Blueliner Gudbranson happy to be home
Orléans native Erik Gudbranson brings veteran presence to young club
The transition has been seamless for Erik Gudbranson.
Looking for a home and trying to get settled in a new city has been a bit easier this time because the Ottawa Senators' newly acquired blueliner is in familiar surroundings.
Dealt to the Senators by the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 8 in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft, Gudbranson, who grew up in Orléans, was thrilled with the opportunity to play in his hometown and settled here to prepare for whenever the 2020-21 campaign gets underway.
“It was a blessing in disguise for us on a number of different fronts,” Gudbranson told Postmedia in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. “My wife (Sarah) and I are expecting our first child at the end of March, so with what's currently going on, it's nice to be close to both friends and family and have the support here for us.
“From a hockey side, this is one of the most exciting opportunities I've had in my career, so there's a lot of positivity on my end coming here.”
Though the Gudbransons didn't have a home in Ottawa when he was traded, they weren't far away after settling into their summer place in the Muskoka region. He spent most of the pandemic skating at a rink north of Toronto and moved into a new place a few weeks ago to begin preparations for the start of camp.
Gudbranson has been skating with some of his new teammates — including Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub — at the Bell Sensplex, but soon they'll move to the Canadian Tire Centre. A No. 3 overall pick of the Florida Panthers in 2010, Gudbranson is buoyed by the Senators' potential.
After five seasons in the Florida organization, he spent three with the Vancouver Canucks before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins and then spending most of last season in Anaheim.
This deal wasn't as disruptive because it happened in the off-season and Ottawa means a lot to Gudbranson.
His parents, Donna and Wayne Gudbranson, couldn't have been more excited.
“It feels really right,” Erik Gudbranson said. “Since I've been here, I feel like I've got a new look at my hometown. I'm married now, my wife is expecting, and it's just a really cool new lease on my hometown and there's a really good, up-and-coming hockey team that I'm fortunate to play with and that's a situation I'm really excited about.”
Did the trade catch him offguard?
“Yes and no. I've been through the experience of being traded a few times so it was less of a blow than a few of the other times,” he said.
“I was called and made aware that it was a possibility early in the day, and when I heard where the opportunity was I was pretty excited, and sure enough it happened that afternoon.”
The Senators needed help on the blue line and Gudbranson will be able to play in the club's top four, which is why GM Pierre Dorin liked the deal. This is a club that needs good veterans who know the league. Gudbranson brings experience as he heads into his 10th season with 518 career games under his belt.
He fits the mould coach D.J. Smith likes because he's tough to play against. TSN's James Duthie joined the Postmedia Senators panel Wednesday and told a story about former Florida goalie Roberto Luongo being unhappy when Gudbranson was moved to Vancouver in 2016 because he brought “intangibles” to the table.
“It has an uncanny resemblance to my first years in Florida, going through that rebuild, and really being a piece to that puzzle,” Gudbranson said. “I would say throughout my career those were the most purposeful years of my career in the sense that you had a position, a role and an opportunity to get better every single day.
“It's so much fun coming to the rink every day knowing that you're just going to get that little bit better every day. I've recently seen a number of my teammates coming up here. It's fun to see them working at their games and trying to get better. If you can find the right mix, it's a fun situation to be a part of.”
Gudbranson knows he can bring his experience and rugged style to the table.
“First and foremost, my role is to play well and get better every day,” Gudbranson said. “A hockey game and team is a number of individual battles that have to be won collectively. That ends up bringing you wins at the end of the night. I've enjoyed playing on teams that play the game hard and tough.
“There's a number of pieces to this puzzle that are sitting here right now that are going to do that. I'm going to bring that, and you combine that in with skill and it's a good position to have a good year.”
Gudbranson would like to help this organization build something.
“This is a place I'm just so proud to be from,” he said. “You go up and down that lineup, it's young and it's inexperienced, but there's a ton of energy, a ton of excitement and being around that every single day is going to push me extremely hard to establish myself and, hopefully, be here a while.”