It&#8217;s one of the most common questions I get asked on social media. For people who actually watch nearly every second of every <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dave-hall-talks-potential-call-ups-willanders-world-juniors-more-vancouver-canucks-conversation">Vancouver Canucks prospect&#8217;s season like our own Dave Hall</a>, it&#8217;s even worse.
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&#8220;Do you think [insert AHL defence prospect here] could be a call-up option to help on Vancouver&#8217;s defence?&#8221;
Look, we all know the level of disarray the Canucks&#8217; NHL blueline is in right now. Watching Noah Juulsen log top four minutes hasn&#8217;t been fun for anyone, I get it. But the jump from the AHL level to the NHL level is a big one, let alone the jump from playing AHL minutes to NHL minutes that aren&#8217;t heavily sheltered.
It&#8217;s a jump that even Erik Brännström, who turned heads earlier this season thanks to his smooth skating and puck-moving ability, has struggled to make. For most of the season, the Canucks have sheltered Brännström&#8217;s minutes, keeping him away from the opposition&#8217;s best whenever they can.
Even after the Canucks lost Quinn Hughes to an injury, the coaching staff felt their best defence group was one that didn&#8217;t feature Erik Brännström. Now, whether you agree with that decision or not &#8212; I certainly don&#8217;t &#8212; the fact Brännström hasn&#8217;t been able to be effective outside of sheltered minutes this season helped me come up with a new tool to help evaluate Canucks call-up options: The Brännström Bar (trademark pending).
It&#8217;s simple, really. Before you ask if Kirill Kudryavtsev or Elias Pettersson &#8212; two 20-year-olds down in Abbotsford &#8212; could be options for the Canucks to call up as a potential solution to their blueline problems, ask yourself this question first: Are they better than Erik Brännström?
Because right now, that&#8217;s the bar to clear. The answer with Guillaume Brisebois was no, but the Canucks called him up anyway and elected to play him over Brännström. It didn&#8217;t work out, clearly, and we may not see Brisebois get another game this season.
But this isn&#8217;t to pick on Brisebois, and it&#8217;s certainly not to pick on Brännström.
The point of The Brännström Bar is that Erik Brännström is a pretty solid hockey player, and even he &#8212; a pretty solid hockey player &#8212; couldn&#8217;t do much outside of sheltered minutes.
The likelihood of anyone else on the Canucks&#8217; depth chart stepping in and making a difference that improves their blueline by any significant margin is slim, and becomes even slimmer for young players who have never played NHL games.
Of course, we should mention that giving young players a taste of the NHL is a totally different story, and it&#8217;s something the Canucks have done before. With Pettersson being <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-elias-pettersson-named-2025-ahl-all-star-roster">named an AHL All-Star on Wednesday</a>, an NHL call-up could certainly be in the cards for him as a nice little reward for a strong first season in Abbotsford. But if you&#8217;re thinking about the Canucks calling him up as an answer to the questions surrounding their blueline, we&#8217;d ask you to reference the Brännström bar.
But The Brännström Bar isn&#8217;t only used as a way to crush the dreams of fans hoping prospects can step in and turn things around for the Canucks. It can be applied to older players like Christian Wolanin and Akito Hirose when the same question is asked.
Are they better than Erik Brännström?
If the answer isn&#8217;t a resounding yes, then they likely aren&#8217;t going to move the needle for the Canucks&#8217; NHL defence corps.
Ladies and gentlemen, behold: The Brännström Bar.
Sponsored by bet365
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It's one of the most common questions I get asked on social media. For people who actually watch nearly every second of every <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/dave-hall-talks-potential-call-ups-willanders-world-juniors-more-vancouver-canucks-conversation">Vancouver Canucks prospect's season like our own Dave Hall</a>, it's even worse.
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"Do you think [insert AHL defence prospect here] could be a call-up option to help on Vancouver's defence?"

Look, we all know the level of disarray the Canucks' NHL blueline is in right now. Watching Noah Juulsen log top four minutes hasn't been fun for anyone, I get it. But the jump from the AHL level to the NHL level is a big one, let alone the jump from playing AHL minutes to NHL minutes that aren't heavily sheltered.

It's a jump that even Erik Brännström, who turned heads earlier this season thanks to his smooth skating and puck-moving ability, has struggled to make. For most of the season, the Canucks have sheltered Brännström's minutes, keeping him away from the opposition's best whenever they can.

Even after the Canucks lost Quinn Hughes to an injury, the coaching staff felt their best defence group was one that didn't feature Erik Brännström. Now, whether you agree with that decision or not -- I certainly don't -- the fact Brännström hasn't been able to be effective outside of sheltered minutes this season helped me come up with a new tool to help evaluate Canucks call-up options: The Brännström Bar (trademark pending).

It's simple, really. Before you ask if Kirill Kudryavtsev or Elias Pettersson -- two 20-year-olds down in Abbotsford -- could be options for the Canucks to call up as a potential solution to their blueline problems, ask yourself this question first: Are they better than Erik Brännström?

Because right now, that's the bar to clear. The answer with Guillaume Brisebois was no, but the Canucks called him up anyway and elected to play him over Brännström. It didn't work out, clearly, and we may not see Brisebois get another game this season.

But this isn't to pick on Brisebois, and it's certainly not to pick on Brännström.

The point of The Brännström Bar is that Erik Brännström is a pretty solid hockey player, and even he -- a pretty solid hockey player -- couldn't do much outside of sheltered minutes.

The likelihood of anyone else on the Canucks' depth chart stepping in and making a difference that improves their blueline by any significant margin is slim, and becomes even slimmer for young players who have never played NHL games.

Of course, we should mention that giving young players a taste of the NHL is a totally different story, and it's something the Canucks have done before. With Pettersson being <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-elias-pettersson-named-2025-ahl-all-star-roster">named an AHL All-Star on Wednesday</a>, an NHL call-up could certainly be in the cards for him as a nice little reward for a strong first season in Abbotsford. But if you're thinking about the Canucks calling him up as an answer to the questions surrounding their blueline, we'd ask you to reference the Brännström bar.

But The Brännström Bar isn't only used as a way to crush the dreams of fans hoping prospects can step in and turn things around for the Canucks. It can be applied to older players like Christian Wolanin and Akito Hirose when the same question is asked.

Are they better than Erik Brännström?

If the answer isn't a resounding yes, then they likely aren't going to move the needle for the Canucks' NHL defence corps.

Ladies and gentlemen, behold: The Brännström Bar.

Sponsored by bet365
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