Patrik Allvin discusses bringing in more defensive depth with Erik Brännström trade

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Cooper Godin
October 8, 2024 (9:08)

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Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin discusses bringing in more defensive depth with the Erik Brännström trade.

Over the weekend, the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche came together to complete a trade that saw injured defenceman Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth-round pick head to the Mile High City in exchange for Erik Brännström, a former first-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knight back in 2017.

By bringing in Erik Brännström, it gives the Canucks even more depth on the blueline, especially after signing Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais over the summer. After acquiring Brännström, the Canucks placed him on waivers in order to assign the Swedish blueliner to Abbotsford and 24 hours later, he cleared.

After the NHL's opening night roster submission deadline on Monday, Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin met with reporters and spoke about the trade with Colorado and what Erik Brännström brings to the team.

"We talked about Brännström within our staff with his ability to move pucks and [be a] power play option," said Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin about his pro scouts discussing Brännström in the summer when Brännström was a restricted free agent. "[Because of] the competition we had and the make-up of the roster [in the summer], we felt there wasn't really a fit there, but he is definitely a guy that our pro scouts, see as an option for us."

He added, "He cleared waivers here [and that] means we can continue to work with him and hopefully [he can] be a depth option and be [a part] of the younger players growing their game more in Abbotsford."

For now, Brännström will likely play a top-four role in Abbotsford to start the season, but even that isn't a given because of how deep the team is down in the American Hockey League. If an injury occurs on the blue line in Vancouver, there's a pretty good chance that Brännström will be the first call-up by Patrik Allvin because of his NHL experience as he has 266 games under his belt with the Ottawa Senators.

Brännström and the Abbotsford Canucks will begin their 2024-25 season on the road on Friday night against the Calgary Wranglers.