The game is changing, and Ottawa Senators prospect Erik Brännström is one gust in the hurricane of young offensive defencemen altering the NHL’s landscape.

In a sport where power play quarterbacks and point-stacking rearguards once wrought havoc on the opposition one thunderous point shot at a time; the modern version is a signal-caller in the literal sense, reading defensive formations, manipulating coverage, and putting the puck in their playmaker’s hands.

This is where Brännström excels. He’s a master manipulator, pulling the opposition into his orbit, and sending the puck to his teammates with the force of a meteor as they glide unabated into the newly created space.

Everything about Brännström’s game is calculated, from the posture in his shoulders to the position of his skates. It’s a