This week’s NHL trade deadline was an opportunity for a number of teams make personnel moves in hopes of making themselves better. Of course, there is no trade deadline in college hockey. That didn’t stop Rensselaer from making a mid-season personnel move to make its team better. In exchange for defenseman Bryan Brutlag, RPI acquired forward Bryan Brutlag.

Bryan Brutlag

When the calendar turned to 2010 and RPI returned from the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit, Brutlag shifted to the right wing beginning with a Jan. 8 game at Quinnipiac and he’s stayed there since. There were a couple of reasons for the move. First, senior defenseman Christian Jensen played his way into the every day lineup. Second, Brutlag’s skill set brought a unique element to the group of Engineer front-liners.

“One of our weaknesses, and we’re getting better at it now at forward, was that we didn’t have enough energy. We didn’t win enough puck battles and we didn’t possess the puck in the offensive zone enough. Nobody on our team, and very few people in the league do that as well as Bryan Brutlag,” head coach Seth Appert said.

Brutlag showed some offensive upside as a defenseman in his first two and a half seasons and has enough skill to be a threat from the wing and in the offensive zone. Some elements of the transition brought a bit of concern, such as making strong plays on the boards to get pucks out of zone when forecheckers apply pressure. Others, such as getting in on the forecheck and helping out defensively came naturally due to his guts and grit.

“It’s kind of nice being on the other side of the checks. The advantage that I kind of have is that I kind of know where D are looking. I can jump pucks a little bit better and get to where I think pucks will go,” Brutlag said.

Appert said teammates appreciate Brutlag’s knowledge of their job responsibilities from both sides.

“Other guys that are more role guys at the forward position see the transition he’s made from defense because of how hard he plays. And the other thing is how hard he backchecks,” Appert said. “Defensemen love him, and he knows what it feels like as a defenseman to be left on an island. He’s been a spark plug for us in terms of how hard we need to play at the forward position.”

Brutlag has played with several combinations of linemates, but has regularly flanked senior center Paul Kerins, whose experience and demeanor have helped Brutlag in the transition.

“Paul’s a great guy to play with. He keeps things calm, keeps things in good perspective,” Brutlag said. “At any point in the game if you have to come back, he knows what we need to do to be successful.”

Now, Brutlag and the Engineers bring that work ethic and attitude to the postseason when they host Brown in a playoff series this weekend. Despite a close loss at Colgate and a tie at Cornell, last week’s games were highly competitive and fast-paced preparation for the postseason.

“This is the best year that we’ve had so far and the exciting thing is that we’re only going to keep getting better,” Brutlag said. “We’re really looking forward to the rest of the season and the playoffs.”