Prospect Info: 2020-2021 Senators Prospect Watch - Part 3

[aragorn]

There will be competition for sure, but that a good thing. You listed a bunch of guys (most of which play the right side mind you) and if they all pan out thats a great problem to have, but we've see Rundblad, Cowen, Ceci, Wiercioch all not turn into the players people thought they would, until JBD, Thomson and Kleven prove themselves as NHL players, they aren't really a threat.

Very true, but they all have NHL size whereas Brannstrom is a small defenceman & his problem seems to be a lack of strength down low & behind the net. He's not going to be able to grow six inches anytime soon or gain 25 lbs of muscle. Chabot & Sanderson will own the two top left side spots so he will need to make it on the right side where the competition is weaker. He's also not the best of skaters & IMO he needs to be in the top 4, the bottom pair is usually reserved for the bigger defensive defencemen who can drop the gloves & play the PK. I think he is in tough to hang on here.

 

[mianjo]

Daoust zero points in a 5-3 win.
Karpat U20 win their series 2-0, assume Merilainen was in net
Lodin zero points in Timra's 4-3 OT win, to win series 3-1, of note former Sens player Patrick Weircioch scored a hat trick including the OT winner. They now move on to the semi finals.

 

[BondraTime]

Daoust zero points in a 5-3 win.
Karpat U20 win their series 2-0, assume Merilainen was in net
Lodin zero points in Timra's 4-3 OT win, to win series 3-1, of note former Sens player Patrick Weircioch scored a hat trick including the OT winner. They now move on to the semi finals.

That’s the Allsvenskan for ya

 

[mianjo]

Ridley Greig with a goal and 2 min pen for Boarding

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Ridley Greig with a goal and 2 min pen for Boarding

Like clockwork.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Daoust zero points in a 5-3 win.
Karpat U20 win their series 2-0, assume Merilainen was in net
Lodin zero points in Timra's 4-3 OT win, to win series 3-1, of note former Sens player Patrick Weircioch scored a hat trick including the OT winner. They now move on to the semi finals.

Wierciocj still a G

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Wierciocj still a G

Actually I think he's a defenseman

 

[Alf Silfversson]

You're right there is nothing wrong with how long it is taking Brannstrom, but competition is coming, competition that some of us think will affect his ability to make or stick in Ottawa. Chabot has a guaranteed spot, maybe Zub as well & Zaitsev who has another 3 yrs left on his contract. There's 3 spots gone with JBD & Thomson, both bigger players knocking on the door soon.

IMO Sanderson is almost guaranteed a spot whenever he turns pro because of his dynamic skating ability & NHL size & skillset. And who knows who PD adds between now & next yr who might also take another roster spot not to mention if they draft a defenceman quite high in the next two drafts. Kleven also looks like a DJ kind of player who can skate but could be a few yrs away. Time is running out is all I'm saying & we already know how DJ feels about him.

Brannstrom is already ahead of Thomson. By quite a bit.

A guy like JBD has proven nothing at any pro level. He looks good in college but that is nothing compared to being the best D on the ice in the AHL night in and night out. And for what it's worth he's less than a year younger than Brannstrom.

Kleven, if he ever makes the NHL, is at least a few years away. I'd say he's likely 4-6 years away from playing in the NHL, if he ever does. He's still nowhere close to good enough for even the AHL when it comes to safely passing the puck. He looks like a young Gudbranson right now.

The fact is that Brannstrom has been quite easily one of our 6 best defensemen this year. He's not in the NHL because our coach has a bias when it comes to the style of defenseman he likes to play. Brannstrom should be playing in the NHL right now. Hopefully they have a plan and it is not just a last place coach being a meathead.

 

[aragorn]

Brannstrom is already ahead of Thomson. By quite a bit.

A guy like JBD has proven nothing at any pro level. He looks good in college but that is nothing compared to being the best D on the ice in the AHL night in and night out. And for what it's worth he's less than a year younger than Brannstrom.

Kleven, if he ever makes the NHL, is at least a few years away. I'd say he's likely 4-6 years away from playing in the NHL, if he ever does. He's still nowhere close to good enough for even the AHL when it comes to safely passing the puck. He looks like a young Gudbranson right now.

The fact is that Brannstrom has been quite easily one of our 6 best defensemen this year. He's not in the NHL because our coach has a bias when it comes to the style of defenseman he likes to play. Brannstrom should be playing in the NHL right now. Hopefully they have a plan and it is not just a last place coach being a meathead.

First, IF he was one of our best defencemen he would be in the NHL not the AHL where he has been returned several times already this yr, there are clear deficiencies in his game that need to be worked out. Coaches aren't stupid they have been around the game longer than most of us put together at that level & they clearly don't think he is NHL ready yet. They have mentioned that Brannstrom isn't strong enough to handle big forwards down low, the coach has mentioned this & we have seen several examples of it in games, it's not a secret & quite obvious IMO.

You may think of the coach as a meathead, but almost every team in the North Division got bigger over the summer & some are still trading for bigger players for the playoff run, he isn't the only NHL coach or GM to want a bigger team for the playoffs. We don't know how it will go in future, but I think most agree that Chabot & Sanderson will own the two top left side spots or two of the four top spots, if Sanderson comes out of school that is. IMO Zub will get a spot & Zaitsev who came with DJ likely gets a spot too given he is also signed for another 3 yrs & has had a decent season so far. This team has also played some very good games lately & been in most games not getting blown out like they were at the beginning of the season mostly because of much better goaltending. J. Brown is also signed for another yr & while he has been a 7th D most of this yr who knows what they do with him next season & whether he occupies a spot.

That leaves two spots & a few players fighting Brannstrom for them not to mention if PD signs a couple of NHL D over the summer or trades for one or two. IMO they need at least another tough defenceman for the PK who can block shots & maybe drop the gloves. This is why I think he is in tough, there will be plenty of competition next yr & if the coach is still here even tougher. There are 6 spots available on D & there are at least 3 that are spoken for & 3 that will be hotly contested or owned by any NHL D they might bring in for next yr. It won't be easy for him, but if Sanderson stays in school he might have a shot at the 2nd pairing left side spot next yr paired with Zub or Zaitsev.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

First, IF he was one of our best defencemen he would be in the NHL not the AHL where he has been returned several times already this yr, there are clear deficiencies in his game that need to be worked out. Coaches aren't stupid they have been around the game longer than most of us put together at that level & they clearly don't think he is NHL ready yet. They have mentioned that Brannstrom isn't strong enough to handle big forwards down low, the coach has mentioned this & we have seen several examples of it in games, it's not a secret & quite obvious IMO.

You may think of the coach as a meathead, but almost every team in the North Division got bigger over the summer & some are still trading for bigger players for the playoff run, he isn't the only NHL coach or GM to want a bigger team for the playoffs. We don't know how it will go in future, but I think most agree that Chabot & Sanderson will own the two top left side spots or two of the four top spots, if Sanderson comes out of school that is. IMO Zub will get a spot & Zaitsev who came with DJ likely gets a spot too given he is also signed for another 3 yrs & has had a decent season so far. This team has also played some very good games lately & been in most games not getting blown out like they were at the beginning of the season mostly because of much better goaltending. J. Brown is also signed for another yr & while he has been a 7th D most of this yr who knows what they do with him next season & whether he occupies a spot.

That leaves two spots & a few players fighting Brannstrom for them not to mention if PD signs a couple of NHL D over the summer or trades for one or two. IMO they need at least another tough defenceman for the PK who can block shots & maybe drop the gloves. This is why I think he is in tough, there will be plenty of competition next yr & if the coach is still here even tougher. There are 6 spots available on D & there are at least 3 that are spoken for & 3 that will be hotly contested or owned by any NHL D they might bring in for next yr. It won't be easy for him, but if Sanderson stays in school he might have a shot at the 2nd pairing left side spot next yr paired with Zub or Zaitsev.

Most of this is just an appeal to DJs authority as an expert or saying that teams like big players. Both are weak arguments.

First, DJ is a very young coach with, so far, a pretty poor track record in the NHL. The defense was a disaster under his watch in Toronto and it's a disaster here. He thought that Anisimov, Stepan, Paquette, J.Brown, Gudbranson and Coburn were his best options to start this year and it blew up in our faces. Saying that a player can't play for a coach who makes such bad lineup decisions is not convincing. Brannstrom has outperformed Wolanin, Coburn, Brown and Gudbranson.

Second. Teams like to get big players because they can be useful, if they can keep up and play well. Of course. But GOOD NHL coaches find ways to use all sorts of different types of players. Scotty Bowman liked having Darren McCarty on his team but he also liked having Igor Larionov. He loved having super tough Chris Chelios but he also loved having soft but skilled Larry Murphy. Pat Burns played Scott Stevens a ton but he also leaned heavily on Brian Rafalski. There is nothing wrong with having big physical players but if that is your main criteria you're going to end up with a team like we have right now.

It's fine if they want to develop Brannstrom further but on this team he is in the top 6. Easily. For sure he has things he needs to work on but there isn't a 21 year old defenseman who doesn't need to work on some things. He's in the AHL because DJ likes big tough players who aren't necessarily good at playing hockey.

 

[mianjo]

Eric Engstrand with an assist in a 4-1 loss today

 

[aragorn]

Most of this is just an appeal to DJs authority as an expert or saying that teams like big players. Both are weak arguments.

First, DJ is a very young coach with, so far, a pretty poor track record in the NHL. The defense was a disaster under his watch in Toronto and it's a disaster here. He thought that Anisimov, Stepan, Paquette, J.Brown, Gudbranson and Coburn were his best options to start this year and it blew up in our faces. Saying that a player can't play for a coach who makes such bad lineup decisions is not convincing. Brannstrom has outperformed Wolanin, Coburn, Brown and Gudbranson.

Second. Teams like to get big players because they can be useful, if they can keep up and play well. Of course. But GOOD NHL coaches find ways to use all sorts of different types of players. Scotty Bowman liked having Darren McCarty on his team but he also liked having Igor Larionov. He loved having super tough Chris Chelios but he also loved having soft but skilled Larry Murphy. Pat Burns played Scott Stevens a ton but he also leaned heavily on Brian Rafalski. There is nothing wrong with having big physical players but if that is your main criteria you're going to end up with a team like we have right now.

It's fine if they want to develop Brannstrom further but on this team he is in the top 6. Easily. For sure he has things he needs to work on but there isn't a 21 year old defenseman who doesn't need to work on some things. He's in the AHL because DJ likes big tough players who aren't necessarily good at playing hockey.

First, PD acquired those players & as a young head coach it's understandable that he is going to play the players his boss brought in especially given they have NHL experience. And I would argue that the team was bad at the beginning of the season more so because of terrible goaltending although the defence has been bad as well. The defence has been better since the goaltending got better & it's just some people's opinion that Brannstrom has outperformed them, what do you base that on? The experts disagree with you & IMO he's had some good shifts & some bad ones, he hasn't stood out as anything better, not like Zub has or Reilly since he's been put with Zub.

Second, the main criteria is to play the best players you have & at the moment Brannstrom is not one of them. On this team like any other team there are only six defence positions although occasionally some coaches will play with 7 D. Four of those positions are covered by Chabot, Zaitsev, Reilly & Zub who are all better than Brannstrom. The other two positions DJ prefers to have defencemen who can also play on the PK or add some size & toughness to the defence corps & that's not Brannstrom, it's not Wolanin either. They have had a rotating crop of Gudbrnason, J. Brown & Coburn, but it's also because that's all he has that have solid NHL experience. It will be interesting what they do with Brannstrom & I expect he will be given a little more rope next season, but at the same time if they sign any new experienced D it could be the same story again.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

First, PD acquired those players & as a young head coach it's understandable that he is going to play the players his boss brought in especially given they have NHL experience. And I would argue that the team was bad at the beginning of the season more so because of terrible goaltending although the defence has been bad as well. The defence has been better since the goaltending got better & it's just some people's opinion that Brannstrom has outperformed them, what do you base that on? The experts disagree with you & IMO he's had some good shifts & some bad ones, he hasn't stood out as anything better, not like Zub has or Reilly since he's been put with Zub.

Second, the main criteria is to play the best players you have & at the moment Brannstrom is not one of them. On this team like any other team there are only six defence positions although occasionally some coaches will play with 7 D. Four of those positions are covered by Chabot, Zaitsev, Reilly & Zub who are all better than Brannstrom. The other two positions DJ prefers to have defencemen who can also play on the PK or add some size & toughness to the defence corps & that's not Brannstrom, it's not Wolanin either. They have had a rotating crop of Gudbrnason, J. Brown & Coburn, but it's also because that's all he has that have solid NHL experience. It will be interesting what they do with Brannstrom & I expect he will be given a little more rope next season, but at the same time if they sign any new experienced D it could be the same story again.

All you are saying here is that DJ prefers this. It doesn't make him right.

Brannstrom has outperformed those players in terms of goals for and against.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Most of this is just an appeal to DJs authority as an expert or saying that teams like big players. Both are weak arguments.

First, DJ is a very young coach with, so far, a pretty poor track record in the NHL. The defense was a disaster under his watch in Toronto and it's a disaster here. He thought that Anisimov, Stepan, Paquette, J.Brown, Gudbranson and Coburn were his best options to start this year and it blew up in our faces. Saying that a player can't play for a coach who makes such bad lineup decisions is not convincing. Brannstrom has outperformed Wolanin, Coburn, Brown and Gudbranson.

Second. Teams like to get big players because they can be useful, if they can keep up and play well. Of course. But GOOD NHL coaches find ways to use all sorts of different types of players. Scotty Bowman liked having Darren McCarty on his team but he also liked having Igor Larionov. He loved having super tough Chris Chelios but he also loved having soft but skilled Larry Murphy. Pat Burns played Scott Stevens a ton but he also leaned heavily on Brian Rafalski. There is nothing wrong with having big physical players but if that is your main criteria you're going to end up with a team like we have right now.

It's fine if they want to develop Brannstrom further but on this team he is in the top 6. Easily. For sure he has things he needs to work on but there isn't a 21 year old defenseman who doesn't need to work on some things. He's in the AHL because DJ likes big tough players who aren't necessarily good at playing hockey.

Be a real fan .. Show your support.

 

[aragorn]

All you are saying here is that DJ prefers this. It doesn't make him right.

Brannstrom has outperformed those players in terms of goals for and against.

And all you are saying here is that you think the experts are wrong. It doesn't make you right either.

Brannstrom has 5 pts in 14 games & a minus 3, not sure what is great about that? But it's slightly better than the others. Of course, it doesn't take into account board battles, hits, blocked shots, clearing the front of the net or dropping the mitts when required, does it?

 

[GCK]

Brannstrom is good enough to play bottom pair in Ottawa but is that really developing him to play top 4. His completion going forward is Sanderson, Zub and JBD. He is behind the 8 ball being an LD. If Sanderson comes out I could see him moved after the season for help elsewhere.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

And all you are saying here is that you think the experts are wrong. It doesn't make you right either.

Brannstrom has 5 pts in 14 games & a minus 3, not sure what is great about that? But it's slightly better than the others. Of course, it doesn't take into account board battles, hits, blocked shots, clearing the front of the net or dropping the mitts when required, does it?

Last I looked board battles, hits and blocked shots don't show up on the scoreboard. Some players use those things to influence their +/-. But for guys like Brown, Gudbranson and Coburn they clearly don't. They provide zero offense and are bad at defense.

But as for the DJ expert thing? Mike Haley, Matt Peca and Clark Bishop all got into the lineup before Formenton and Logan Brown. Are they all better players than Logan Brown right now? Or Alex Formenton? I sure don't think so. But if your argument is that DJ knows best then obviously Logan Brown is not as good as Clark Bishop or Artem Anisimov. Or does that logic only apply when the player is less than 6'1?

 

[topshelf15]

All about brains for Branstrom,he is never going to win many board or net front battles...But his speed vision and IQ are tools that he has to get the most of to be an effective defender....Think he can do this and provide another wrinkle in what looks to be a very diverse looking blueline for us

 

[aragorn]

Last I looked board battles, hits and blocked shots don't show up on the scoreboard. Some players use those things to influence their +/-. But for guys like Brown, Gudbranson and Coburn they clearly don't. They provide zero offense and are bad at defense.

But as for the DJ expert thing? Mike Haley, Matt Peca and Clark Bishop all got into the lineup before Formenton and Logan Brown. Are they all better players than Logan Brown right now? Or Alex Formenton? I sure don't think so. But if your argument is that DJ knows best then obviously Logan Brown is not as good as Clark Bishop or Artem Anisimov. Or does that logic only apply when the player is less than 6'1?

Last I looked board battles, hits & blocked shots can lead to goals that show up on the scoreboard for guys like Tkachuk, Formenton, Batherson, Paul & Pinto as well as others. L. Brown is not in the lineup because he has been injured on & off for the past yr it seems & Formenton is still quite young & developing. I assume that they know what they are doing & they are playing some guys because the GM (his boss) went out & got those guys & I assume that they want to be able to move some of them at the deadline for something.

I think it's quite obvious that this yr is a write off & that they will want to get something in return for some of the resources they spent on these guys the GM brought in. I also assume we'll see more prospects after the deadline & I think they may also give some of their seasoned AHL vets some games like Logan Shaw for their work with Belleville. I know that DJ & the coaching staff know more than you & I will ever know regarding all of the ins & outs of the team, it's players & how to develop prospects whether they are 6' & over or under.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

There seems to be this thing where people think brannstrom is poor at things that someone of his size are usually poor at. Honeslty I don’t think it’s true at all.

I think he perfectly fine in the defensive zone. In fact he’s usually the player that comes up with the play to stop the cycle or get the puck back. Along the boards he’s not bad at all.

if anything, it’s his offense that leaves something to be desired. If he was 6’5 and played the exact way he does I bet he’s in the lineup just as much as the next guy. OR if he put up big offensive numbers.
But he’s not. His name, size, and rep says he should be better offensively. But it’s been a slow start. So his defensive game gets put under this crazy microscope.

I think In this org he will simply have to be *outstanding* to ever get accepted.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

Brannstrom seems to be following a similar development path to Ryan Ellis.

Brannstrom was drafted in 2017, played a another season in the SHL as a 19 year old, then spent a season in the AHL as a 20 year old, then split a season between the AHL and NHL as a 21 year old and again is splitting the season in the AHL/NHL as he turns 22.
Erik Brannstrom Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Ellis was drafted in 2009, played two more seasons in the OHL as a 19 year old and 20 year old, split the season in the AHL/NHL as a 21 year old and as a 22 year old before becoming a full time NHL player as a 23 year old.
Ryan Ellis (b.1991) Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

I am not sure how well Brannstrom's upside will compare to that of Ellis, but if things work out well that seems like the kind of player we could hope he becomes.

 

[supsens]

Last I looked board battles, hits and blocked shots don't show up on the scoreboard. Some players use those things to influence their +/-. But for guys like Brown, Gudbranson and Coburn they clearly don't. They provide zero offense and are bad at defense.

But as for the DJ expert thing? Mike Haley, Matt Peca and Clark Bishop all got into the lineup before Formenton and Logan Brown. Are they all better players than Logan Brown right now? Or Alex Formenton? I sure don't think so. But if your argument is that DJ knows best then obviously Logan Brown is not as good as Clark Bishop or Artem Anisimov. Or does that logic only apply when the player is less than 6'1?

They have been wanting Brown in all year and Alex needed to wait his turn they can't just play that many rookies all at the same time.

 

[SensFan1010]

My favorite thing about brannstrom is how hes so easily able slow the game down and exit our zone. I feel this is something we are seriously missing on our team as almost every game we get pinnned in our own zone.

Hoping to see the kid back in the line up within the next few games.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Last I looked board battles, hits & blocked shots can lead to goals that show up on the scoreboard for guys like Tkachuk, Formenton, Batherson, Paul & Pinto as well as others. L. Brown is not in the lineup because he has been injured on & off for the past yr it seems & Formenton is still quite young & developing. I assume that they know what they are doing & they are playing some guys because the GM (his boss) went out & got those guys & I assume that they want to be able to move some of them at the deadline for something.

I think it's quite obvious that this yr is a write off & that they will want to get something in return for some of the resources they spent on these guys the GM brought in. I also assume we'll see more prospects after the deadline & I think they may also give some of their seasoned AHL vets some games like Logan Shaw for their work with Belleville. I know that DJ & the coaching staff know more than you & I will ever know regarding all of the ins & outs of the team, it's players & how to develop prospects whether they are 6' & over or under.

They CAN lead to goals but when guys like Gud, Brown and Coburn are hitting and blocking shots they don't. Not this year. For example when Gudbranson is on the ice we get scored on tons and rarely score. Hits are great if they impact the game. In the case of our D they don't because they are, in all other facets of the game, poor players.

 

[benjiv1]

Start fuelling the jet for North Dakota.