Should the Penguins Claim Oliver Wahlstrom?

I was working the front desk at Wright’s Gym yesterday, attending to business, when fellow PPer Caleb DiNatale texted with some breaking hockey news. Namely, the Islanders placed forwards Oliver Wahlstrom and Pierre Engvall on waivers.

“Those should both be Penguin pickups,” Caleb opined.

I’ve come to greatly respect my colleague’s eye for undervalued talent. Of course, it got me thinking.

Should we put in a claim for either or both?

I’m not all that enthused about Engvall. More on that in a bit.

But Wahlstrom?

I’ve always been intrigued. A former first-round pick (11^th overall) of the Islanders back in 2018, the Portland, Maine, native does possess some pedigree.

“Walhstrom is big, strong, lethal from the circles down and loves driving into the dirty areas to finish a play,” noted Cam Robinson of Dobber Prospects.

He enjoyed a solid start to his career, netting a dozen goals in 44 games with the Isles as a 20-year-old rookie during the Covid shortened ’20-21 season. Roughly a 22-goal pace over a full 82-game slate.

Over the next season-and-a-half Wahlstrom continued to produce at a decent clip (20 goals in 108 games).

However, his season—and budding career—were derailed, ironically, during a 5-1 victory over our Penguins on December 27, 2022. On his first shift of the night, Wahlstrom blasted Chad Ruhwedel in the corner with a huge hit. Although he sent Rudy flying, the Isles’ forward was forced to leave the game with a season-ending knee injury.

It could be argued that he hasn’t been the same player since (only four goals over his last 59 NHL games).

So why does he pique my interest?

I’ll let Steve Kournianos of the Draft Analyst fill in the blanks.

“Wahlstrom is a dominant power winger with elite puck skills, highlighted by a devastatingly accurate shot,” Kournianos wrote back in 2018. “He has very good speed with an above-average first step. And although he is no straight-line road-runner, his footwork, balance and lateral skating ability are all excellent, and he uses a keen understanding of play development to get the extra step or two he needs to create plenty of space between the opponent and him.”

I especially like the fact that the 6’2” 204-pounder plays a power game, a quality in desperately short supply on our Pens. Wahlstrom’s no shrinking violet, either. He’ll drop the gloves when push comes to shove. Handles himself pretty well, too, as this 2022 tilt with Tony DeAngelo will attest. And he’s only 24.

Affordable, too, at $1 million per.

How likely are we to claim him?

To be honest, not very. We already have a Wahlstrom-type right wing in Jesse Puljujärvi parked in the press box, dining on nachos. And there’s the not-so-small matter of teams below us in the standings possibly putting in a claim. But in a perfect world, I’d love to nab him.

As for Engvall? He’s a hulking 6’5”, 215-pound left wing who can really skate. Certainly an intriguing combination. The 28-year-old Swede’s been reasonably productive, too, with 15- and 17-goal seasons on his resume. His GM in Toronto, where he spent his formative years?

Noneother than Kyle Dubas.

Before you get too excited, Engvall’s reputed to be pudding “soff,” a bone of contention in previous stops.

Which means we’ll probably claim him.