Emil Bemstrom was one of several rookies — 13 all total — to lace up the skates for the Blue Jackets in 2019-20.
One of three players to make his NHL debut, Bemstrom, now 21-years-old, came into the league out of Sweden where he played for teams such as Djurgårdens IF in 2018-19. Bemstrom was most recently loaned to HIFK Helsinki to get some ice-time prior to whenever the 2020-21 season kicks off. Which might be January.
So there was some excitement around Bemstrom, such as his bread-and-butter one-time shot that maybe some figured would help wake up a three-plus-year dazed and confused power play. It certainly could at some point.
Maybe things were a little slower to form and develop than people expected but he’s still very young and finding himself over here. His ice-time for the playoffs was rather unspectacular, only getting a handful of minutes, and only playing more than 10 minutes once (12:40) in Game 3 against the Lightning.
Emil Bemstrom 2019-20 Stats
Regular Season
Games Played: 56
Goals: 10
Assists: 10
Points: 20
Plus/Minus: -10
PIM: 8
5v5 CF%: 49.2
5v5 FF%: 48.5
Playoffs
Games Played: 5
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Points: 0
Plus/Minus: -1
PIM: 2
5v5 CF%: 41.7
5v5 FF%: 41.2
Contract Status
Bemstrom is on his entry-lever contact, which runs through the 2021-22 season. He is making an AAV of $1,633,333 and comes with a cap hit of $925,000.
High Point
He only had 20 points on the season, and while it took him 16 games into the season to score his first-career goal — which he did Nov. 7 against the Coyotes — that kick-started a bit of a scoring vibe for the young forward. He followed up his first-career goal just one game later against the Avalanche. Bemstrom also had assists in each of the next three games, as well as one more goal for a streak of six points in five games.
Bemstrom also finished the regular season with goals in three-straight, four of five, and five of the last eight games.
Low Point
Bemstrom missed 12 games due to a dislocated rib and broken cartilage suffered after a crosscheck by Brian Boyle last December at the Panthers. He went long stretches of games without scoring, but we’ve seen the potential come in spurts when it does occur.
Ahead of the next NHL season, we will see how the extra ice-time in Europe suits players like Bemstrom, as he continues to mature and develop. He’s considered a big part of the up-and-coming Blue Jackets young core.
How would you grade Emil Bemström’s 2019-20 season?
| A | 1 |
| B | 25 |
| C | 46 |
| D | 5 |
| F | 0 |