Waived: Erik Brannstrom placed on waivers (update: CLEARED)

[Quinning]

We've probably seen Brannstrom's last game in Vancouver Canucks uniform. He's an RFA heading into next season, but it would a shock if he gets qualified.

It was a nice story for awhile, and if he was right-shot defender instead of a lefty, he might still be here. I mean the only reason Juulsen and Desharnais (who's been healthy-scratched at least 10 times) are still here, is that they shoot right.

It's certainly not because they're anything more than 'marginal' NHL defenders. But it's also the reason they were forced to offer 34-year old Tyler Myers a three year deal. If he's still here at age 37, I plan to tape my eyes shut.

But just goes to show---when you find a right-shot d-man like Tom Wilander who looks like he can chew bubble gum and actually handle the puck at the same time--you hang on for dear life.

The moral of the Brannstrom story, like we've seen a thousand other times during the Sea of Granlunds:

If a player in his mid 20s has been passed around by a few teams and isn't able to play regular minutes while contributing, there's a 95% chance he's not going to magically figure it out playing on this team.

 

[MS]

The moral of the Brannstrom story, like we've seen a thousand other times during the Sea of Granlunds:

If a player in his mid 20s has been passed around by a few teams and isn't able to play regular minutes while contributing, there's a 95% chance he's not going to magically figure it out playing on this team.

I mean, we've also seen Joshua and Sherwood blow up huge here as mid-20s fringe NHL players.

But the general thing is that late bloomers were usually late picks or not drafted at all. It's very rare for a 1st round pick to get all the opportunity in the world for 5 years from age 18-23 and not be good enough ... and then magically find something later.

 

[KaraLupin]

There was a period where Tocchete tried to finesse a viable usage pattern for Brannstrom and everyone thought they had a new top 4 D. But the reality is his defensive awareness mixed with lack of physicality just completely overbear any advantages to squeaking his offense onto the team. Even one of his strong suits of puck moving completely erodes for periods of time. Just really hard to commit to that kind of player.

 

[Siludin]

I mean, we've also seen Joshua and Sherwood blow up huge here as mid-20s fringe NHL players.

But the general thing is that late bloomers were usually late picks or not drafted at all. It's very rare for a 1st round pick to get all the opportunity in the world for 5 years from age 18-23 and not be good enough ... and then magically find something later.

I think the excitement came from the perspect that, even if Brannstrom were to improve on his game even by some marginal amount with the Canucks, he'd be at least a bottom pairing option considering his current competition.
But Hronek pushed him down the lineup and with Brisebois back, they're happy to juggle the rest.

Frankly, I'm looking forward to seeing Brisebois also play a solid 20 games and see what he looks like when he finds his stride. He has looked like an NHLer at times and he is known for his steady play, but I am not going to judge him until I see him at full speed.