D Erik Brannstrom (2017, 15th, VGK - Traded to OTT)

[PG Canuck]

He's having a hell of a week. 1g1a today and 5 points in his last 4 games, I think.

I was looking at D scoring in the SHL for U20’s I think and he was top 3-5, can’t remember. On mobile otherwise I would check, but I’m sure he’s comfortably sitting there now with the week he just put up.

Really, really solid numbers.

 

[PG Canuck]

2nd in SHL points for U20 defensemen
2nd in SHL PPG for U20 defensemen

6th in SHL points for u24 defensemen
9th in SHL PPG for U24 defensemen

Quite the fine season, I would say.

 

[Auston mcdavid]

He could be a top 10 or top 15 defencemen in the nhl maybe like a gostisbehere but for Vegas huge potential

 

[CupInSIX]

He could be a top 10 or top 15 defencemen in the nhl maybe like a gostisbehere but for Vegas huge potential

He looks a lot like Mete to me. I watched his last 2 games and he's pretty close to being NHL-ready IMO. He seems to have solidified the top PP qb spot because his coach kept throwing him out there with (F) Ejdsell at the point. Perhaps his biggest asset is his 'hockey IQ' or how he reads the play.

Doesn't shy away from the physical stuff either and takes the hit to make a play.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Finishing the season in AHL? His swedish team was eliminated yesterday.

 

[cg98]

Finishing the season in AHL? His swedish team was eliminated yesterday.

That Chicago AHL team is a mess right now, hopefully they can find a spot for him somehow.

 

[PG Canuck]

Finishing the season in AHL? His swedish team was eliminated yesterday.

 

[PG Canuck]

Erik Brannstrom Final Rankings

2nd in SHL points for U20 defensemen (15)
2nd in SHL PPG for U20 defensemen (0.34)

6th in SHL points for u24 defensemen (15)
8th in SHL PPG for U24 defensemen (0.34)

 

[Auston mcdavid]

Is he better than Valimaki

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

Is he better than Valimaki

I think so, yes.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Expected to play in north america next season

 

[PG Canuck]

Good to hear. Nothing left to prove overseas now. Anyone know if there’s a chance he plays some games in NA this year? I know he was looking to come over since his SHL season was done.

 

[bossram]

Erik Brannstrom Final Rankings

2nd in SHL points for U20 defensemen (15)
2nd in SHL PPG for U20 defensemen (0.34)

6th in SHL points for u24 defensemen (15)
8th in SHL PPG for U24 defensemen (0.34)

Maaaan I wanted Brannstrom so bad.

 

[42]

Is he better than Hague, who posted insane numbers in the OHL, scoring 35 goals, which is tops for defenceman in a long time?

 

[CupInSIX]

Good to hear. Nothing left to prove overseas now. Anyone know if there’s a chance he plays some games in NA this year? I know he was looking to come over since his SHL season was done.

He's playing for HV71 juniors right now (just joined them for the playoffs this week). If they get eliminated he might join the Wolves but there's always a chance team Sweden picks him as 7th D (especially if Anaheim makes the playoffs).

 

[PG Canuck]

Brannstrom with 3 goals in 3 playoff games with HV71 J20, with 16 PIMS. What a wild man.

 

[DonM]

2nd in SHL points for U20 defensemen
2nd in SHL PPG for U20 defensemen

6th in SHL points for u24 defensemen
9th in SHL PPG for U24 defensemen

Quite the fine season, I would say.

Just for perspective, Brannstrom and Linus Arnesson (2013 60th overall) are the only U24 defensemen in the SHL who were drafted in either the 1st or 2nd round of the NHL draft as far as I could tell. Most 1st and 2nd rounders have moved to either the NHL or AHL.

 

[PG Canuck]

Just for perspective, Brannstrom and Linus Arnesson (2013 60th overall) are the only U24 defensemen in the SHL who were drafted in either the 1st or 2nd round of the NHL draft as far as I could tell. Most 1st and 2nd rounders have moved to either the NHL or AHL.

Filip Westerlund also played in SHL for a bit, who was drafted 44th overall.

There have only been 7 Swedish defenders selected in the first two rounds of the draft since 2015 - so you're going to be hard-pressed to find any defensemen that were selected in the first two rounds, playing in the SHL right now.

Erik Brannstrom - D+1 season, playing in SHL
Timothy Liljgren - D+1 season, playing in AHL
Gustav Lindstrom - D+1 season, playing in Allsvenskan
Filip Westerlund - D+1 season, played in Allsvenskan/SHL/SuperElit
Oliver Kylington - D+3 season, playing in AHL
Rasmus Andersson - D+3 season, playing in AHL
Gabriel Carlsson - D+3 season, playing in AHL

Lindstrom/Westerlund aren't good enough to play in SHL regularly.
Kylington/Andersson/Carlsson are in their D+3 seasons, so no reason to be in the SHL.

Liljgren is the only example, other than yours from a 2013 draft (and there's a reason he's still playing in the SHL at this point), that moved on to the AHL when he could've played in SHL if Toronto wanted to go that route.

So I'm not sure what your point was? There is only one comparable example to Brannstrom, and that would be Liljgren - there's been limited Swedish defensemen drafted since 2015, and most either aren't good for the SHL due to being drafted later, or are much further ahead in their development.

It's highly unlikely Brannstrom is still overseas next season. Makes me wonder if Vegas didn't have a joined AHL team, if he would've been over here for this season.

 

[DonM]

Filip Westerlund also played in SHL for a bit, who was drafted 44th overall.

There have only been 7 Swedish defenders selected in the first two rounds of the draft since 2015 - so you're going to be hard-pressed to find any defensemen that were selected in the first two rounds, playing in the SHL right now.

Erik Brannstrom - D+1 season, playing in SHL
Timothy Liljgren - D+1 season, playing in AHL
Gustav Lindstrom - D+1 season, playing in Allsvenskan
Filip Westerlund - D+1 season, played in Allsvenskan/SHL/SuperElit
Oliver Kylington - D+3 season, playing in AHL
Rasmus Andersson - D+3 season, playing in AHL
Gabriel Carlsson - D+3 season, playing in AHL

Lindstrom/Westerlund aren't good enough to play in SHL regularly.
Kylington/Andersson/Carlsson are in their D+3 seasons, so no reason to be in the SHL.

Liljgren is the only example, other than yours from a 2013 draft (and there's a reason he's still playing in the SHL at this point), that moved on to the AHL when he could've played in SHL if Toronto wanted to go that route.

So I'm not sure what your point was? There is only one comparable example to Brannstrom, and that would be Liljgren - there's been limited Swedish defensemen drafted since 2015, and most either aren't good for the SHL due to being drafted later, or are much further ahead in their development.

It's highly unlikely Brannstrom is still overseas next season. Makes me wonder if Vegas didn't have a joined AHL team, if he would've been over here for this season.

It was just to get an idea of the actual competition he's beating out by being 2nd in U20 points, and 9th in U24 pace among defencemen. Basically I don't think it means much towards his NHL projection to say he beat a bunch of guys who themselves have no NHL future. Obviously just looking at 1st and 2nd rounders is inadequate to judge that but I had to start somewhere.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Wanted the Rangers to draft him real bad, thought they might be able to get him with the 21st OA, but as the draft got closer, I was even into the idea with taking him at 7. Happy with Andersson and Chytil, but man I’d love to have Brannstrom in the pipeline

 

[CupInSIX]

Just assisted on the game winner in OT to win the SuperElit J20 cup. He also had another assist and finished the game +1.

 

[CupInSIX]

MVP of the SuperElit J20 playoffs too.

He's setting his sights on Team Sweden for the World Championships.

 

[HanSolo]

Come to Chicago damn it. Maybe not this season but next for sure.

 

[PG Canuck]

Come to Chicago damn it. Maybe not this season but next for sure.

Should definitely be the plan. Looks like it just didn’t workout for him to finish the season there this year but oh well - him potentially playing for Sweden would be massive.

 

[Brian Fogarty]

I love Brannstrom. Here is my writeup on him in the new defensemen top prospects ranking:

"The first thing to note when discussing Brannstrom must be his accomplishments thus far while considering just how young the player still is at this point. Had Brannstrom been born just two weeks later than his September 2, 1999 birthdate, he would have been a 2018 draft-eligible player and ineligible for a Top Prospect ranking at all. For quick perspective, he is just two weeks older than Brady Tkachuk (currently 7th on the Hockey Prophets 2018 Draft Prospect ranking), five weeks older than Quinn Hughes (ranked 6th), nearly a year younger than Cale Makar and is the youngest player in the top 50 list. Yet Brannstrom just completed his second season in Sweden's top men's league, where he posted 15 points in 44 games for HV71 (0.34 points per game). His production this year in the SHL was second only to Rasmus Dahlin for U19 production. In the last quarter-century, the only players to have out-produced Branstrom at this age have been Victor Hedman (0.49 ppg in 2008-2009), Dahlin (0.49 ppg this year), Mattias Ohlund (0.47 in 1994-1995), Tim Heed (0.37 ppg in 2009-2010) and Adam Larsson (0.35 ppg in 2009-2010). One last age-related note: there have only been five players in the history of the SHL to have played at least 35 games as an Under-18 player (Adam Larsson, Tim Erixon, Jonas Brodin, Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Hedman), Of that group, only Dahlin and Larsson had more points per game.

The key factor that has enabled the young defender to succeed has been his elite-level hockey intelligence. He looks like a player who sees the entire ice like a game board, viewing it from above and recognizing all of the movements, small and large, of all of pieces engaged in the action. His passes look as if they had been fully plotted out two minutes before he had the puck and well before anyone else on the ice knew where the puck should be, and he makes his passes with an incredible touch in location and weight. His shot is more accurate than it is powerful, but he shows a willingness to fire the puck for effect. In his own end, he is still learning the game at the highest levels, but the fact that he was among the leaders in ice time at the recent WJCs and has the third-highest average ice time for all junior SHL blueliners in the last five years shows that his coaches rely on him to play both ends of the ice. At his size, his physical play is limited, but he blocks shots and uses his game iq to win position and control gaps to opposing players."