Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #7 Erik Brännström

Montreal Canadiens v Ottawa Senators — Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images

Another offensive-minded defenseman joins Colorado’s ranks.

The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Mile High Hockey staff. Six writers have ranked players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2024, in the Colorado Avalanche organization. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.

Erik Brännström joined the Colorado Avalanche this offseason as a free agent from the Ottawa Senators on a one-year deal with an AAV of $900k. The 24-year-old defenseman was one out of several restricted free agents who did not receive a qualifying offer from the Senators, making him a free agent this offseason. Brännström was initially drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights back in the 2017 NHL Draft and was traded to Ottawa in 2019 as a part of the deal that saw Vegas acquire Mark Stone.

Brännström is a guy who is pretty much a perfect fit for Colorado’s defense core on paper. He’s an offensive-minded defenseman who drives play well in a third-pairing role, which is likely the role that he’ll be targeting here in Colorado, as the first two defensive pairings are already set. Given the contract that Colorado signed him to, this is certainly a low-risk, high-upside contract, which can be buried in the minors if needed.

The skill is absolutely there, no doubt about it, and it’s not at all difficult to understand why Colorado took a chance on him. Our ranking reflects the optimism in Brännström’s possible role in Colorado plus the 266 games of NHL experience he brings to the table.

Erik Brannstrom goes coast to coast and snipes one home for a terrific goal, putting the Sens back up by 2!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/PKpxfAnZtT

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 24, 2023

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It’ll be interesting to see how the third pair of Colorado’s defense core shakes out, as Brännström will likely have some competition for a spot on that pairing. With signings like Oliver Kylington happening throughout the course of the summer, the Avalanche defense has become a bit crowded, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as having options and depth is arguably far preferable than not. We’ll see who ends up making the opening night roster soon enough!