Coming into the season for the St. Louis Blues, two off-season acquisitions stood out compared to the others. The additions of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway were different because they signed for the Blues by accepting an offer sheet, which the Edmonton Oilers decided not to match, something that is not done very often in the NHL.
Out of the two players, it was Broberg who came in with more hype, based upon his performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs, that saw him help the Oilers advance to the finals. Fans accepted that the team may have overpaid for Broberg based upon his small sample size but saw that the potential was there for him to be an excellent defenceman. Holloway, on the other hand, was more of an unknown.
Before this season, Dylan Holloway struggled to stay up and produce in the NHL, managing nine goals and 18 points in 89 career games. It seemed he needed a fresh start, which the Blues offer-sheet allowed him to do. Thanks to injuries throughout the season, Holloway got the opportunity to move up and down the lineup, producing when he was called upon, proving that the Blues were right to take a chance on him. The Blues believed that Holloway could develop into a player who could fit into their up-and-coming young core, but I doubt they thought he would take the step forward this quickly.
Dylan Holloway's has been a little surprising, to say the least, nearly doubling up on his career totals in just 28 games so far this season. Holloway has nine goals and 17 points, both career highs, with more than half of the season still to go. He started the season off a little slow, which is natural when you are a young guy trying to find your place on a new team.
However, in the last 3 weeks, he has been playing some of the best hockey of his career. Coinciding with the hiring of Jim Montgomery as the team's new head coach, Holloway, since the game against the New York Rangers on November 25th, has 5 goals and 9 points in six games. It is the best stretch of play of his career, and now that he has found some momentum, it is up to him to keep this play going to show that he deserves to be playing on the team's top-6 one day.
It is too early to say that Holloway will be this type of player for the rest of his career, but it is a positive that he finally seems comfortable playing at the NHL level. Holloway is on pace to potentially break the 50-point plateau this season. For a guy making $2.3 million this season, that is a good return on your investments, especially for someone so young with a lot of potential still to show and improve. Hopefully, he continues to improve, and instead of it seeming like a surprise, it becomes the norm for Holloway.