Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Hunter "Call Me Bruce" Brzustewicz (brew-STEHV-itch )

cral12 · 02-01-2024, 10:15 AM

(posted some of this in the Lindy trade thread, but this fascinating prospect deserves his own thread)

We had Hunter ranked 59th for last year's draft via E-Mac's Final Rankings.

From CP's own Sandman at Upside:

"Hunter Brzustewicz is one of the older players available in the draft, with a November 2004 birthday, but that shouldn't throw shade over his 57 points in 68 games for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, which is 28 points ahead of his nearest teammate. Like Akey, he is tagged with the label "modern-day defenseman", but is also often called "reliable", and a "two-way defenseman". Also like Akey, he may live to outclass his draft position. Another six-footer, he's said to be much stronger than his size, but he tends to use his superb skating and positioning to kill rushes, and break up the forecheck, but will use physicality when needed, and will fight hard in the dirty areas. Calm under pressure, but plays with pace and maturity, and of course- he will lead the transition. He needs some work on his gap control, according to some pundits, and his shot needs work- but some of those pundits say he might be one of the most NHL-ready defensemen in the draft."
~ from Sandman's Scouting Notebook

His other rankings pre-draft:

2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #52 by Elite Prospects

2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #51 by FCHockey

2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #61 by TSN/Craig Button

2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #66 by McKeen's Hockey

2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #52 by TSN/McKenzie

2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #41 by NHL Central Scouting

OHL Scout from McKeens - knows his stuff:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752876066312429896

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752876709085434126

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752878552863965658

But wait, there's more:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752878486023450957

What the Calgary Flames are getting in top prospect Hunter Brzustewicz?
DailyFaceoff (I initially typed FailyFaceoff as an aside lol)
"Acquired on Wednesday as part of the Elias Lindholm trade, there’s a bit of high-risk, high-reward with the 6-foot-0 right-handed defender. Through 47 games, Brzustewicz has an OHL-leading 61 assists and 69 total points, good for third in league scoring. No other defenseman has come close to touching his numbers in the CHL this season.

“The way he touches the puck, the way he distributes it, it’s elite at this level,” a scout said. “This is Brandt Clarke-level dominance.”
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/wh...er-brzustewicz

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752891579927572618

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752909490167423205

FC's & CP's Vickers:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1752873754231980219

02-01-2024, 10:15 AM	#1
cral12 First Line Centre Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calgary Exp:	Hunter "Call Me Bruce" Brzustewicz (brew-STEHV-itch ) (posted some of this in the Lindy trade thread, but this fascinating prospect deserves his own thread) We had Hunter ranked 59th for last year's draft via E-Mac's Final Rankings. From CP's own Sandman at Upside: "Hunter Brzustewicz is one of the older players available in the draft, with a November 2004 birthday, but that shouldn't throw shade over his 57 points in 68 games for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, which is 28 points ahead of his nearest teammate. Like Akey, he is tagged with the label "modern-day defenseman", but is also often called "reliable", and a "two-way defenseman". Also like Akey, he may live to outclass his draft position. Another six-footer, he's said to be much stronger than his size, but he tends to use his superb skating and positioning to kill rushes, and break up the forecheck, but will use physicality when needed, and will fight hard in the dirty areas. Calm under pressure, but plays with pace and maturity, and of course- he will lead the transition. He needs some work on his gap control, according to some pundits, and his shot needs work- but some of those pundits say he might be one of the most NHL-ready defensemen in the draft." ~ from Sandman's Scouting Notebook His other rankings pre-draft: 2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #52 by Elite Prospects 2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #51 by FCHockey 2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #61 by TSN/Craig Button 2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #66 by McKeen's Hockey 2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #52 by TSN/McKenzie 2023 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #41 by NHL Central Scouting OHL Scout from McKeens - knows his stuff: https://twitter.com/user/status/1752876066312429896 https://twitter.com/user/status/1752876709085434126 https://twitter.com/user/status/1752878552863965658 But wait, there's more: https://twitter.com/user/status/1752878486023450957 What the Calgary Flames are getting in top prospect Hunter Brzustewicz? DailyFaceoff (I initially typed FailyFaceoff as an aside lol) "Acquired on Wednesday as part of the Elias Lindholm trade, there’s a bit of high-risk, high-reward with the 6-foot-0 right-handed defender. Through 47 games, Brzustewicz has an OHL-leading 61 assists and 69 total points, good for third in league scoring. No other defenseman has come close to touching his numbers in the CHL this season. “The way he touches the puck, the way he distributes it, it’s elite at this level,” a scout said. “This is Brandt Clarke-level dominance.” https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/wh...er-brzustewicz https://twitter.com/user/status/1752891579927572618 https://twitter.com/user/status/1752909490167423205 FC's & CP's Vickers: https://twitter.com/user/status/1752873754231980219 __________________ Founder: Upside Hockey & Trail Lynx; Upside on Bluesky & Instagram & Substack; Author of Raised by Rocks, Moved by Mountains Last edited by cral12; 02-01-2024 at 10:37 AM.