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“Other times, it’s better for me to be quiet and let him go about his way. He’s got plenty of people and coaches giving him stuff 24/7 and it’s a lot for a young player to take in when you’re playing against the best players in the world. It’s not like we’ve been matched against the top guys, but we’ve been out against everybody at some point.”

Photo by Ernest Doroszuk / Postmedia

Hainsey said Brannstrom has shown progress since the first day of camp and he expects that’s only going to continue.

“He’s going to learn and improve every day, and he has,” Hainsey said. “It’s the same for everybody: It’s harder at 20 years old than it’s at 38 years old. Everybody has good and bad days, it’s about coming back the next day, continuing to work and rolling the sleeves up and getting better.

“It’s still very early and we’ve got a long way to go, but he’s continuing to put the work in and that’s the most important thing.”

Hainsey learned a long time ago the best approach for any player is to remain on an even keel, and that’s why he’s had success. He never gets too high or too low, and that’s something he’s trying to pass along to Brannstrom. It’s a big reason why Hainsey was brought in and he’s living up to his end of the deal.

“There’s games when it’s been easy for him and there’s games that it’s been a little harder for him,” Hainsey said. “That’s perfectly fine and normal. Over time, he’ll earn more of the trust of the coaching staff and things like that.

Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia

“We’re in a spot where the team is building, but when it’s 3-2 in the third period you want to get a win so it’s a tricky balance that you’re doing here at the moment. He comes in with a great attitude every day and ready to work no matter what happened the previous day, and that’s the way we’re going to go about it the whole season.”