Hunter Brzustewicz shines in 2025-26 debut

The numbers don’t lie. Brzustewicz was a calm and steady presence on the Flames blueline. The rookie played just six seconds less than Kevin Bahl at even strength, one of the team’s most trusted defenders.

In those nearly 16 minutes, the Flames dominated. Brzustewicz’s CF% was an absurd 89.29%, as the Flames out chanced the Red Wings 25-3 with him on the ice. His xGF% was equally as impressive, sitting at 94.55% and once again pacing the Flames lineup. With Brzustewicz on the ice, the Flames generated 0.91 xGF and only 0.05 xGA.

While the sample size was small, his HDCF% was also perfect. The Flames didn’t allow a single high danger chance against while the rookie was out there. Individually, Brzustewicz had six shot attempts, the fourth highest total on the team.

Here to stay?

There’s no denying just how effective Brzustewicz was in his 2025-26 debut. In a game in which plenty of the Flames roster looked completely flat, the rookie was consistent for the entire 60 minutes and quietly had one of the best nights of any Flame.

Brzustewicz’s strong debut is just another reason in a long list of them on why the Flames need to move Rasmus Andersson sooner than later. With Brzustewicz now pushing for an NHL job on the right side, and Parekh slated to return to the lineup in January after the World Juniors, it’s time for the Flames to start prioritizing the future and not the past. Brzustewicz and Parekh are the future, Andersson is not.

Whether or not Brzustewicz sticks around long-term right now may not fully be up to him given the teams crowded veteran blueline, but if he continues to play like this the team absolutely has to find a full-time home for him in the near future.