<p>Hunter Brzustewicz, the Kitchener Rangers defenceman who the Vancouver Canucks selected in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft before including him in the Elias Lindholm trade, has been <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnations-2024-calgary-flames-prospect-rankings-3-hunter-brzustewicz">ranked</a> the Calgary Flames&#8217; No. 3 prospect by our sister site <em>FlamesNation</em>.</p>
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<p>The 19-year-old Brzustewicz finished second in scoring among all OHL defenders — behind only fellow Flames prospect Zayne Parekh — with 92 points during the 2023-24 regular season. He finished ahead of Parekh with 68 points at 5-on-5 and 79 total assists.</p>
<p>In the OHL playoffs, Brzustewicz collected one goal and nine points in 10 games as the Rangers defeated the Erie Otters before being swept by the London Knights. Even in Kitchener&#8217;s lopsided second series, Brzustewicz managed five points in four games and finished with an even rating.</p>
<p>The Canucks originally selected Brzustewicz in the third round (No. 75 overall) of the 2023 draft. They did not sign the Washington, Michigan product to an entry-level contract before they sent him to Calgary for Lindholm, a pending UFA.</p>
<p>McKeen&#8217;s Hockey OHL scout Brock Otten contributed to <em>FlamesNation</em>&#8216;s piece on Brzustewicz, complimenting the right-handed defender for his outstanding season but also encouraging cautious optimism by invoking the name of another former Canuck.</p>
<p>&#8220;Really solid developmental year for Brzustewicz. The improvements that he made in the second half of his draft year were sustained over the course of a full OHL season last year,&#8221; Otten wrote. &#8220;His bread and butter will likely always be how well he sees the ice in the offensive end. He’s like an NBA point guard back there. Calm, cool, collected.</p>
<p>&#8220;I guess my concern regarding his upside stems from the fact that he’s an average-sized defender with a lot of high-end qualities, but nothing that I would call truly elite,&#8221; Otten added. &#8220;The jack-of-all-trades types can be difficult to project. Travis Dermott was a relatively similar defender at the OHL level, is built similarly, and he’s had trouble developing into anything more than a bottom-pairing depth option. Calgary may need to be patient with Brzustewicz.&#8221;</p>
<p>In addition to Brzustewicz, the Canucks traded Andrei Kuzmenko, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick (Matvei Gridin), and a 2024 fourth-round pick (traded for the picks used to select Luke Misa and Eric Jamieson) to the Flames for Lindholm, who recorded six goals and 12 points in 26 games to close out the regular season before adding five goals and 10 points in 13 playoff games.</p>
<p>Although they maintained interest in re-signing Lindholm over his five months with the organization, the Canucks ultimately allowed Lindholm to walk to unrestricted free agency, where he inked a seven-year, $7.75 million AAV contract with the Boston Bruins. Nikita Zadorov also left Vancouver for Boston on July 1, agreeing to terms on a six-year, $5 million AAV deal.</p>
<p>Jurmo, the other prospect the Flames received in the Lindholm trade, did not receive any votes from <em>FlamesNation</em>&#8216;s panel of writers for their prospect rankings. However, the 22-year-old Finn signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Flames in March and is expected to join the AHL&#8217;s Calgary Wranglers this coming season.</p>
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Hunter Brzustewicz, the Kitchener Rangers defenceman who the Vancouver Canucks selected in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft before including him in the Elias Lindholm trade, has been <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnations-2024-calgary-flames-prospect-rankings-3-hunter-brzustewicz">ranked</a> the Calgary Flames' No. 3 prospect by our sister site <em>FlamesNation</em>.
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The 19-year-old Brzustewicz finished second in scoring among all OHL defenders — behind only fellow Flames prospect Zayne Parekh — with 92 points during the 2023-24 regular season. He finished ahead of Parekh with 68 points at 5-on-5 and 79 total assists.

In the OHL playoffs, Brzustewicz collected one goal and nine points in 10 games as the Rangers defeated the Erie Otters before being swept by the London Knights. Even in Kitchener's lopsided second series, Brzustewicz managed five points in four games and finished with an even rating.

The Canucks originally selected Brzustewicz in the third round (No. 75 overall) of the 2023 draft. They did not sign the Washington, Michigan product to an entry-level contract before they sent him to Calgary for Lindholm, a pending UFA.

McKeen's Hockey OHL scout Brock Otten contributed to <em>FlamesNation</em>'s piece on Brzustewicz, complimenting the right-handed defender for his outstanding season but also encouraging cautious optimism by invoking the name of another former Canuck.

"Really solid developmental year for Brzustewicz. The improvements that he made in the second half of his draft year were sustained over the course of a full OHL season last year," Otten wrote. "His bread and butter will likely always be how well he sees the ice in the offensive end. He’s like an NBA point guard back there. Calm, cool, collected.

"I guess my concern regarding his upside stems from the fact that he’s an average-sized defender with a lot of high-end qualities, but nothing that I would call truly elite," Otten added. "The jack-of-all-trades types can be difficult to project. Travis Dermott was a relatively similar defender at the OHL level, is built similarly, and he’s had trouble developing into anything more than a bottom-pairing depth option. Calgary may need to be patient with Brzustewicz."

In addition to Brzustewicz, the Canucks traded Andrei Kuzmenko, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick (Matvei Gridin), and a 2024 fourth-round pick (traded for the picks used to select Luke Misa and Eric Jamieson) to the Flames for Lindholm, who recorded six goals and 12 points in 26 games to close out the regular season before adding five goals and 10 points in 13 playoff games.

Although they maintained interest in re-signing Lindholm over his five months with the organization, the Canucks ultimately allowed Lindholm to walk to unrestricted free agency, where he inked a seven-year, $7.75 million AAV contract with the Boston Bruins. Nikita Zadorov also left Vancouver for Boston on July 1, agreeing to terms on a six-year, $5 million AAV deal.

Jurmo, the other prospect the Flames received in the Lindholm trade, did not receive any votes from <em>FlamesNation</em>'s panel of writers for their prospect rankings. However, the 22-year-old Finn signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Flames in March and is expected to join the AHL's Calgary Wranglers this coming season.

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