Erik Brännström Has Found Confidence in Himself and Comfort in His Role 

There are few things in this life better than feeling like you are home.

For Erik Brännström, he’s beginning to feel that in Vancouver as a member of the Canucks.

“I think it was meant to be,” said Brännström. “It was a weird couple of weeks for me before coming here but it has been really good since I got here. I feel like I am at home. I really like the city, my teammates, the coaches, and how we play. It just feels great that I’ve ended up here.”

Brännström was selected 15th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He was then traded to the Ottawa Senators as the central piece of the Mark Stone trade. Brännström played 266 games with the Senators before he played his first game with the Canucks on October 17th.

Since making his debut, Brännström has helped round out the defence corps and brought a fresh look to the third pairing. The combination of Brännström’s speed, skill, and calmness has meshed well with his 6’7” and very vocal partner, Vincent Desharnais.

“Having a good connection with your defence partner is so important. I came in and played my first game and then did another practice with the team and was paired up with Vinny. That really helped a lot because he talks a lot,” said Brännström.

“Now, we have some chemistry and are starting to know where we are going to be and what we need to do to help each other and be able to upgrade each other’s game. Our games complement each other and make each other better. We just need to keep going and keep working but I feel like it has been a great fit for me.”

One area where Brännström feels he has improved the most during his time as a Canuck is his belief in himself at the NHL level. He’s always known that there’s skill in his game, but with the help of the Canucks’ coaching staff, he is beginning to believe in himself and know that he can do the job that is asked of him in this Canucks’ lineup.

“Overall, my confidence has been better since coming to Vancouver,” said Brännström. “They let me play my game out there and that allows me to not overthink the game. Of course, I have things to work on, but I feel like I play my best when I have the puck and with Vinny, I think that’s been really good.”

The 25-year-old defenceman has greatly appreciated the two defencemen on the Canucks’ coaching staff. Whether it’s learning how to properly box-out a player from Adam Foote or breaking down decision-making with Sergei Gonchar, Brännström feels a different player-coach relationship with what he has in Vancouver.

“Gonch and Footer have been great. They talk to me a lot, show me video, and tell me about the things they want me to work on. The difference with [these coaches] is that they tell you what to work on and then show you how to work on those things. They were both such talented players. It’s great to take it all in and work with them on things,” said Brännström.

Head coach Rick Tocchet spoke about how Brännström gives the Canucks a lot of options on the backend. He helps bring an offensive punch from the backend and that comes up clutch when the Canucks are taking offensive zone draws.

“If we are down, we get him out there a little bit more,” said Tocchet. “He's creative and he can get the puck on the net. He's a mobile guy and can get away from people on the wall, things like that.”

Tocchet and his staff have worked with Brännström on finding the right time to pinch and the head coach wants Brännström to continue improving on knowing where to be when there is a board battle. He gave credit to the Swedish defenceman on how he has been taking in the information and said that he has really liked his game over the past couple of games.

As he now feels comfort and support with the Canucks, Brännström has found a spot in the lineup where he can be a contributor on a night-in, night-out basis. His offence continues to shine when opportunities present themselves and he is beginning to fit into Tocchet’s system.

Insider Extra

When Brännström came to the Canucks, one of the faces he recognized was Nils Höglander.

The two Swedes have known each other for over 10 years and their first memory goes back to a hockey camp in Sweden where Brännström’s dad was the coach.

At that camp, Höglander was playing forward but the surprise came when Brännström told us that he was a goaltender at the time. Brännström said he was either 11 or 12 at the time and he was playing goaltender when he was playing up an age group.

Höglander laughed when we asked him how many times he thinks he would score on Brännström now if he got 10 penalty shots with Brännström in the net.

“I’d score at least eight out of the 10. I don’t think he is good in net,” said Höglander with a smile as Brännström walked by.

“He would be too small to be a goalie. But back then, it was a fun time. Those are back in the days, and it’s cool that we are on the same team in the NHL now.”