Brannstrom was promoted from the AHL to the taxi squad on Wednesday and will likely be moved to the active roster prior to Thursday's game in Montreal. Brannstrom skated with Erik Gudbranson in Thursday's morning skate and will likely play on PP2 as well. The 21-year-old defenseman has four assists in 33 career NHL games.
Brannstrom has shown some flashes of what made him a top prospect in the NHL this season but the Senators acquired Mike Reilly from Montreal on Thursday so they could send Brannstrom to the AHL to get some more development time.
Brannstrom has played every well since going to Belleville, collecting four points (1G / 3A) in four games. With Dylan DeMelo out for at least a few weeks, the Senators really didn't have a choice but to recall Brannstrom at this time. He has just two assists in 23 NHL games this season.
Brannstrom was given the night off on Tuesday but will replace Cody Goloubef on Thursday evening. Brannstrom has high-end offensive upside but has not shown it yet this season, collecting a single assist in 13 games.
Brannstrom appeared in all 13 games this season but will allow Cody Goloubef to make his season debut on Tuesday. Brannstrom has had a tough start to the season, collecting just one assist and 13 shots.
Brannstrom was he big piece the came back to Ottawa in the Mark Stone trade and is set to make his NHL debut vs. the Blues. The 19-year-old has just one assist in five games since joining the Sens organization, giving him seven goals and 22 assists (29 points) in 46 games overall in the AHL this season.
Brannstrom has become one of the NHL’s top prospects since being selected No.15 overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. Brannstrom is a talented offensive-defenseman, who has been compared to former Senators’ defenseman Erik Karlsson. Brannstrom has scored seven goals with 21 assists (28 points) in 41 games with Chicago (AHL) and will report to Bellville (AHL) in the immediate future. The Senators future top-pair of Brannstrom and Thomas Chabot projects to be extremely impressive, but the Senators are going to have a long rebuild.
Brannstrom is a bit undersized (5-foot-10/179 lbs.) for an NHL defenseman, but he was a solid two-way D-man for HV71 this season. He posted six points (1G / 5A) in 35 games this season and projects as a strong puck-moving defenseman who will need to try an add some bulk to fit into the NHL.
