SENSNEWS

Erik Brannstrom Defensive Career

Even since joining the Ottawa Senators at the NHL level, Erik Brannstrom has been a polarizing piece of the defence core. There’s no debating that he hasn’t reached his full potential as an offensive defenceman quite yet.

But Jacques Martin and the coaching staff experimented with Brannstrom at left wing against the Sabres, and it went about as well as anybody could have hoped. So it brings up the question, could Erik Brannstrom be a long-term fit at forward?

Erik Brannstrom has played 216 career NHL games as a defender for the Ottawa Senators. In these games, Brannstrom has scored six goals and 51 assists for 57 points. For someone who was touted as an elite offensive defenceman, these are disappointing for sure.

But Brannstrom managed to turn himself into a more effective defensive player in Ottawa. When the points failed to come, he adjusted his play to gain trust from the coaching staff in his own end and on the penalty kill. He still, to this point, is a staple on the backend when the Senators are short-handed.

However, Brannstrom’s role at defence still seems unclear long-term. With players like Tyler Kleven and Max Guenette getting closer to being NHL-ready, Brannstrom’s time on the blue line seems limited.

Erik Brannstrom Forward Success

So what if the Senators decided to keep Brannstrom at forward? Well, at the very least, it looks much better for him if he wants to stick on this team long-term.

The left-wing depth of the Senators is quite weak, and there aren’t many prospects outside of Roby Järventie who look like they will be ready to take that step soon.

Against the Sabres, the Senator’s fourth line had, by far their best game of the season. Of course, not all of that can be attributed to Branny, but it’s definitely something to take notice of.

In fact, Erik Brannstrom had arguably his best game in the NHL on New Year’s Eve. He finished with an assist and almost scored one of the prettiest goals of the season for the Senators.

Erik Brannstrom Advanced Statistics Against Sabres

Brannstrom also led, or nearly led, the Senators in every advanced metric. He finished with a:

• 51.72 CF%

• 81.18 xGF%

• 56.25 SCF%

• 83.33 HDCF%

He managed to do this in a game when the Sabres grossly outshot the Senators. Usually, that is a bad sign for a team’s underlying metrics. But this points to the fact that the Senator’s heavily outplayed the Sabres when Brannstrom was on the ice.

The eye test backed up these statistics as well. Brannstrom looked as comfortable as I have ever seen him in this game. He played some of the most creative and exciting hockey of his career in limited minutes.

He also didn’t shy away from getting to the dirty areas of the ice, which is sometimes a concern for undersized players.

If Brannstrom can play the role of a bottom-six offensive winger while also being a penalty killer on the backend, he will become one of the most interesting players in the league. Versatility has been a strength of Erik Brannstrom to this point in his career, and it could be what keeps him in Ottawa.

Is This What Brannstrom Wants

The only concern is that Brannstrom himself doesn’t seem too thrilled to be playing forward. After playing one of the best games in his career, Brannstrom did not seem overly excited in his post-game presser. He has also gone on record stating that he prefers to play defence over forward.

If Brannstrom continues to play the way he has, however, I firmly believe he will change his mind. After all, why wouldn’t you want to be the most impactful player you can be? But if this isn’t the case, he may look to get out of Ottawa for a bigger opportunity on defence somewhere else.

If Brannstrom does decide to stay in Ottawa as a forward and is as impactful as he was against Buffalo, the Sens are in for a treat. This would be excellent asset management by the coaching staff and the general managers.

After looking like an outlier in the long-term plans, Erik Brannstrom may have found his spot long-term on the Ottawa Senators.

Edit: Erik Brannstrom has since been moved back to D following JBD’s injury in Vancouver. The future plan for Branny, whether he will play D or F, is still unclear.