Its funny because if you didnt pay close attention, most people would tell you that Brannstrom, a 21yr old skilled Swedish dman who is 5'9/180lbs, had one foot on the path to bust town already....
Yet every indication that hes given is that hes got a VERY solid chance at becoming a top 4 D-man. Like as soon as now....we arent talking in years. Lol again, he is 21yrs old and plays a very difficult position. The hardest one in the NHL, to be precise.
Aside from a rough start to last year in the NHL when he was thrust into the weakest d-corps in the league due to some training camp injuries, hes been fantastic at every other level, and with every opportunity that hes be given to shine. The fact that he was traded for Stone has done him ZERO favours in terms of fairness or judgement, and the fact that he was a week away from being drafted in the 2018 draft is way to easily overlooked.
He dominated the AHL as #1Dman who can produce big numbers. And now that hes paired with a competent NHL partner in Zub, hes already well on his way to solidifying himself as a top 4 dman to close out this season.
Dmen will continue to have a highly inflated value in this league imo, and thats not ending anytime soon. And if a team surprises people and they trade a perceived "quality" top 4 dman - I would suggest that you reserve all judgement at first....Because smart GMs dont trade good defencemen, like ever, unless there is a very obvious reason to do it.
Brannstrom doesnt get traded for anything short of a massive overpayment at this point. Certainly not for a questionable top6/9 forward.
