Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette did not hold back in expressing his disappointment following his team’s 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
“A lot of sloppy hockey,” Brunette said when asked to characterize his team’s performance. “A lot of slow-twitch thinking and playing and not [being] ready to start. Pretty much everything – I don’t think we did anything very well.”
Brunette’s tone shifted, however, when asked about the play of forward Colton Sissons , who redirected a Dante Fabbro shot into the back of the net late in the first period for his 12th goal of the season. Brunette lauded Sissons, a bright spot for the Predators both in Thursday’s game and throughout the first half of the season, as an example of how he wants the rest of his team to play.
“He does so many little things right,” Brunette said. “It’s good to see him get rewarded because he’s around [the net]. I think a lot of our guys can take a little lesson and watch where he is instead of being in the corners.”
The Andrew Brunette Effect
Throughout his 10-year career with the Predators, Sissons has been known primarily as a defensive forward who provided secondary scoring at best. However, his offensive game seems to have found new life this season under Brunette, whose system rests on the key pillars of speed, puck possession and dynamic goal-scoring.
“I think he’s around the net,” Brunette said. “He’s got a really good stick. I think he’s got good instincts. He gets in deep, he tips pucks and he gets himself in really good positions. He’s a really smart player.”
Sissons has never been a volume goal scorer, but through 39 games this season, he has already tied his 2022-23 season total and is just three goals shy of his career high of 15 set in 2018-19. His 12 goals this season are the third-most among all Predators skaters, and he ranks fifth on his team in points with 21.
Sissons on Special Teams
While he is enjoying what could be a career season offensively, perhaps Sissons’ most valuable asset is his versatility. He logs significant minutes on both the power play and the penalty kill, and half of his 12 goals have been scored on special teams. He leads his team in shorthanded points with four (three goals, one assist) in addition to logging five points on the man advantage (three goals, two assists).
“He’s just reliable, and he’s got pretty good hands around the net,” Brunette said. “He’s good on the power play, he’s good in front and he plays an honest, 200-foot game. So, we’re really lucky to have him on our team.”
At 30 years old, Sissons finally appears to be firing on all cylinders and reaching his full potential as a consistent NHL forward on both ends of the ice – and it’s not by accident.
“I expect to be better every single year in every facet,” Sissons said this summer before the start of his 10th NHL season. “As an older player in the league now, you’ve got to find ways to keep getting better. The moment you kind of let your foot off the gas is when you start getting your job taken by some younger guys. So, I don’t take that for granted, and I put in the work every offseason to become just a little bit faster and a little bit stronger. I just need to keep growing in the leadership side of things, too.”
Sissons’ Value and Leadership
Even Sissons’ teammates, rising stars and grizzled veterans alike, have acknowledged the impact of his quiet leadership on and off the ice.
“He’s a guy with a 200-foot game,” veteran defenseman and Predators alternate captain Ryan McDonagh said. “He’s probably our most consistent player, you could say, as far as what we’re going to get from him. Tonight, and especially this year, he’s just providing some offense that’s very much needed. And he’s doing it the right way – going to the net, paying the price, and we just need to continue to play the way he’s playing because he’s doing a great job being a leader for us.”
Sissons has long flown under the radar as a two-way depth forward, but his offensive renaissance under Brunette this season is turning heads around the league – and for good reason. Nashville has Sissons under contract for another two seasons at $2.857 million in what is, quite frankly, a steal for a player of his caliber. It may be one of the best and most underrated contract values in the NHL outside of any entry-level deals.
“Coming in, I kind of knew what type of player he was, but to coach him is a real blessing,” Brunette said. “He’s a kind of Swiss army knife that does so many different things for our team. So, he’s better than advertised.”
Up Next
The Predators head to Dallas for a Central Division showdown against the Stars on Saturday (Jan. 6). Nashville then returns home to host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (Jan. 9) before returning to Dallas for the second and final time this season on Friday (Jan. 12).
More must-reads: