Erik Brannstrom is a legit NHL level puck moving D

[Billy Kvcmu]

Amazing how VAN got him

Was mistreated and hated by DJ Smith in Ottawa for simply not being 6’2 200 lbs

Was dumped by COL for Poolman so they could active LTIR

Now he has found a home in VAN under Toecchet’s system

 

[Turin]

About time he found a home. He was hockey's best prospect a million years ago.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

He's averaging 15:00 a game and has 6 points...how 'legit' can he be?

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Good player. Our D would be a complete and total clusterf*** without him, especially now with Hronek going down.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

He's averaging 15:00 a game and has 6 points...how 'legit' can he be?

That sounds like a bottom 6 OFD to me

 

[Leafshater67]

He's averaging 15:00 a game and has 6 points...how 'legit' can he be?

not everybody gets to be a superstar. He’s proving he’s an NHL calibre guy who can add puck moving to the bottom pairing and breaking the idea that he was a tweener.

 

[geebster]

He has scored clutch goals multiple times now and has looked good out there. Hopefully he gets more minutes so Hughes isn't playing over 30 every game anymore. Quinn has (somehow) taken another big step forward this year and is now taking over every game, but if he keeps playing this much and gets hurt the Canucks are done. Brannstrom could be part of the solution, and imo has played well enough to try it.

 

[HockeyVirus]

not everybody gets to be a superstar. He’s proving he’s an NHL calibre guy who can add puck moving to the bottom pairing and breaking the idea that he was a tweener.

Let's see where he is when playoff roll around. Liljegren looked fine as well and never found his way into a playoff lineup

 

[VanillaCoke]

The Brannchise has arrived

 

[IComeInPeace]

We tried to move him up the lineup against the Pens a few nights ago and it didn’t work out so well.

In his defence though, he was playing with Tyler Myers who is doing everything possible to make sure his partner struggles as bad as he does.

He looks nice in a bottom pairing role.
It would be a really nice bonus if he could keep it up higher up the lineup.

 

[Dionysus]

not everybody gets to be a superstar. He’s proving he’s an NHL calibre guy who can add puck moving to the bottom pairing and breaking the idea that he was a tweener.

He was an NHL caliber puck mover the last 2 seasons in Ottawa. Looks like he is finding a good home though, nice to see.

 

[Regal]

He was basically written off as a dead and buried bust by many if not everyone

He played 70+ games each of the past two years. He was a solid pickup for the team but he’s already shown he’s a capable NHL bottom pair.

 

[Fatass]

Is Branstrom following the Forsling path? UFA, traded, waivers. And starts turning into a player. Must have a good head on his shoulders and understand how he has to play to be in the National League.

 

[GreatSaveLuongo]

His path is a story, because he wasn't getting a chance anywhere and if is a contract dump/waivers guy.

 

[Bounces R Way]

He's played 286 NHL games lol
not exactly new information here

Still think he's too slow and small to be anything more than filler but good for him for making the most out of his opportunity in Van. Looking like a competent puck mover on a blueline with the likes of Juulsen, Myers, Soucy, and Forbort I don't think is super impressive personally.

 

[Coffey]

He’s coming for Edlers 2nd place spot on all time assists as a Canuck dman.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Amazing how VAN got him

Was mistreated and hated by DJ Smith in Ottawa for simply not being 6’2 200 lbs

Was dumped by COL for Poolman so they could active LTIR

Now he has found a home in VAN under Toecchet’s system

DJ Smith hated him so much he played him more than Tocchet has, like, 200 times

 

[KevinRedkey]

His problem was always size, which is often needed in a 3rd pairing role. If you can see past that, then he's a solid and capable NHL defenceman. The only news here is someone outside of Ottawa has taken notice.

 

[NextGoalIsHuge]

I'm quite happy with him too. Though, its still early. Let's let things play out.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Ewww a Canuck....

I liked him better when he was a Vegas Golden Knight.

 

[robsenz]

I've defended this guy for years on this forum, should have been developed better than he was, Ottawa didn't do much for his progression at all.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Yeah we knew this, unfortunately he isn’t a 6’4 ogre who’s dumb as rocks, which is what the Sens prefer.

 

[tucker3434]

A lot of teams aren’t going to have room for an OFD on the bottom pairing (including Colorado). Same with putting a small scoring forward in your bottom 6. It works out okay when they’re showing up in the scoresheet. But the moment they aren’t, teams tend to want a PK specialist or some other low event player that can eat some bad minutes in that spot.

Is Vancouver really going to give the guy 70%+ o zone starts indefinitely?

 

[Rowlet]

A lot of teams aren’t going to have room for an OFD on the bottom pairing (including Colorado). Same with putting a small scoring forward in your bottom 6. It works out okay when they’re showing up in the scoresheet. But the moment they aren’t, teams tend to want a PK specialist or some other low event player that can eat some bad minutes in that spot.

Is Vancouver really going to give the guy 70%+ o zone starts indefinitely?

Zone starts aren't a great measure of how sheltered someone is anymore, the vast majority of shifts are started on the fly.

Besides, he's only like 2% higher than Makar.

 

[tucker3434]

Zone starts aren't a great measure of how sheltered someone is anymore, the vast majority of shifts are started on the fly.

Besides, he's only like 2% higher than Makar.

But guys like Makar (and Hughes) are who you really want to be giving those o zone starts to. I wouldn’t want a Brannstrom higher than a Hughes in that stat. That’s not what my bottom pairing defensemen are for.