Senators' Rebuild Benefiting AHL Belleville
BELLEVILLE, ONT -- Ottawa Senators General Manager Pierre Dorion used the NHL trade deadline to begin a major rebuild by completing four deals in a four-day stretch leading up to Monday's deadline, the last of which might have netted the Senators a key piece in their rebuild.
Brännström Belleville Bound
Acquired Monday afternoon, the highly-rated prospect was moved to Ottawa by Vegas in a deal in which Mark Stone was the principal trade target headed to Sin City.
"He's got quite the pedigree," said Mann, adding, "I know the organization is extremely happy to have him."
"The best piece we got is today,” Dorion said at his post-deadline press conference. “I can’t express to you how, as a hockey group, we’re so happy to get Erik Brännström."
It's not hard to see why Dorion is so high on Brännström, an AHL All-Star at age 19. He's of the new-school mold for a blue liner in today's game, who blends a tantalizing mix of skating and hockey sense.
The Swedish rearguard currently ranks fourth among all AHL rookie defencemen in scoring. He has tallied seven goals and 28 points in 41 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves this season.
"I spoke to (Chicago Wolves head coach) Rocky [Thompson] earlier," said Mann. "The two words that stood out the most was dynamic and very coachable. To me as a coach, you add those two things together it tells me you have a pretty special player."
How Swede a Comparison
The Belleville Senators' head coach can't help but see the similarities between the newly acquired Brännström and former Hershey Bears defenseman Christian Djoos, who developed and flourished under the candid bench boss.
"That's a really good comparison. Djoos was a seventh-round pick, but very dynamic and developed into an unbelievable top-notch AHL defenceman and certainly is making his mark in the NHL. Brännström has a little higher upside being a first-round pick (15th overall) to that nature," continued Mann. "I'm looking forward to coaching him and probably going see a lot of Djoos' offensive tendencies."
Belleville Gains Abramov as Ottawa Rebuilds
Acquired Friday morning, the 5-foot-9, 171-pound right winger made his Belleville Senators debut a night later in Rochester, demonstrating his quickness and ability to find his way to hard areas of the ice - showing flashes of patented shiftiness, speed and skill. All of which, impressed his new coach.
"He came as advertised. Great work ethic, competes hard. I think he could be a great asset for us down the stretch," said Belleville Senators' head coach Troy Mann.
The Russian product has amassed 12 goals and 22 points in 53 games, and is eager for his fresh start with the Senators
Departures
While Belleville added, three B-Sens headed for the exits - defensemen Patrick Sieloff and Julius Bergman and forward Tobias Lindberg.
"It was a pleasure to coach him, "said Mann of Patrick Sieloff, who was dealt for Brian Gibbons Sunday night. "I certainly felt he was a part of the reason, we were able to make a run here and get back in the playoff picture."
Sieloff appeared in 103 games for Belleville, wearing an “A” over his tenure in the Friendly City. The Ann Arbor, Michigan was honoured as the club's Defenceman of the Year a season ago.
In 33 games with the B-Sens this season, Bergman has added six points.
Acquired in December, Tobias Lindberg's stint was short-lived in Canada. The power forward has recorded 12 points (five goals) in 44 games this season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Senators.
In 33 games with the B-Sens this season, fellow Swede Juluis Bergman has added six points.
Upcoming games
Gaining points in 15-straight games (11-0-0-4), Belleville currently sits one point out of the North Division’s final playoff position behind Toronto, who has two games in hand. The Senators open a two-game homestand against the Manitoba Moose Friday night at 7 p.m.
Belleville Senators' Roster Post-NHL Trade Deadline
Goalies (3): Marcus Hogberg, Filip Gustavsson and Mike Condon
Defence (9): Erik Burgdoerfer, Jordan Murray, Andreas Englund, Maxime Lajoie, Stuart Percy, Erik Brannstrom, Stefan Elliott, Cody Goloubef , Justin Falk (inj)
Forwards (17): Drake Batherson, Aaron Luchuk, Vitaly Abramov, Jack Rodewald Chase Balisy, Jim O'Brien, Morgan Klimchuk (inj), Joseph LaBate , Boston Leier, Adam Tambellini, Nick Paul, Logan Brown, Andrew Sturtz (inj), Darren Archibald, Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Daniel Ciampini, Filip Chlapik
NHL/ AHL Eligible (2) Rudolfs Balcer, Christain Wolanin
ECHL (3) Jake Paterson, Daniel Ciampini, Francois Beauchemin, Jonathan Racine
