The best of Oliver Bjorkstrand ... so far

About the only thing that could stop Oliver Bjorkstrand in 2019-20 was the injury bug.

Had the Blue Jackets winger not missed a month thanks to an oblique/rib injury and then suffered what at the time seemed like a season-ending broken leg in February, there's no telling just how good a season Bjorkstrand could have had.

The Danish winger finished with a CBJ-best 21 goals along with 15 assists for 36 points in 49 games. That put him on pace for 35 goals and 60 points over an 82-game season, and he might have done even better than that considering he had a 14-6-20 line in his last 17 games of the campaign.

Add in the fact that he had dominant advanced stats when it comes to shot attempts, shot quality and scoring chances - all of which were tilted heavily toward the Blue Jackets when he was on the ice - and Bjorkstrand was one of the NHL's breakout players of the season when he was healthy.

"Yeah, I was definitely feeling good," Bjorkstrand said of his play before being injured. "A lot of times that goes hand in hand that when you're feeling good on the ice, naturally when you're out there your confidence seems better and when you shoot the puck it comes off your stick better and comes off with more confidence. I thought I had a good start to the season this year, which is something I always wanted to be a little bit better about. I thought it was good this year, I just didn't really get the goals or the points to match up with that so it's still something I need to work on there.

"But obviously I got it going and started scoring those goals, and that's something I'd like to hold on to and try to start that way if we play the rest of the season or the start of next season."

In addition, the 2013 third-round draft pick was often praised by head coach John Tortorella for his ability to win battles for pucks and his gritty play along the wall, which often allowed the Blue Jackets to create scoring chances through keeping possession in the offensive zone and gave Bjorkstrand the chance to create more chances of his own.

The NHL plans to resume the season in the coming weeks with training camps due to begin July 10, but for now, watch the video above for highlights from Bjorkstrand's season.