This was the problem for Blues center Kyle Brodziak: He was so good at being a fourth-line center that coach Mike Yeo was reluctant to move him up in the lineup, lest he break up one of the few good things the team has going on offense.
The Blues’ offensive concerns finally hit the point where all options were on the table, and that has meant a jump up to the third line for Brodziak, skating between Patrik Berglund and Alexander Steen. It took just a few seconds Saturday night for the group to find success, with Brodziak finishing off a pass from Steen for a goal in the Blues’ 3-2 win over Carolina.
For a while at least, Brodziak is going to keep getting a spot on the third line, which has proved to be one of the Blues’ sore spots all season. It’s a timely reward for a guy who has been one of the most dependable and essential players on the Blues this season.
“He’s been unbelievable lately,” defenseman Colton Parayko said. “He’s one of the hardest working guys. He’ll go anywhere, he’ll do anything for other guys. He’s a guy you can rely on in all situations, no matter where we are in the game, what the situation is. That’s what we need.”
“Brodzie’s still in the league and still a contributing factor on good teams because of who he is,” said longtime fourth-line mate Scottie Upshall. “He’s a well-respected teammate and a leader. He plays with an edge, wins faceoffs, a penalty killer. For him, being consistent and chipping in offensively when he gets an opportunity, what else do you need? What else do you ask from a guy like that?”
And, Upshall adds, “I always thought Brodziak was a great last name too.”
This promotion is not totally alien to Brodziak: there was a life before the fourth line for him. Back when he was with Minnesota, playing under Yeo, he had 16 goals and 21 assists in 2010-11 and he had 22 goals and 22 assists in 2011-12. Injuries pushed him into the top six of the Wild’s forwards those seasons and he got more power-play time, all of which came together to make him into a significant offensive contributor.
But when his production dropped off — eight goals in the lockout-truncated 2012-13 season and nine goals in 2014-15 — he found himself on the fourth line.
“When I was playing on the third line, I probably wasn’t producing offensively as they would like the third-line players to do, that’s how it went,” he said Monday. “I went to the fourth.”
The line may have changed but the player didn’t.
“When you’re playing in a top six role,” Yeo said, “in one sense it’s harder because you’re getting harder matchups, but the other part for creating offense is you’re playing with skilled players too that can find you, guys that can make plays. His role’s been a little different for us moving him up here and he’s been really successful and really effective in that and right now we need something different from him. What I like is, he’s still Kyle Brodziak, he’s still competitive, still great defensively, and obviously playing with two real good hockey players, they have a chance as a line to make some plays.”
Brodziak doesn’t mind the promotion because it means more ice time. He came into the game Saturday averaging 11 minutes, 49 seconds a game. Against Carolina, he played 16:19, his most this season by three minutes.
“You always want to play as much as you can,” Brodziak said. “It’s not like I’m trying to change anything about my game. I’m trying to play the same way, it’s just you get out there a few more times in each period. It’s just nice to get out there as much as you can.
“It’s different expectation (on the fourth line). You have less minutes to try and be effective and stay in the game. You still know you have to go out there and bring something: be physical, create energy and momentum, it’s different. Sometimes you’re sitting there for a few minutes and you haven’t played in a while and you have to bring energy. It’s definitely a tough role.”
Brodziak had a goal and an assist Saturday, giving him seven and eight, respectively, this season. While that puts him ninth on the Blues’ point list, he’s played significantly less time than everyone else. If you figure it by points per 60 minutes played, he’s fifth at 1.88, behind only heavyweights Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny.
“I think there are a lot of people around the league who would view him as easily one of the top fourth-line centermen in the NHL,” Yeo said. “He’s so solid in his role. He’s a guy you can trust in every penalty kill, you can trust in faceoffs, you can trust in all D-zone situations, but still is able to get to the game that you want to play as a team. Injuries are going to happen over the course of the year or maybe somebody has to move down. He’s proving he can move up and play in those situations. He’s had a heck of a year for us. He’s skating really well, he’s playing very confident and we’re happy he’s getting this opportunity because it’s very well deserved.”
“He wasn’t a high pick (he went in the seventh round in 2003), but he earned his respect through his hard work and his consistent play,” said Upshall, who like Brodziak is from Alberta and played against him in juniors. “He’s worked himself into a good spot. You look at what he brings to the table for our group, for any group in the league for that matter, he’s definitely earned his paycheck.”