Hunter Brzustewicz’s professional career hasn’t started off the way many Calgary Flames fans envisioned.
The 20-year-old defenceman immediately became one of the organization’s top prospects after being acquired in a trade last season that saw Elias Lindholm head to the Vancouver Canucks. His offensive game, which saw him put up an incredible 92 points for the Kitchener Rangers in 2023-24, had many believing he wasn’t far away from being an impactful NHLer.
As is the case for many young players, however, Brzustewicz has gotten off to a rather slow start in the AHL, compiling just one goal and nine points through 26 outings. That said, general manager Craig Conroy believes there have been more positives in his rookie year than the stats indicate.
“With Hunter, the points in the American League aren’t coming, but if you actually go and just watch his game, what he does with the puck, the way he reads the game. Everyone would think, ‘Ok, he’s going to pass the puck here,’ nope, he holds it, moves it somewhere else,” Conroy explained to Pat Steinberg on Flames Talk. “The pace of the game [is quicker], the guys are stronger, so he’s just getting up to speed … we’ve got to be patient, especially with defencemen.”
The good news for Brzustewicz and Flames fans, for that matter, is that he has plenty of time to continue improving his game. The organization isn’t in a win-now mode, which allows it to be extremely patient with some of its top prospects.
Brzustewicz is very much one of those, as he, along with 2024 first-round pick Zayne Parekh, are two of the most exciting young pieces in the organization. Though the points haven’t been coming yet, Conroy seems encouraged with other parts of his game. In other words, don’t be surprised to see the points start piling up as he continues to get more and more comfortable with the pro game.
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