Opportunity knocks for Brisebois
Canucks third-rounder could be a beneficiary of Tryamkin’s return to Russia
Hitting in a third round of any NHL Entry Draft is brutally tough. It’s among the reasons Nikita Tryamkin’s departure to the KHL hurt so much. The Canucks finally nailed the right pick in a middle round and ended up losing the player for nothing in return.
But Tryamkin’s parting isn’t all bad.
A young man that size doesn’t exit without opening a door. And the gap could be wide enough for one of the Canucks’ developing defencemen to sway into focus.
Enter rangy, mature and smart Guillaume Brisebois. The player taken with the third-round pick acquired in the Eddie Lack trade is no sure thing. But he’s shown enough top-four upside this past season to slot in here at eighth in a rundown of the Canucks’ top 10 prospects.
Brisebois took some hits at the Young Stars tournament in September and they weren’t all on the ice.
Vancouver GM Jim Benning basically called him out for being soft, pointing out Brisebois needed “more desperation” and “urgency” in the way he played defence.
This is usually code for a player not being tough enough. It’s true that Brisebois, who measured at nearly 6-foot-3 in the fall after being 6-foot-1 heading into the 2015 draft, did get rolled or easily outmanoeuvred by forwards nearly a half-foot shorter. That was troubling.
At the time, Travis Green suggested Brisebois watch a whole lot of Alex Edler video to figure out how to box players out, especially around the net. It seemed at the time to be some sound advice for a defenceman who was looking really raw.
The good news? Brisebois apparently got the message because he followed up his Young Stars and training camp experiences with his best season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He kind of broke out offensively and was among the final cuts for Team Canada’s world junior championship team.
What several scouts like is his point total, which jumped from 26 to 47, but the Canucks seemed most thrilled about his improvement in, um, that urgency.
If Brisebois happens to pan out this season in the pros, some credit will need to go to Vancouver development coach Scott Walker.
“He did good work with him and he got him playing with more conviction defensively,” Benning said. “We drafted him because we liked his ability to get back and transition the puck up the ice. His overall game, his ability to skate and move the puck up, that is his strength. But he needed to play with more conviction.
“Scott would work with him on the ice in practices and as the year went on, we have seen the conviction in his play improve. You can see it in the way he’s boxing guys out. He’s been more physical.
“The things that he has done well in the past, he’s still doing those things. But he’s playing harder. That will serve him well moving forward.”
Brisebois is one of those prospects who scouts love to point out his character. At 17 years of age, he was named captain of his junior team, Acadie-Bathurst. He was traded last year and wasn’t even with Charlottetown for two months before his new teammates voted him the captain there as well.
So the leadership qualities are there, but is he physically ready to play in the American Hockey League this season?
“He’ll come to training camp, so we’ll see where he’s at, but I would think development wise, he’ll be playing in Utica,” Benning said. “He needs to keep developing.”
This will be a big season for him in Utica.