Prospect Info: 2024 44th Overall - Harrison Brunicke (D)

[The Old Master]

i would have taken ritchie and picked him next

 

[LiffLaff]

Good combination of size, skating and skill. Stepped his play up this season to earn a top-four role and be utilized in all situations. Good size and reach to defend and has an active stick to effectively disrupt the attack. Plays the body well and is willing to engage to defend himself and step up for his teammates. Good game handling and moving the puck in tight areas. Makes good zone exits and can dish the puck to either side. Likes to join the attack, and can generate offensive chances. Game is maturing and has made significant gains this year.” – NHL Central Scouting




“He’s a guy that has the potential to have a really long career as a pro, I think. He has tools that are transferable. I think he’s an intelligent player. I think as he matures physically – like he’s got good size already – but as he matures, physically, he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.” – Shaun Clouston, Blazers’ Head Coach

“There’s been a lot of interest in Brunicke as a potential late first-round pick in 2024. He’s an all-around defenceman who uses his speed and general fluid skating to win battles and rush the puck. I liked that he was willing to try riskier plays in games that were a bit more one-sided to push the limits of his passing, but he got himself into trouble at points, too. There aren’t many big flaws in his game, but he’s not spectacular in anything, either. Still, I know some scouts think there’s more to his game than he’s showing right now and that he could be a long-term riser in the next few years.” – Steven Ellis, Daily FaceOff

Harrison Brunicke – 2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Harrison Brunicke is one of the more underrated right-shot defencemen available for the 2024 Draft, but he won't be underrated for long.

thehockeywriters.com

Kind of seems like a Marino type player.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I hate positional defensemen, so...

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

i would have taken ritchie and picked him next

So pissed, the only player I wanted and hoped that dropped was right there! I guess time will tell

 

[wej20]

Interestred to see if he develops offensively next season, otherwise he's going to be firmly in the defensive dmen camp. A right handed Pettersson would be great.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

On a pretty bad team too.



They use him in shootouts and on the PP so there seems to be some upside there.

That they're so bad they're desperate to try anything?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

People seeing his 0.5 PPG as a plus, I am seeing it as the opposite. Most times, even guys who end up being defensive defenseman only at the NHL level put up near point per game in junior. It's usually a red flag for me when a defenseman is "only" half a point per game at the junior level.

It's exactly why a guy like Harrington never panned out the way we were hoping. He had the "defensive" side down pat. The problem is he had zero offense and that carried over to the pros where his defense didn't make up for his lack of puck skills.

 

[Malkinstheman]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1807087620909850868

 

[Jacob]

There’s a difference between .5 PPG in your draft year vs. your D+2 year, as well as .5 PPG on a decent team vs. the lowest scoring team in the WHL. Obviously he’ll need to improve on his output next year.

 

[Freeptop]

I don't know much about him, but from the limited video clips posted, I'm intrigued by his ability to move the puck on his backhand to a teammate (and not just off the glass and out). For a defenseman, that's a pretty unusual skill, and very useful for the ability to get zone exits.

Might not mean much in the end, but it does mean he might have some interesting tools.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

I don't know much about him, but from the limited video clips posted, I'm intrigued by his ability to move the puck on his backhand to a teammate (and not just off the glass and out). For a defenseman, that's a pretty unusual skill, and very useful for the ability to get zone exits.

Might not mean much in the end, but it does mean he might have some interesting tools.

He almost looks like a forward

 

[Peat]

People seeing his 0.5 PPG as a plus, I am seeing it as the opposite. Most times, even guys who end up being defensive defenseman only at the NHL level put up near point per game in junior. It's usually a red flag for me when a defenseman is "only" half a point per game at the junior level.

It's exactly why a guy like Harrington never panned out the way we were hoping. He had the "defensive" side down pat. The problem is he had zero offense and that carried over to the pros where his defense didn't make up for his lack of puck skills.

I agree with valuing points and wishing for more, but I don't think there's many dmen putting up near ppg in the CHL in their draft year.

I think .66ppg is probably my completely arbitrary comfort mark for a draft year CHL dman. So below. But not as far below.

 

[Dominance]

The good thing is it’s clear that no one who has actually watched a lick of Brunnicke has had anything negative to say about this pick.

 

[Jacob]

He almost looks like a forward

He shoots like one. Low wristers with a decent release.

 

[Peat]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1747474987475431905

Probably the nicest individual skill highlight of any Pens dman I've seen drafted in a long time

 

[Turin]

You just can't go wrong with RHD who have size. Even if they are mid NHLers they are valuable commodities.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I agree with valuing points and wishing for more, but I don't think there's many dmen putting up near ppg in the CHL in their draft year.

I think .66ppg is probably my completely arbitrary comfort mark for a draft year CHL dman. So below. But not as far below.

To clarify, "points" isn't really my concern. It's what those points represent at the junior level.

Often times, especially with defensemen who aren't projected to be PP QBs at the next level, their point totals are more a reflection of their ability to move the puck. Guys who project to "only" be 25-30 point defensemen at the NHL level, but who are otherwise locks to be solid top four defenders, tend to amass points in junior simply because they can move the puck at a high level, even if their actual offensive ability/instincts are limited.

So when I see a defenseman with low(ish) point totals, it's not really a "he can't produce offense" concern for me, but more of a "will his puck moving/outlet passing ability be enough at the next level to be a regular" type concern.

As far as this prospect in particular, I'm not writing him off. I'm simply not seeing his production as a positive. IMO, it's more leaning toward the "concern" category for me for the above reasons. But we'll see as he progresses.

 

[Peat]

To clarify, "points" isn't really my concern. It's what those points represent at the junior level.

Often times, especially with defensemen who aren't projected to be PP QBs at the next level, their point totals are more a reflection of their ability to move the puck. Guys who project to "only" be 25-30 point defensemen at the NHL level, but who are otherwise locks to be solid top four defenders, tend to amass points in junior simply because they can move the puck at a high level, even if their actual offensive ability/instincts are limited.

So when I see a defenseman with low(ish) point totals, it's not really a "he can't produce offense" concern for me, but more of a "will his puck moving/outlet passing ability be enough at the next level to be a regular" type concern.

As far as this prospect in particular, I'm not writing him off. I'm simply not seeing his production as a positive. IMO, it's more leaning toward the "concern" category for me for the above reasons. But we'll see as he progresses.

I agree with almost everything you say about it being a barometer and what it's a barometer of.

I just disagree a bit about how many points it takes to represent good puck moving for their age, particularly as draft year dmen often aren't on their team's PP1. Most NHL dmen from the CHL aren't putting up ppg in their draft year as best I can tell. There were three U18 dmen in the OHL who were near PPG this season and none in the WHL.

Brunicke's numbers aren't comfortable for me but they're more low-ish than low. They're pretty in line with most u18 dmen in the WHL.

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

Blazer fan here, first of all it was his second season in the league. His first was on an absolute stacked team in Kamloops, which eventually led him to playing top 4 minutes, especially in the Memorial Cup.

He is going to be on a much stronger team this year, and will be the #1 guy.

 

[OtherThingsILike]

A tall RHD is hard to complain about.

 

[Jacob]

I would encourage everyone to watch the shift-by-shift video I posted earlier. He really does a lot of good, noticeable things, at least one in almost every shift. I think it’s very obvious why they took him where they did, and also why his point totals are a bit underwhelming.

Couple shifts where he just turns on the jets and even overtakes his own teammates to lead a rush, but mostly he’s a support guy. He makes himself an option but doesn’t hold on too long or skate himself into the corner. It’s either a shot or getting it to a teammate or putting it to an area they can get to it. Active but relatively safe.

His skating allows him to keep pretty good gap control too. He’s pretty tight to the forwards from what I can tell. Not physical-physical, I can see why the one report says he leads with the stick and follows up with the body. He’s not drilling anyone but he does make them have to go through him.

 

[Turin]

Seeing that a few of the main mock drafts had him going in the first round.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I agree with almost everything you say about it being a barometer and what it's a barometer of.

I just disagree a bit about how many points it takes to represent good puck moving for their age, particularly as draft year dmen often aren't on their team's PP1. Most NHL dmen from the CHL aren't putting up ppg in their draft year as best I can tell. There were three U18 dmen in the OHL who were near PPG this season and none in the WHL.

Brunicke's numbers aren't comfortable for me but they're more low-ish than low. They're pretty in line with most u18 dmen in the WHL.

CHL defensemen have to compete with NCAA and European Pro route (both longer development curves) once they get to the A and then the NHL. With the longer development curves of the latter two, those routes have been producing more and more NHL defensemen, especially the defensive, shutdown types. Low producing CHL defensemen rarely seem to make it as quality full time NHLers now, and the jump from major junior to pro is quite steep, so the CHL D without high end offensive upside struggle even more once they reach the A.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I would encourage everyone to watch the shift-by-shift video I posted earlier. He really does a lot of good, noticeable things, at least one in almost every shift. I think it’s very obvious why they took him where they did, and also why his point totals are a bit underwhelming.

Couple shifts where he just turns on the jets and even overtakes his own teammates to lead a rush, but mostly he’s a support guy. He makes himself an option but doesn’t hold on too long or skate himself into the corner. It’s either a shot or getting it to a teammate or putting it to an area they can get to it. Active but relatively safe.

His skating allows him to keep pretty good gap control too. He’s pretty tight to the forwards from what I can tell. Not physical-physical, I can see why the one report says he leads with the stick and follows up with the body. He’s not drilling anyone but he does make them have to go through him.

The caveat I'll give to my usual "death to defensive defensemen" is that usually "positional" stay at home guys don't really have any notable skills and so they develop into players that don't really make mistakes (for a bit and with a good partner) but don't do anything either. At least it looks like Brunicke has some top end skills, even if they may not directly translate to anything. Skating is always a plus.

Not overwhelmed with what else I'm seeing, but I think Jacob's got a good point here.

 

[Hollel]

Just wanted to swing by your sub to say you got one of my favorite underrated guys this draft. I think Brunicke has so much potential and see a fairly decent bet (especially this far into the 2nd rd) for a fairly dynamic 2nd pairing RHD.

IMO public rankings get unhinged when trying to evaluate these 2nd tier defensive prospects. Seeing guys like Charlie Elick being consistently ranked in the 1st, or EJ Emery being mentioned as a fairly safe 1st pair shutdown guy make me go insane (just to name a few).

No doubt he's raw, but theres such a good base to work with already. For some strange reason you'll see a power forward prospect with a ton of tools who is still experimenting with what works and what doesn't usually get the benefit of the doubt. I see a similar thing with Brunicke. When you remember he was on a team devoid of talent, pushed out of the top PP by an older player, and missed a good chunk of time at the end of the season where he might've showed a nice upward curve. I feel like that specifically would've come with his good showing at the U18 WJC.

It is essential to get those top pairing, top PP minutes next year and continue to learn what's going to work for him, but I am confident he can hit his ceiling.