Canucks Coffee: Bring on the Oilers, why Erik Brannstrom is relevant ...

Adios, La-La Land. Hello, hometown showdown.

Article content

No sooner did the Vancouver Canucks claim an impressive 4-2 victory on Thursday in Los Angeles to sweep a three-game California road trip than the focus shifted to the weekend and a significant Saturday night at Rogers Arena.

Another highly-anticipated confrontation with the Edmonton Oilers is sure to raise testosterone levels on the ice and the decibel level in the seats. After all, who can forget J.T. Miller nearly sending Game 7 of the clubs’ dramatic second-round playoff series to overtime here on May 20?

And had Brock Boeser not been sidelined by a blood-clotting issue in his leg, wouldn’t it have been fitting if the guy who owned the Oilers last season — six goals en route to a career-high 40 — would have scored the winner to send the Canucks to the Western Conference final?

Article content

Article content

Now that the winger is injured after taking an illegal check to the head from Tanner Jeannot against the Kings on Thursday, it’s just more fuel for the fire for the Canucks to overcome more adversity. After all, the Oilers are favoured to win the Stanley Cup.

Leon Draisaitl celebrates after the Oilers prevailed in overtime in Game 2 of the clubs’ playoff series on May 10 at Rogers Arena. Photo by Derek Cain /Getty Images

This much we know for sure regardless of who’s on the ice Saturday. Pre-season, regular season or post-season, it doesn’t matter. When these two teams clash it’s appointment viewing and marquee material. And with Connor McDavid back from injury and Leon Draisiatl operating in his shooting office for that one-time, short-side release, these matchups are always dripping in some sort of drama.

For perspective, we offer towering Canucks defenceman Vincent Desharnais. He was with the Oilers last season and saw what it was like to play against J.T. Miller. At the annual Jake Milford charity golf tournament in September, he didn’t hold back in a question-and-answer session before pumping up his new team.

Article content

Article content

“J.T. Miller is an asshole,” Desharnais said to a chorus of applause and laughter. “But seriously, playing against you guys (Canucks), I definitely didn’t enjoy it. You guys were so intense with your style of play, and I’ll do everything I can to help us go all the way.”

Erik Brannstrom ties up Matvei Michkov of the Flyers during Oct. 19 encounter In Philadelphia. Photo by Derik Hamilton /THE ASSOCIATED PRESSFIRST SERVING: Erik Brannstrom: ‘If he keeps playing the way he is, he’s going to be hard take out.’

I asked the question 10 days ago.

Could Brannstrom be that second long-sought, puck-moving defenceman the Canucks have craved for too long to help get over the sting of allowing Stanley Cup champion Gustav Forsling to slip away?

The answer is yes. Make that a resounding yes.

“If he keeps playing the way he is, he’s going to be hard take out,” head coach Rick Tocchet said of Brannstrom before November arrived.

Article content

Brannstrom, 25, played his ninth game of this NHL season on Thursday, and under normal circumstances, it could have been precursor to a more pressing situation Saturday. That night will not only mark Brannstrom’s 10th game, he’ll no longer be waiver exempt. But he’s not going anywhere.

A leg injury that Derek Forbort suffered Monday in practice at San Jose will put the big defender on the shelf for weeks. And even if he was healthy, Brannstrom has moved the meter to such a degree that he looks like a lineup staple, not having a few cups of NHL coffee before the 10-game mark and then reassigned to the AHL in Abbotsford.

As for the Forsling faux pas, here’s a Cole’s Notes versions of what went wrong.

He appeared a prudent fifth-round draft play in 2014, possibly another fifth-round find like Kevin Bieksa. However, after two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League, he was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks for bigger blueliner Adam Clendening, who logged just 17 games here.

Article content

Six months later, Clendening, Nick Bonino and a second-round pick were dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Brandon Sutter and a third-rounder that turned into Will Lockwood. The Canucks have nothing to show for those moves. Lockwood was dealt to the New York Rangers in 2023, along with a seventh round pick in 2026, for Vitali Kravtsov. He crashed and burned and is back in the KHL. Lockwood signed as a free agent in Florida.

The Canucks were enamoured by how Kiefer Sherwood hounded the opposition in the NHL playoffs, including the towering Tyler Myers. Photo by Derek Cain /Getty ImagesSECOND SERVING: Kiefer Sherwood: ‘He just adds that juice. He’s chirping on the bench. It’s contagious.’

Undrafted and undaunted is a common summation of those who beat considerable odds to stay in ‘The Show’.

You might want to add unbridled to paint a better picture of how Sherwood has combined underrated skill with a zest to be at his best when he gets the opposition in the crosshairs. The Canucks were enamoured by his staying power and potential to build on a career-high 10 goals and 27 points with the Nashville Predators last season as a bruising bottom-six irritant.

Article content

And they were so smitten by his bowling-ball presence to inflict heavy hits — especially against the Canucks in a first-round playoff series last spring — the free agent earned a two-year commitment at a very palatable US$1.5 million salary-cap hit because of potential to move up the lineup.

Add his three goals and seven points in an average of 12:47 minutes through a dozen games on an effective line with Teddy Blueger and Danton Heinen and it’s quite the bargain. Those days of Sherwood being exposed on waivers are gone.

“I’m willing to do whatever I can to give us a competitive advantage,” Sherwood told Postmedia. “It’s all about winning and I’ll do whatever it takes. I try to model my game after that feistiness and pit-bull mentality. It’s adapt or die, a quote I kind of came to live by. I needed to find a way to not just stick, but make an impact.”

Article content

Sherwood, 29, leads the NHL in hits with 79 — he had seven on Thursday — and there’s more to that number. He’s aggressive and disruptive on the forecheck and when he staples a player to the Plexiglas, you hear the thud. And he’s only taken three minors. In a penalty-kill role, his constant holding of the puck in the offensive zone takes time and space away from the opposition.

“I have to give credit to the staff to identify what I like — which is great — and he’s been a bright spot with our team,” lauded Tocchet. “He just adds that juice, and when our team is a little quiet, he’s chirping on the bench. He gets people talking. It’s contagious.

“He has a chip on his shoulder, kind of like Gars (Conor Garland). Every day prove everybody wrong. And when you have that chip, you’re not comfortable. I like that.”

Article content

It’s also why his line with Blueger and Heinen has been that reliable and relentless third alignment to be responsible defensively and chip in offensively. Sherwood and Heinen also form a good second pairing on the penalty kill.

“They’re connected and support each other and very rarely wide,” said Tocchet. “There’s one or two and the third guy in usually in the triangle position. They’ll make a mistake, which is fine, but they’re system guys.”

And, of course, the system is always the solution.

[email protected]

Recommended from Editorial

Canucks vs. Kings Game Day: Defusing the ticking time bomb in L.A. is key to another road-trip sweep

Canucks: Will these road warriors end up Pacific Division winners?

Canucks: Thatcher Demko's return now on the horizon

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. With a subscription, you’ll get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun online, as well as the ePaper and our app. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun.

Article content