Welcome back to The Win Column Calgary Flames Prospect Rankings. Coming in at #4 this year in his first appearance on the list is Hunter Brzustewicz. As one of the most talented young players in the organization, he’s one of the best prospects the Flames have acquired via trade, and he ranks second among defencemen on our list.
Acquired in the Elias Lindholm trade back in January, Brzustewicz immediately became one of the very best prospects in the Flames system. Coming off a tremendous OHL season in which he finished second among defenders in points, the expectations for Brzustewicz are sky high right now.
Brzustewicz’s development so far
Brzustewicz hasn’t had the typical journey in junior hockey. He actually came up in the NTDP system before joining the OHL as an 18-year-old. He was originally a fourth-round pick of the Barrie Colts in the 2020 OHL draft before eventually making his OHL debut with the Kitchener Rangers for the 2021–22 season. Unsurprisingly given his age and experience, Brz immediately became an impact player in the OHL.
In his first season in the league he put up 57 points in 68 games, leading the Rangers blueline in scoring by a whopping 28 points. He also finished eighth among all OHL defencemen in points, and first among D-1 defencemen that season. Following the season he was selected in the third round of the NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks.
This recent season Brzustewicz took a gigantic step forward and saw his production skyrocket to historic levels. He saw a 35-point rise in production, totalling 92 points in 67 games to finish second in the OHL among defenders for points behind only fellow Flame Zayne Parekh. Brzustewicz’s 92 points were the third highest total by a U20 defenceman in the OHL since the turn of the century. The only defenders with better seasons are Parekh this year, and Ryan Ellis in 2010–11.
His past season earned him a plethora of awards. He took home the Kitchener Rangers team MVP award, the Kitchener Rangers best offensive defenceman award, the Kitchener Rangers most sportsmanlike award, was an OHL second team all-star, a CHL second team all-star, and was awarded the OHL’s Teammate of the Year award.
I also couldn’t write this without mentioning Brzustewicz’s insane 111-point season from the blueline playing U15 AAA hockey in 2019–20. The next highest scoring defenceman on his team has just 48 points for context.
Brzustewicz’s strengths and weaknesses
Brzustewicz’s game is all about upside and smart, effective plays in transition and on offence. He carries tremendous talent and offensive ability, while also presenting some major drawbacks on the other side of the puck.
Brzustewicz is a force in transition. He’s a strong skater who can move the puck up ice with ease. He’s able to carry the puck through the neutral zone and set up in the offensive zone like many modern NHL defenders. He’s able to evade defenders and escape pressure as well when exiting the zone. His ability to routinely stay calm and make smart, efficient plays with the puck in transition causes headaches for the opposition and opens up plenty of opportunities on the rush.
Unsurprisingly, Brzustewicz loves to jump up into the play to join the rush and chip in on offence. You don’t put up 92 points in the OHL without the ability to do that and Brzustewicz is never afraid to add another number to the attack.
Brzustewicz is also just a flat out smart player, especially with the puck on his stick. You’ll rarely see him make the wrong read or wrong decision with the puck. With oodles of skill and strong playmaking ability to go along with his high-end hockey IQ, Brzustewicz is able to make quick, high-impact plays look effortless. He’s a very methodical and tactical player out there, always thinking one or two steps ahead.
For example in the below clip he threads a perfect breakout pass from his own red line to centre ice to spring his teammate on a breakaway.
Like many offensive defencemen his age, Brzustewicz can sometimes get a little too excited offensively and jump up into the play only to get caught out of position defensively. He’s not as raw defensively as Jeremie Poirier was in junior, but there’s still plenty of work for Brzustewicz to do before he can be considered a good defensive player.
He’s also not the most physical defender—in stature or style of play. This isn’t a major issue as that’s simply not a part of his game, but at times he loses puck battles and gets outworked down low due to his lack of strength. This however is something that can be easily fixed as he gets older and adds more size to his frame.
Brzustewicz’s next steps
Still very new to Calgary, Brzustewicz has yet to play a single game in the organization. Despite joining the Wranglers to close out the 2023–24 season, he didn’t feature in any games. With that said, the 2024–25 season is set to be his debut season in the AHL as one of the top offensive options on the Wranglers blueline. Brzustewicz should have every opportunity to play a major role in the AHL this coming season to prove his OHL numbers weren’t a fluke.
He’s highly unlikely to get any NHL action in 2024–25, but the expectation if everything goes well is Brzustewicz will be pushing for an NHL job in 2025–26 and one of the Flames’ key defenders within the next couple years.
Calgary Flames 2024 Top 15 Prospects
Honourable Mentions | #15 William Stromgren | #14 Jacob Battaglia | #13 Aydar Suniev | #12 Luke Misa | #11 Etienne Morin | #10 Henry Mews | #9 Samuel Honzek | #8 Matvei Gridin | #7 Jakob Pelletier | #6 Andrew Basha | #5 Jeremie Poirier | #4 Hunter Brzustewicz | #3 Matt Coronato | #2 Dustin Wolf | #1 Zayne Parekh
