It's safe to say that Swedish hockey expert Uffe Bodin believes in Erik Brännström. Even during the draft, when the Golden Knights picked Brännström in the first round, Bodin was already comparing the 5'10" blueliner to Kimmo Timonen.
I caught up with Bodin recently, and we chatted about Brännström playing a more defensive role at the World Juniors and how the diminutive defender will handle NHL size. I also asked the Erik Karlsson question.
HockeyBuzz: You said a month ago that you believe Brännström will be in the NHL next year. What makes you say that and how does he fit Vegas?
Uffe Bodin: For a few reasons.
First and foremost, my belief is that they want him to come to North America this fall and see him at their training camp. A good showing there will open some doors. Whether the Golden Knights keep him within their organization or loan him to HV71 will probably be decided right there and then.
Based on the progress he has made this year and the need for more puck-moving d-men on Vegas' blue line, I envision that he'll at least play the nine games he's entitled to without removing the season from his contract.
HB: What did you think of Brännström's performance at the WJCs?
UB: Really good start and a really good end. He had a few games in the middle, against Russia and Slovakia, that weren't very impressive, but for the most part, I thought he was Sweden's best defenseman.
(Bodin clarified later, "I thought he was better than Dahlin for the most part, counting both offensive and defensive contributions." Considering Rasmus Dahlin was named the tournament's best defenseman, wow!)
HB: Brännström was a first-choice penalty killer at the WJCs. Do you see him filling this role in the NHL one day?
UB: Funny thing. He was drafted in the first round because of his offensive skills, but when the Swedish coach Tomas Montén put together his team, he decided to give Brännström a rather defensive role. Putting him with Rasmus Dahlin kind of proved that. With that said, I thought he did a tremendous job in his own end and on the PK.
He has improved his all-round game, but I think he will be relied upon as a puck-moving, offensive player in the NHL rather than a shutdown, penalty killing rearguard.
HB: Of course, his size will always be a knock. But you said even last year, he was handling men reasonably well in the SHL. Have you seen improvement in this area this season?
UB: Absolutely, he has had more of a two-way role with HV71 and hasn't really been sheltered all that much. He might be small, but he is thick and not someone you push around all that easily. He's almost never out of position either.
HB: Besides obviously handling bigger players down low, his lack of length also makes it a little challenging for him to close gaps. How will he overcome this?
UB: He'll obviously never win a wrestling match with Ryan Getzlaf or Anze Kopitar, but I think that with his hockey-IQ, mobility and knack for being in the right place at the right time, he can still be tough to play against.
I see him as a future top-four defenseman with the Golden Knights. If he continues to develop, the ceiling might be even higher.
HB: Are you higher on him now than you were last June, when you compared him to Kimmo Timonen?
UB: I have to say yes just because of the way he has handled himself defensively in both the SHL and the World Juniors. He's got the tools to quarterback a power play, but now he's also proving he's not a liability in his own end. Just like Kimmo Timonen did throughout his career.
HB: Crazy question: If Erik Karlsson were to become available this year, should Vegas bid on him? Isn't he the perfect fit for their line-up and style?
UB: Why not?
The Vegas Golden Knights have been such a success story that I don't really know if they necessarily need to change anything, but getting a super star like Karlsson in a new market like that could probably give the league, the sport and the team even more publicity and exposure.
Do I think it's going to happen? Probably not. Even though things have gone far better than anyone could ever have anticipated, I still think George McPhee and his crew have a long-term plan in place to build a winner with draft picks. To get a player like Karlsson, they would have to give up a lot of the really nice assets they have collected this past year.
***
Let's hope they save some magic for the playoffs.
Down 2-1 to the Flames with 1:46 left, the Golden Knights ripped off three goals in 53 seconds to ride out of the Saddledome with a 4-2 robbery.
Calgary was the opener of a pivotal six-game road swing which will wind through Winnipeg, Minnesota, Washington, Pittsburgh, and San Jose. That's six playoff-caliber teams.
After this trip, Vegas will have just 11 away games to go in the regular season. They're going to have a lot of time at T-Mobile Arena to build on a sparkling 19-3-2 home record.
But first, they'll need to survive this gauntlet. A solid 14-9-2 road mark -- and stunners like last night -- suggest that the Knights will be just fine.
Winning Play
The Flames' one-goal lead may as well have been ten, as the Golden Knights had only offered four shots at Mike Smith through the first 15 minutes of the third period. Much like their last loss to the New York Islanders, Vegas looked stuck in the mud against a trapping Calgary.
But then, Shea Theodore and David Perron took over:
The Flames win the faceoff, but Theodore and James Neal crowd Micheal Ferland on the half-wall, and the Knights finally force a turnover. Remember that turnovers feed transition.
Neal has just won the puck with three Calgary players on the wrong side of the puck. This makes it impossible for the home team to set their trap. However, Neal is not the most fleet of foot and his teammates aren't ahead of the play either. Ferland is poised to regain his ground.
This is where Theodore takes over with an aggressive read. The blueliner knows that he's faster than Neal (or David Perron, who's filling the left lane). He also knows that Erik Haula is supporting him defensively. So Theodore takes Haula's usual role, drives the center lane, splits the Flames, gains the zone, and fires a dangerous shot.
This is simply exquisite hockey. Haula rotates with Theodore. Deryk Engelland then rotates with Haula. Perron and Neal get T.J. Brodie to cough up the puck.
From the corner, Perron spots Engelland for a deflection from the slot. Talk about one place that you wouldn't expect to see the "stay at home" defender. Then Neal gets a jam at it.
The pressure's not done, as Perron forechecks at the left half-wall, then at the right half-wall. Finally, Calgary is able to stick the puck out.
While this shift ultimately proved fruitless, it was the first spark of life from Vegas in a while. They broke the trap by creating a turnover, aggressive speed, and a heavy forecheck.
Pluses
The Erik Haula-tying goal was pure luck. The Jonathan Marchessault game-winner was pure Vegas.
Off the draw, Jason Garrison outhustles Michael Frolik to the puck. Marchessault gains a step on a dazed Matthew Tkachuk. William Karlsson makes a gorgeous behind-the-back pass. Marchessault gets Mark Giordano to reach. This was the Knights' counterattack at its finest.
You have to wonder why Glen Gulutzan elected to go with the same trio which had just been stunned by the Haula strike. I know Tkachuk-Mikael Backlund-Ferland is a go-to line, but that was a mindblowing goal to give up. At the very least, Gulutzan should've considered calling a timeout.
As Cassie Campbell of Sportsnet noted, "The Flames just didn't look ready off that opening draw."
This was one of the few offensive highlights in a mostly defensive affair, as the Knights tread water for most of the game. To their credit, they dragged the Flames down too. 5v5 chances were low and fairly even on both sides.
Minuses
However, most of this contest didn't showcase Vegas hockey, and that has to be at least a small concern after a similar performance against the Islanders last week.
"They made it really frustrating for us tonight," remarked Erik Haula.
As I mentioned, Calgary was trapping. Shane Hnidy took note:
The Flames were also taking away the Golden Knights' bread-and-butter plays:
Great team defense by #CofRed here. They know that Perron wants to get the puck to the speed coming from behind (Haula). Monahan is there, Flames converge on Perron, forcing an NZ turnover #VegasBornpic.twitter.com/xo4yaFrXhy
Ideally, Vegas doesn't want the slower Perron or Neal carrying the puck through the neutral zone. They want the speedy Haula or an activating defenseman to lead the rush. Also, the Golden Knights would like their three forwards to be filling three lanes in concert, which might explain why Perron didn't get it up to Neal, who was up ahead. Neal with the puck by himself in the neutral zone without speed probably means a dump-in.
But Calgary did a great job of taking Haula away as an option -- that's Monahan clogging up the middle -- and cutting Perron off from other help, eventually forcing a neutral zone turnover.
Here's another example of the Flames' stifling defense. Finally, there's a stretch pass available -- but the home team is right on top of Alex Tuch.
As I wrote after the New York loss, the Knights needed to do a better job of forcing turnovers and getting in on the forecheck. As we saw in the aforementioned "Winning Play," those things prevent the opposition from setting their defense. You break the trap by not letting the trap get set.
They didn't do that enough last night, at least for the first 58 minutes.
Vegas looks to play a more consistent 60 on Thursday night at Central Division-leading Winnipeg.
***
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