Winless Canucks call up Brannstrom from Abbotsford: report

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Help is on the way for the Vancouver Canucks, who are still looking for their first win of the season.

Erik Brannstrom, the offensive-minded defenceman the Canucks acquired in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche, has been called up from Abbotsford according to Canucks insider Irfaan Gaffar.

Brannstrom has impressed in Abbotsford already, posting three points (0-3-3) in two AHL games. He has also been the subject of some viral highlight reels.

The 25-year-old Swede has 266 games of NHL experience, including 76 games with the Ottawa Senators last season, where he scored 20 points (3-17-20). He was once a highly touted prospect, picked 15th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. Two years later, he was the centrepiece of the Mark Stone trade, which sent Brannstrom to Ottawa.

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, Brannstrom doesn’t have great size and isn’t known for being tough to play against defensively. That’s likely why the Canucks put him on waivers shortly after acquiring him.

But the defence position is a clear area of need for the Canucks at the NHL level.

The Canucks are winless after three games and face the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday. They’re coming off a 4-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning, following a shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers and an overtime loss to the Calgary Flames.

Vincent Desharnais, the rugged 6-foot-7 defenceman the Canucks signed in free agency, has been a healthy scratch in the last two games. Noah Juulsen, who replaced Desharnais in the lineup, played just 12:27 in Tampa and was a -1.

Brannstrom is a left shot, so unless he plays his off-side, he isn’t a replacement for right-shot blueliners like Desharnais or Juulsen. Derek Forbort has played the left side on Vancouver’s third pair in each game this season.

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