Brandon Sutter

domaug*

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Nov 27, 2011
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Canes fan coming in peace... wondering how Sutter has been for you guys. Would love to hear your thoughts on him so far.

he's making some mental mistakes and isn't chipping in at all offensively so far, but he had his chances.

his defense is nice though.

how's ESB? (Eric Staal's Brother)
 

Fire Shero*

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I've been so disappointed with Sutter. He is invisible most shifts.
 

domaug*

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Hes been good. He had a real nice scrimmage scored a goal and assist and i think people here thought he was gonna score alot more. How has staal been for u guys?

actually, now that i watched the CAR-BOS highlights, i think ESB forced a turnover leading to their second goal.

btw off-topic: i am a fan of Carolina's play-by-play announcer. i'd prefer him over Steigerwald most nights.
 

ColePens

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Mar 27, 2008
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Don't listen to anyone else - his defensive game is a plus every single day. He still gets a bit lost offensively, but that was to be expected. Reminds me of Staal when he was younger and would go MIA for awhile, but you would still notice his attention to detail in the defensive zone.

He has already saved multiple goals that go unnoticed by being in the right spot. That "right spot" isn't by magic. He knows where to be.
 

Zero Pucks

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May 17, 2009
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I don't think he's been bad. Hard to get a full read on him when the entire team is playing as badly as they are.
 

Sidney the Kidney

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He and his line looked really good until Byslma inexplicably decided to break up that line to fix something that, at the time, really wasn't broken.

Cooke/Sutter/Kennedy was fantastic for the first couple of games of the season, and the Malkin/Neal/Tangradi line was scoring as well (though Tangradi wasn't). Then one loss to Toronto and Kennedy's replaced Tangradi, Cooke's moved to RW, and the line hasn't looked as effective since.

Basically, **** Bylsma and his line juggling nonsense.
 

Captain Hook

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Jul 12, 2007
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Don't listen to anyone else - his defensive game is a plus every single day. He still gets a bit lost offensively, but that was to be expected. Reminds me of Staal when he was younger and would go MIA for awhile, but you would still notice his attention to detail in the defensive zone.

He has already saved multiple goals that go unnoticed by being in the right spot. That "right spot" isn't by magic. He knows where to be.

This.

I love watching him in the defensive zone. He's incredibly smart. I can see why the subtle little plays he makes in that end go unnoticed but if you appreciate that part of the game it's hard not to love the guy. I don't think it's a coincidence that we haven't allowed a 5 on 5 goal with him on the ice yet through 6 games.

His offense has been underwhelming. I think it's mostly that he's new and hasn't found chemistry with anyone yet but that will come in time.
 

nobuddy

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Hes been good. He had a real nice scrimmage scored a goal and assist and i think people here thought he was gonna score alot more. How has staal been for u guys?

Staal's been good. Seems to have formed really good chemistry with Skinner which is nice.
 

Pancakes

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He's smart defensively. I'm not too concerned about the offense, although it sure would be nice to get some from him since we're having trouble scoring right now.

I think the offense will come in time. He's only been a Pittsburgh Penguin for six games, and with no training camp at all. People are perhaps quick to forget how badly James Neal struggled when he first came over.
 

#66

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He's smart defensively. I'm not too concerned about the offense, although it sure would be nice to get some from him since we're having trouble scoring right now.

I think the offense will come in time. He's only been a Pittsburgh Penguin for six games, and with no training camp at all. People are perhaps quick to forget how badly James Neal struggled when he first came over.
Yup... that up tempo style takes some getting used to. To be honest I think its almost to up tempo and I wish that the system was more about puck control and management.

He's been very good IMO and reminds me of Army a little bit. He fits that 3rd line center mold to a tee. I would still like to try him out on Sids wing. He has that Kunitz value to his game where he might not be a star but could help enhance a stars game.
 

JTG

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He reminds me a lot of Staal. Not real natural offensively at this point in time, but does have some good wheels, and does have a great shot. His defensive game is great, and I love how physical and chippy he plays. Phil Kessel stole a puck off of him in the Toronto game (I think it was Kessel) and he ended up laying him out.
 

Tender Rip

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Feb 12, 2007
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Yup... that up tempo style takes some getting used to. To be honest I think its almost to up tempo and I wish that the system was more about puck control and management.

Canes have been playing an up-tempo game for many years. That would not be an issue for Sutter and shouldn't be a cause of any transitioning issues.

But when you say too up-tempo, I would agree/argue that we are certainly playing too fast for our players to keep up currently. Seemingly they cannot make nor receive passes anymore. I just think that has a lot more to do with how we are trying to play not working/players not actually being able to find space within the excuse for a structure we're trying to pull off. Or they either do not get what is being preached... or they ignore it. Either way, discombobulated would be a polite term for how we look in most any other setting than when we're coming at teams after forcing turnovers. That is pretty much the only way we look respectable right now, and truth be told few NHL teams don't look good when exploiting turnovers. We just force more of them in the neutral zone than most others because of the Cs we have.
 

Dupree13

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Aug 2, 2005
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Early to judge but what I notice is how rail thin he is. He doesn't seem to bring much sandpaper which is a little disappointing from a defensive specialist.
 

wgknestrick

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Aug 14, 2012
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Canes fan coming in peace... wondering how Sutter has been for you guys. Would love to hear your thoughts on him so far.

There still hasn't been an even strength goal allowed while he's been on the ice. His defensive play has been outstanding so far.

Unfortunately, he also hasn't been on the ice for a single 5v5 goal for either. His D play is more important to the Pens though, and any offense from him is gravy. In his defense, Pen's haven't had much secondary support on his wings. Pen's are also playing terrible in front of MAF after he lets a soft goal in. They give up entirely after this happens.

A +- of 0 is still above average for the Pens so far, so I guess we need to be satisfied with his play.
 

Fire Shero*

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I think I just need to realize he will never be as good as Staal offensively. I need to lower my expectations. He's a one way player, defense defense defense.
 

Tasty Biscuits

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He and his line looked really good until Byslma inexplicably decided to break up that line to fix something that, at the time, really wasn't broken.

Cooke/Sutter/Kennedy was fantastic for the first couple of games of the season, and the Malkin/Neal/Tangradi line was scoring as well (though Tangradi wasn't). Then one loss to Toronto and Kennedy's replaced Tangradi, Cooke's moved to RW, and the line hasn't looked as effective since.

Basically, **** Bylsma and his line juggling nonsense.

As far as the offense goes, yes. This.
 

Richard

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Feb 8, 2012
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Not even close to the value of Jordan. The Pens have zero depth right now, they have two guys who can create plays on their own and one guy who is an elite leach.

Sutter hasn't made a single play this season on the offensive zone. He's overpassing and overthinking.

Ya, his defense is good but not excellent.

I miss Jordans long reach. It aggravates me so much, when Crosby-Staal and Malkin were healthy there should not have been a single shift one of those guys was not out there. Also, Staal should have been a fixture on the second powerplay unit with either Crosby or Malkin.

I just have this bad feeling Malkin is going to get sick of getting jerked around as well....
 

Will Hunting

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Dec 14, 2011
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Not that impressed with Brandon so far. I love him, but expected a bit more.

Some thoughts:

- He´s a bit better defensively than Jordan, which is great.
- When he produces some offense, it´s off the rushes. He didn´t have many opportunities to show it. We play more puck possession style than Canes do. He seemed to have more rushes there

- Staal´s strength is his cycling game. That´s where his line was effective. Sutter doesn´t have it and that hurts us a bit.

That said, Brandon is not Jordan, but I am still satisfied with that move by Shero in general. Brandon will find a way to contribute more, but I doubt about his cycling abilities. That´s why Cooke and Kennedy are lost there, too.
 

Mr Jiggyfly

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Jan 29, 2004
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I've been very impressed with his defensive acumen. He is a better skater than Staal and has shown a few flashes of his playmaking skills.

Once he has regular linemates, I think he will start producing.

I'm not expecting big numbers from Sutter, right around 35 points and I will be happy.

I expected Staal's production to be replaced by both Sutter and a top six winger acquired because of the difference in cap savings (roughly 4m)

For me it is the defensive play of Sutter + his offensive production + the production of new top six winger.

So the jury is going to be out on this trade for awhile.
 

iamjs

Registered User
Oct 1, 2008
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Not that impressed with Brandon so far. I love him, but expected a bit more.

Some thoughts:

- He´s a bit better defensively than Jordan, which is great.
- When he produces some offense, it´s off the rushes. He didn´t have many opportunities to show it. We play more puck possession style than Canes do. He seemed to have more rushes there

- Staal´s strength is his cycling game. That´s where his line was effective. Sutter doesn´t have it and that hurts us a bit.

That said, Brandon is not Jordan, but I am still satisfied with that move by Shero in general. Brandon will find a way to contribute more, but I doubt about his cycling abilities. That´s why Cooke and Kennedy are lost there, too.

and that's the thing that most people forget about Staal: he wasn't coming back, regardless of what was offered. He wanted to go play in Carolina with Eric. I like Sutter's defensive game. While he hasn't been noticeable on the ice, sometimes that's all you can ask for, which in turn also means he isn't making any glaring mistakes in his defensive play. His offense? I'll admit that I was expecting more, but with no preseason, a limited camp, and a short season, there's gonna be a bit of a learning curve.

With the shortened season, I'd expect no more than 18 points from him...something like 7 goals and 11 assists.
 

#66

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Not even close to the value of Jordan. The Pens have zero depth right now, they have two guys who can create plays on their own and one guy who is an elite leach.

Sutter hasn't made a single play this season on the offensive zone. He's overpassing and overthinking.

Ya, his defense is good but not excellent.

I miss Jordans long reach. It aggravates me so much, when Crosby-Staal and Malkin were healthy there should not have been a single shift one of those guys was not out there. Also, Staal should have been a fixture on the second powerplay unit with either Crosby or Malkin.

I just have this bad feeling Malkin is going to get sick of getting jerked around as well....
I do to. Thats when I hit my "... I don't care anymore" phase.
 

JTG

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Sep 30, 2007
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I also think Sutter has potential to be better than he is. He's by no means a finished product at 23. I could definitely see him being in the 20-25 goal range, and 40 point range when he develops. He definitely fits in better here than Staal, but Staal is a better hockey player.

I'd honestly like to see Sutter take a few shifts at wing with Sid or Geno to maybe give him a little more offensive confidence. I feel that Sutter is one of those groove players. You get his confidence high, I think he has the offensive acumen to be a pretty effective depth scorer.

DB has said that Sutter will get some shifts in the top 6 with Geno, but I haven't seen that happen in game since the season has started.
 

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