 goals and 13 assists.

So you are now asking, why the hell are we talking about 2 seasons ago? Well, I thought it was necessary to give some context to the Swede. In short, he burst onto the scene but simmered out shortly after as a result of the injury. So that really left us questioning how good really is this kid? Is he for real? Was Silfverberg really the sil(f)ver lining of the Ryan trade? Would he be able to prove himself in the 14-15 season?

All we could do was wait and see for the next season to answer our many questions about #33.

How Did He Do?

Silfverberg did not burst into the 14-15 season as he did in 2013, but he sure answered all our questions and doubts after playing in 81 of the 82 regular season games, setting personal bests with 13 goals, 26 assists, +15 rating, and 9 shootout goals (the most in the NHL).

Part of his great success is attributed to finding his line-soulmate in Ryan Kesler. The Ducks finally acquired the highly sought Kesler in the summer of 2014 to fill in the team's deficiencies down the center. Although Bruce Boudreau initially moved 23-year old Silfverberg up and down the line-up, he eventually settled alongside NHL veteran Kesler. Boudreau learned to rely on the two to match up defensively against the toughest opponents.

So while most of our questions from his first season were about his offensive production, Silfverberg better proved himself as an asset as a two-way player. Silfverberg earned big minutes not only in even-strength, but also on special teams. He was tasked on the second power play unit, scoring two power play goals. He was also tasked to take on the penalty kill, scoring one shortie this past season.

We haven't even gotten into his stellar shootout performances. Silfverberg soon made a name for himself this past season for his clutch shootout goals. He scored a total of 9 shootout goals out of 13 attempts (best in league), and harbored a 69.2% shootout percentage. When he skated up for his shootout, the Anaheim crowd all got on their feet and readied themselves for an uproar of cheers. Don't quite remember? Please see the below video for a season refresher:

Silf's season highlights do not stop there....Enter the 2015 post-season. His past several brief post-season appearances seemed to have primed him to make an impact this time around. In particular, Silfverberg earned himself a reputation as a heartbreaker with this late beauty in Game 2 against the Jets:

He didn't stop his post-season production there. Silf and Kes made quite a pair on the ice--whether it be on the penalty kill or on the power play or even-strength. He posted 4 goals, 14 assists, 18 points, 1 PPG, and a +6 rating in 16 playoff games.

So I think it's safe to say that Jakob Silfverberg didn't do too shabby in the 14-15 season. Great hands, smooth skating, keen hockey sense, a well-rounded point-producing two-way player....all these traits were finally rewarded this summer on August 7th with a 4-year contract with the Anaheim hockey club.

The thing is, as well as he played this past season, there seems to only be room for growth in this young Swede. We continue to see this kid develop his hands and his vision on the ice. I am looking forward to see how he shines this coming season.