Erik Brannstrom

Brannstrom is an undersized, puck-moving rearguard. He has solid offensive abilities, but is yet to consistently showcase them at the NHL level. His 18 points in 74 games a season ago were a new career high, while Brannstrom managed just one helper with the man advantage. While the Swede still has theoretical long-term potential at age 23, his usage and role isn't conducive to fantasy production as long as he remains with the Senators, where he's blocked by Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun and Jake Sanderson for larger roles at both even strength and on the power play.

Brannstrom was limited to just 53 games in 2021-22 due to a broken hand. He failed to score a single goal while managing 14 assists and a minus-17 rating. An undersized rearguard whose game lacks physicality, Brannstrom isn't going to be of a ton of use to the Senators moving forward if he isn't piling up the points. Unfortunately for the Swede, Thomas Chabot is entrenched as Ottawa's No. 1 power-play quarterback, leaving the 23-year-old Brannstrom fighting for scraps with the second unit.

The Senators finally decided to give Brannstrom an extended run at the end of last season as the team was going nowhere once again and the young Swede responded well. Brannstrom played in each of Ottawa's final 16 games, ultimately finishing with two goals and 13 points in 30 contests. He is the exact type of player the Sens should be handing a ton of ice time. Brannstrom has a boatload of offensive ability and will play the entire 2021-22 season at age 22. His defensive zone coverage needs work and his minutes may need to be sheltered a bit at even strength, but there is no reason for Ottawa to not run Brannstrom out there every night given its lack of depth on the blue line. Fantasy managers may want to take a wait-and-see approach here.

Brannstrom split time between the Senators and AHL Belleville last year, recording four assists in 31 games with the parent club and 23 points in 27 outings in the minors. The first-round pick from 2017 isn't a lock to make the 2020-21 Opening Night roster -- he'd likely benefit from another year of seasoning in Belleville, while Christian Wolanin and Braydon Coburn can likely keep the seat warm for a year. Should Brannstrom do well enough to earn a promotion, he's probably not going to play his way onto most fantasy rosters. He's worth holding in dynasty formats, as the Swede has a nose for scoring that should eventually translate into solid fantasy value.

As is the case with all of Ottawa's young defensemen, the expectations for Brannstrom's 2019-20 campaign have been muddied by the Senators' offseason additions of Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey. The 2017 first-round pick clearly has a ton of upside, as evidenced by the seven goals and 32 points he posted in 50 AHL appearances last year, but Ottawa may opt to have him play another season in the minors before giving him a full-time NHL gig in 2020-21. That said, if Brannstrom's able to secure a spot on the big club's Opening Night roster during this year's training camp, he'll be worth an add in all fantasy formats due to his tremendous offensive acumen.