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Poised and Productive

Offensive revival has Jonas Brodin back on track

Photo by Jonny Watkins for Minnesota Hockey Magazine

Offensive revival has Jonas Brodin back on track

A new season for the Minnesota Wild has brought with it a more offensive version of defenseman Jonas Brodin.

That’s by design, Brodin said recently.

Always considered a strong two-day defenseman, Brodin seemed to be on the verge of adding a more potent offensive component during the 2013-14 season, when he scored eight goals in 79 games and two more in 13 playoff games.

But Brodin, who suffered a broken jaw in October 2013, for some reason saw his production dive during the second half of that campaign. He scored just one goal after Dec. 29, 2013, then tallied three goals the following season.

It was not what he wanted, especially after signing a six-year, $25 million contract extension in October 2014. Then he followed that with just a two-goal output in 2015-16.

“Bad year last year,” he said late last month. “But I don’t think about that anymore.”

Now it’s a different season; different story.

“You don’t usually see a defenseman with as much poise as he has at that age, and he’s only going to get better.” – Devan Dubnyk on Jonas Brodin

To read more of this article, and many other great stories like it, click HERE to view the January, 2017 issue of our digital magazine and subscribe to have future issues delivered directly to your email inbox. 

BB covered sports for the Minneapolis Tribune for 13 years and for the St. Paul Pioneer Press for 20 years following stints at the International Falls Daily Journal and the Duluth News-Tribune. He was on the Wild beat as well as Gophers men's and women's hockey at the Pioneer Press. He lives in Minneapolis. Follow Bruce on Twitter @RealBBrothers

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