Traded Erik Brännström - D - Part III

[Mark Stones Spleen]

Just saw the highlights, that looked intentional. There's nobody else (minus Chabot) on our defense who could make that play.

 

[OD99]

Gord Wilson just finished crapping all over Branny (in his way) on the Team just now. It's almost personal with him and Dean...Branny can just not do anything worthwhile to them at all.

 

[bert]

Gord Wilson just finished crapping all over Branny (in his way) on the Team just now. It's almost personal with him and Dean...Branny can just not do anything worthwhile to them at all.

Yeah he really doesnt seem to like him eh. I mean I dont love his game personally, I think he is just too big of a liability defensively and hasnt shown enough offensively but they really have it out for him. If he can improve his skating and explosiveness maybe he carves out a career.

Just saw the highlights, that looked intentional. There's nobody else (minus Chabot) on our defense who could make that play.

Great play by Brannstrom for sure! One of if not maybe the best he has ever made as a Sen. Del Zotto has made a bunch of high IQ shots/passes as well. I have been pleasantly surprised with MDZ since he was called back up.

So last year and this year combined has been pretty much Brann's first full year in the NHL.

He has 78 games with 26 points. HIs PDO this year is very low but he got a little puck luck last year so maybe he is more of a 28-30 point guy in 78 game balancing everything out. As basically a rookie.

Nobody outside of Chabot produces more on this team (Zub is pretty much on par). The last few games he has looked way more engaged in his own end and confident at taking the right side of board battles and coming away with the puck. He's figured out every league he's played in and I think he's figuring out the NHL; he won't dominate this league like he did others but he's figuring out how to be effective. All positive signs.

But there are things that need to be addressed. And it's not the usual "he's small and not that fast" stuff we usually hear. He seems to space out from time to time. And it results in open players. He seems too cautious in all zones these days. I think this also leads to poor gap control. I think coaching can help but he needs to react more quickly at times. I have faith that he will because he's already massively improved in that area on dump ins.

A work in progress but we have one, maybe two, players in the org who can move the puck out of our zone and through the neutral zone like him

Del Zotto has out produced Brannstrom substantially with less opportunity.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I don't think I've seen anyone here say Brannstrom is no good.

The main issue with Brannstrom is that he is a smart player who knows what to do but, especially defensively, struggles to execute at key moments.

He is solid with the puck and has a decent stick but he regularly gets overpowered. That makes him a liability on the defensive side of things and while he has good vision and moves the puck around well, he also doesn't produce much.

 

[Micklebot]

Del Zotto has out produced Brannstrom substantially with less opportunity.

Del Zotto has out produced Chabot when you break it down, he's got more ES pts per game despite getting about 2/3rd the icetime, and his pts/60 on the PP is better than Chabot's too. It's not at all sustainable, I'm not saying he hasn't had some good play since returning, but he isn't going to keep it up, that's for sure.

 

[bert]

Del Zotto has out produced Chabot when you break it down, he's got more ES pts per game despite getting about 2/3rd the icetime, and his pts/60 on the PP is better than Chabot's too. It's not at all sustainable, I'm not saying he hasn't had some good play since returning, but he isn't going to keep it up, that's for sure.

He is alot better than I expected, great outlet passes and good deception. His legs definitely limit him but the IQ is there, great at getting his shots through. His production was way better than I expected in the AHL, a pleasant surprise overall. Live he has been impressive when you're in the lower bowl. You cant tell from t.v but alot of his passes are clean because they are no look and delay the forchecker. As a depth d man I dont mind him.

 

[Micklebot]

He is alot better than I expected, great outlet passes and good deception. His legs definitely limit him but the IQ is there, great at getting his shots through. His production was way better than I expected in the AHL, a pleasant surprise overall. Live he has been impressive when you're in the lower bowl. You cant tell from t.v but alot of his passes are clean because they are no look and delay the forchecker. As a depth d man I dont mind him.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put him down, he's been fine since the callup, looked terrible imo prior to getting sent down despite the points but credit where it's due he's played solid since. I just find the comparison in production with Brannstrom very misleading since it's pretty clear imo that he's not going to keep producing at that level even if his level of play remains the same. On the flip side, you've got Brannstrom doing a lot of the things that usually result in points being held off the scoresheet, They are on opposite ends of the pendulum and both will swing back towards the middle.

 

[bert]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put him down, he's been fine since the callup, looked terrible imo prior to getting sent down despite the points but credit where it's due he's played solid since. I just find the comparison in production with Brannstrom very misleading since it's pretty clear imo that he's not going to keep producing at that level even if his level of play remains the same. On the flip side, you've got Brannstrom doing a lot of the things that usually result in points being held off the scoresheet, They are on opposite ends of the pendulum and both will swing back towards the middle.

I dont agree, I think Del Zotto has better offensive instincts. Better shot, better passer for sure. Brannstrom creates more with his skating but he is terrible at getting his shot through. Neither are anything spectacular but Del Zotto has been better at creating offense and has out produced him because of it.. Brannstroms biggest issue is his shot he misses way too much.

 

[Sensinitis]

I dont agree, I think Del Zotto has better offensive instincts. Better shot, better passer for sure. Brannstrom creates more with his skating but he is terrible at getting his shot through. Neither are anything spectacular but Del Zotto has been better at creating offense and has out produced him because of it.. Brannstroms biggest issue is his shot he misses way too much.

I generally agree with your takes and I agree that Del Zotta has a better shot which is Brannstrom’s biggest issue.

But Brannstrom is the way better passer here… he makes amazing crisp stretch passes every night and his offensive zone passing is very good

 

[coladin]

I think for Branny, he is getting pushed out. It happens and I think he missed his chance, especially with Chabot out, to really cement himself in the organization. I don't see how they do not package him in the summer or at the draft

 

[Micklebot]

I dont agree, I think Del Zotto has better offensive instincts. Better shot, better passer for sure. Brannstrom creates more with his skating but he is terrible at getting his shot through. Neither are anything spectacular but Del Zotto has been better at creating offense and has out produced him because of it.. Brannstroms biggest issue is his shot he misses way too much.

I've seen this thrown around a lot, I don't think it's entirely accurate. From an eye test perspective, I've seen him get lots of shots through, and it's backed up by the numbers too; Among the D, he has the 2nd most rebounds created on the team despite playing far less mins, his shots/60 is 3rd among D behind only Chabot and a small sample of Hamonic, his % of shot attempts that make on net is 2nd on the team behind only Chabot. If he's terrible at getting shots through then so is everyone because he's getting a ton of shots through. Where I do find he has an issue is he'll try to force things too much occasionally and end up creating a rush the other way by putting into the challenging forwards shin pads rather than make a safer play getting it deep and trust that the forwards will recover. I think this got a bit magnified as he hasn't been getting the production he wants so he's forcing things imo.

 

[bert]

I've seen this thrown around a lot, I don't think it's entirely accurate. From an eye test perspective, I've seen him get lots of shots through, and it's backed up by the numbers too; Among the D, he has the 2nd most rebounds created on the team despite playing far less mins, his shots/60 is 3rd among D behind only Chabot and a small sample of Hamonic, his % of shot attempts that make on net is 2nd on the team behind only Chabot. If he's terrible at getting shots through then so is everyone because he's getting a ton of shots through. Where I do find he has an issue is he'll try to force things too much occasionally and end up creating a rush the other way by putting into the challenging forwards shin pads rather than make a safer play getting it deep and trust that the forwards will recover. I think this got a bit magnified as he hasn't been getting the production he wants so he's forcing things imo.

Well he chokes when it counts most then. The amount of times I have sworn at the t.v because he misses an easy chance or gets it blocked its unbelievable. Do you have this actual data? I am very skeptical sorry. He has no goals and 13 assists that is alot of bad luck. But the fact of the matter is the eye test matches his actual production for a reason.

 

[Micklebot]

Well he chokes when it counts most then. The amount of times I have sworn at the t.v because he misses an easy chance or gets it blocked its unbelievable. Do you have this actual data? I am very skeptical sorry. He has no goals and 13 assists that is alot of bad luck. But the fact of the matter is the eye test matches his actual production for a reason.

It's all from Natural statrick which pulls from the NHL game sheets.

 

[Sweatred]

I generally agree with your takes and I agree that Del Zotta has a better shot which is Brannstrom’s biggest issue.

But Brannstrom is the way better passer here… he makes amazing crisp stretch passes every night and his offensive zone passing is very good

MDZ can’t even skate … Mark Stone and DZingle didn’t have their shots at 22 either …

I dont agree, I think Del Zotto has better offensive instincts. Better shot, better passer for sure. Brannstrom creates more with his skating but he is terrible at getting his shot through. Neither are anything spectacular but Del Zotto has been better at creating offense and has out produced him because of it.. Brannstroms biggest issue is his shot he misses way too much.

MDZ can barley skate … I have zero concerns about a 22 year old in his first full seasons who hasn’t fully developed his shot.

 

[bert]

It's all from Natural statrick which pulls from the NHL game sheets.

Are you sure NHL game sheets track that type of data, specifically rebound chances?... I am on the site maybe I am missing it but I dont see it can you show me? I see team stats and player shift lengths.

 

[Micklebot]

Are you sure NHL game sheets track that type of data, specifically rebound chances?... I am on the site maybe I am missing it but I dont see it can you show me? I see team stats and player shift lengths.

Some of the stats like expected goals are derived from game sheet data, I believe rebounds may be one of them but it's been a while since I read methodology for this stuff. If memory serves a rebound is when a shot is taken within x seconds of a save.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Holden and DelZotto are out producing him as well this year.

I'm going by his rate over a full season. MDZ has too small a sample size.

 

[JD1]

Are you sure NHL game sheets track that type of data, specifically rebound chances?... I am on the site maybe I am missing it but I dont see it can you show me? I see team stats and player shift lengths.

Rebounds created is on natural stat trick. It's on the "individual" page. I just looked, 2nd on team. I'm sure @Micklebot is pretty good on those stats, I looked at that data last week and had similar numbers.

Brannstrom seems to be doing everything that leads to points except actually getting points

He does have 8 in the 17 games Chabot has been out

 

[bert]

Rebounds created is on natural stat trick. It's on the "individual" page. I just looked, 2nd on team. I'm sure @Micklebot is pretty good on those stats, I looked at that data last week and had similar numbers.

Brannstrom seems to be doing everything that leads to points except actually getting points

He does have 8 in the 17 games Chabot has been out

I'll take the real points over the should have been points.

 

[Micklebot]

I'll take the real points over the should have been points.

If we're talking real points, over the last two seasons MDZ and Brannstrom have the exact same number of points in pretty much the same number of games.

I'm a process guy though, I watch us play terrible and squeek out a win and I'm not optimistic for next time, but if we play well and come up short that's fine because over the long haul the wins will come, same thing applies on the individual level.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I'll take the real points over the should have been points.

8 in 17 playing with a competent partner. ~40 full season.

 

[bert]

8 in 17 playing with a competent partner. ~40 full season.

He won't be getting first pp looks that's where his points are coming from.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

He won't be getting first pp looks that's where his points are coming from.

No but he may QB a decent second one. And also factor in some bounces. Wouldn’t be surprised to see 30 next year if he’s still with us.

 

[bert]

No but he may QB a decent second one. And also factor in some bounces. Wouldn’t be surprised to see 30 next year if he’s still with us.

His even strength production has been bad this year. Sanderson likely takes the 2nd unit pp spot. He will be a good depth player for this team when there are injuries.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

His even strength production has been bad this year. Sanderson likely takes the 2nd unit pp spot. He will be a good depth player for this team when there are injuries.

Lots of people even strength production have been bad. He’s looked decent. Playing in a way where points usually come. They haven’t. I bet they will. We will see.