2025 Calgary Flames Prospect Rankings: #3 Hunter Brzustewicz

Brzustewicz’s development so far

The Flames have a fair amount of right-handed defencemen in their prospect pool. Brzustewicz joins the group of Zayne Parekh and Henry Mews for the potential right side of the future. The 20-year-old defenceman has taken fantastic steps forward in his development.

Brzustewicz began to catch the eyes of many hockey fans while playing in the OHL. He played two seasons with the Kitchener Rangers, where he racked up an impressive 149 points in 135 games. The young defenceman began last season in the AHL with the Wranglers. This was a big step for him, as he would be playing against much older players. He adjusted nicely to the faster playing style and established himself as a reliable defenceman on the Wranglers’ blue line.

Brzustewicz’s strengths and weaknesses

Like any other young hockey player, Brzustewicz has some strengths and weaknesses in his game. Let’s take a dive into what he has to offer.

Strengths

Puck-moving

One of the key strengths for Brzustewicz is his ability to move the puck quickly and break out of the defensive zone. This is extremely important for a defenceman, as the offensive play often starts with them. Clean zone breakouts are key to having success in the NHL.

The defensive zone turnovers are what can cost a team a game in an instant. Brzustewicz does a fairly good job of avoiding this, especially when you consider his age. He often moves the puck quickly out of the zone or makes a quick move to dodge forecheckers. From here, he joins the rush and finds prime shooting opportunities.

Passing

Brzustewicz has a gift for being a great passer. This is displayed when he breaks the puck out of the defensive zone and runs the power play. His passing allows him to set up players for tap-in goals and find teammates on the rush.

Passing is not a skill that players are born with. It is something that requires daily work to improve. Brzustewicz’s passing is what gets him all of those points. Without this skill, he would not be nearly as dynamic a prospect.

Pucks on net

An important skill for an offensive defenceman is to have the ability to get pucks on net. Brzustewicz achieves this by outmaneuvering forwards to create a shot lane. This was seen multiple times during his days in the OHL with the Rangers. He has been a power play quarterback for the Rangers and now the Wranglers. Getting pucks through from the point is a main factor in how he generates offence.

Weaknesses

Speed

It is a bit difficult to find a clear weakness in Brzustewicz’s game. He is such a great player all around, and continues to improve as each year goes on. However, a potential weakness to highlight in his game is his speed. Brzustewicz does not use speed to his advantage. He possesses good agility on his skates, but the overall power behind his stride can be improved. Speed is a massive factor in today’s NHL game, and without speed, it is difficult to stick around.

The 20-year-old defenceman is still fairly young and has plenty of time to get stronger. For Brzustewicz to make that next step to the NHL, he will need to get faster and stronger on his feet.

Brzustewicz’s next steps

Brzustewicz will likely be with the Wranglers again next season. Another season in the AHL would allow him a bit more time to develop and get his game to an NHL-ready level. There is a possibility that he gets some time with the Flames next season. If injuries take out some current Flames defencemen, Brzustewicz could be the first one to get called up. Either way, hopefully we get to see the 20-year-old in an NHL role soon.

The potential for Brzustewicz is to become a second-line defenceman. It makes perfect sense for the future of the Flames. Parekh will be the future number one defenceman, while Brzustewicz will back him up. These two defencemen can be the top two right-handed defencemen for the next decade of Flames hockey. The future seems bright for the young core in Calgary.

Do you think Brzustewicz could make the NHL roster next season?