Vilmer Alriksson steals the show in OHL Canucks prospect duel vs. Hunter Brzustewicz’s Rangers

It’s always an anticipated match when two fellow Vancouver Canucks prospects face off against one another.

Today, we saw Hunter Brzustewicz and Vilmer Alriksson take the ice against each other for the first time in the OHL, providing Canuck fans with an exciting Saturday afternoon tilt.

Brzustewicz, the 18-year-old American, wasted no time making an impact, securing a secondary assist within the first five minutes of the game.

He now has points in 21 of his 24 games this season.

His post-draft year has been nothing short of remarkable, currently ranking second in OHL scoring and dominating the defender field.

With an impressive 34 assists in just 24 games, he has officially reached the 40-point mark, and now sits just 17 points shy of his 2022-23 season total of 57, which he posted in 68 games.

The big question surrounding Brzustewicz at the moment is if his numbers are enough to grant him a trip to Sweden to represent Team USA in next month’s World Junior Championships.

Statistically, he seems as close to a lock as you could be. However, not only does the program have a strong list of right-handed defenders to choose from, but the United States does have a history of passing on prospects who have opted to play in the CHL instead of staying on home soil.

Nevertheless, Brzustewicz’s standout contributions to the Kitchener Rangers certainly leave some tough decisions for the US program over the coming weeks.

On the other side of the matchup, Vilmer Alriksson was up to his own tricks throughout the game.

In the second period, the massive 6-foot-6 Swede decided it was time for his debut OHL fight. He squared off against Kitchener Rangers’ 6-foot-5, Roman Schmidt, in what felt like a heavyweight title match.