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CleverPin · 08-12-2019, 03:31 AM

1,271 Words

The Vancouver Whalers are in St. Louis tomorrow night to take on the Scarecrows and
Marcus Ohlsson will find himself back in the line-up on the third forward line. In the
contest tomorrow, like in the previous eight games of his rookie season, he'll be looking
for one thing: any resemblance of offensive production.

It wasn't long ago that I found myself positioned behind the net of Kasperi Braulin during the first
period of the Vancouver Whalers vs. Lethbridge Lions game back on the first day of the regular
season. I had just returned home from a long stint in Pittsburgh watching the Penguins play and
was working my part-time job with the Whalers production department while also writing about the
game from the press box during the game's intermissions. I guess you can say I live quite the fun life.

As I was sitting up against the glass with a camera midway through the period, the Whalers won a
crucial face-off in their own and broke the puck out of the zone, hoping for a fast offensive transition.

Marcus Ohlsson caught the puck in the neutral zone and seemed to have a clear line of site at the net
for a great scoring chance. Seconds later, however, as Ohlsson crossed the line into the Lions end,
a Lethbridge defender had caught him and looked to have a turnover all but to secured. To my surprise,
the small framed playmaker from Sweden managed to pull the puck through his opponents legs, and
took aim at Lions goaltender Nolan McMahon. The puck careened towards the net, finding a hole between
McMahon's blocker and chest and twisting twine to open the scoring in the game with the Whalers first
goal of the season.

Quote:10:11 of 1st period - Goal by Marcus Ohlsson - Lethbridge Lions : 0 - Vancouver Whalers : 1.

Even more impressive was the story behind the goal. Anytime a player scores their first goal it's a story
to tell, but for Marcus Ohlsson he had just completed the stuff of legends; scoring his first goal on his first
shot of his first shift in his first ever SMJHL game. If I had to put money it, this probably wouldn't have
been the player I would have chosen to accomplish something so incredible so early in his career.

But since then, there has been a different atmosphere around Ohlsson's play. The next time I had an
opportunityto see him play was four days later when the St. Louis Scarecrows came into Vancouver to
face off against the Whalers in their first competition of the season. I found myself positioned deep in the
Scarecrows end, camera once again gripped in hand, prepared for a highlight reel goal. Rookie center
Marcus Weiser was set to take the draw, and won it with ease before shipping the puck off to Ohlsson.
The young Swede cycled the puck behind the net, setting himself up in a strong position to dictate play
on the ice. And then suddenly, he was on the ground and the puck was moving down the ice the other way.

Quote:7:54 of 2nd period - Marcus Ohlsson is hit by Nicolaj Muller and loses puck.

As I looked up from the camera, the two sections of fans on either side of me let out a simultaneous
groan. Instead of the typical "awww" that fans let out when an offensive rush doesn't turn into a goal, this
was an "ugh". A fan also added, "C'mon, Marcus. That was pathetic." That definitely wasn't the first time
that Vancouver Whalers fans openly voiced their frustration with #21 mid game.

You see it on social media. You see it in the comments of various articles and posts on the Whalers website.
Fans are not pleased with Marcus Ohlsson.

[Image: AAncE9i.img?x=1&y=1&f=PNG&h=336&w=624&m=5&q=60&b=white]

[Image: AAncE9i.img?x=1&y=1&f=PNG&h=336&w=624&m=5&q=60&b=white]

The 18-year-old was initially drafted by the Vancouver Whalers at 10th overall in the S49 SMJHL Entry Draft.
Once labelled by scouts and players alike as an athlete "with the tools to become the best player in the world,"
Ohlsson had an underwhelming rookie preseason campaign with 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points in 50 games.

Since then, it's been a downhill slope. Ohlsson has opened the first eight games of the regular season with a
measly two points and has been a minus player for the Whalers organization. Playing the second least minutes
on the team, you can tell that fans aren't the only ones who have been upset with Ohlsson's play as of late.

[Image: screenshot_2018-08-21_21.04.13.jpg?itok=5oPsZY92]

[Image: screenshot_2018-08-21_21.04.13.jpg?itok=5oPsZY92]

"He's had plenty of opportunities to go out and made a difference on the ice this year, it just hasn't happened,"
said Vancouver Whalers coach Joln Dubolk before their last home game against the Lethbridge Lions two days
ago. "It's hard. We try not to talk about the results with him, we talk about the process. Cullen [Gray] has done
a great job on teaching him to get to those areas and working on tips, screens, and shielding the puck."

And yet, here we are. Ohlsson has been quite unnoticeable in most contest this season, is being outplayed by
his rookie counterparts in defender Bjorn Leppanen and wing partner Francois Breton, and has quickly assumed
the label of "unfortunately healthy". He also is not helping a middle of the pack Vancouver offense put goal up
on the board.

"He needs to be playing at the same level as other people do," Dubolk added. "We consistently have to be
penetrating the middle of the ice inside the dots and we need to be stopping at nets and have balance and have
a triangle in the offensive zone with our forwards. He needs to understand that he's going to score goals between
the hash marks to the goal line and the blue paint. That's where he needs to be in order to have success."

Seems simple enough, right? And yet, Ohlsson cannot seem to get it down. He and Marcus Weiser are the only
two forwards on the team to have failed to put up an assist with the Vancouver Whalers this season. The
difference between the two? Weiser has put up an astounding 54.64% face off percentage and added twelve hits
and a shot blocked while playing only slightly more time per game.

Kaspars Claude, Mikas Bieksa, and Joe Ackroyd are three defenseman who have all scored at least four more
points in a Whalers uniform this year than Ohlsson. Claude and Ackroyd have both even matched his goal total.

It's a challenging situation that can seriously weigh on the conscience of a player as the season rages on.
Coming into the season, the initial hope was that Ohlsson could score 20-25 points and provide some much
needed depth on the Whalers championship roster which saw a large number of veteran players move up to
the SHL. He's not even close to that at this point.

[Image: 5ccc9620240000d30b547138.jpeg]

Tomorrow night, Ohlsson will slot back into the lineup as the Vancouver Whalers take on the St. Louis
Scarecrows. He'll find himself on the third line alongside Marcus Weiser and Sami Reider. It will be his
ninth start of the season and will once again offer him a chance to build towards offensive consistency.
That starts with proper positioning in the offensive zone, using his size and reach to protect the puck
on zone entries, and making timely decisions when the puck is on his stick.

It's a process and is one that seems to be slowly grinding along for the Swedish winger. Will it eventually
pan out? Or could Ohlsson's struggles push his future with Vancouver further into question?

ontanis · 08-12-2019, 06:46 AM

this is a nice article, man! keep this up, was a great read. glad to have ya with us!

CleverPin · 08-12-2019, 02:35 PM

08-12-2019, 06:46 AMontanis Wrote: this is a nice article, man! keep this up, was a great read. glad to have ya with us!

Thank you! Hopefully I start to put up some points haha

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