Prospect Info: Hunter Brzustewicz: 75th Overall 2023 Draft (Kitchener) - RD
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I wouldn't worry about his skating or defending too much...a lot of it is just him not giving 100% because he plays so much, him being the #1 guy and his team is destroying everybody right now without too much effort. He's also young and will definitely improve, and he's fine right now.
He's looked good defensively against tougher competition when called upon to play that type of role. His best attribute is hockey sense and passing and moving the puck efficiently is probably 80% of good defense. He just makes a ton of good plays, hard to find those type of players.
For what it's worth, from the main prospects board:
"As a Kitchener STH, I have liked Brzustewicz’s game from day one. His agility is already NHL level. He can escape forechecks and wheel at that level. His vision and passing game is also elite.
He needed to bulk up and trust his shot more and he has done both. Still a work in progress but getting there. Sometimes gets a bit lackadaisical in the D zone and needs to improve his recoveries after turnovers, but I’m seeing improvement there too.
Stylistically, a fair bit like Jordan Harris on Montreal."
"As a Kitchener STH, I have liked Brzustewicz’s game from day one. His agility is already NHL level. He can escape forechecks and wheel at that level. His vision and passing game is also elite.
He needed to bulk up and trust his shot more and he has done both. Still a work in progress but getting there. Sometimes gets a bit lackadaisical in the D zone and needs to improve his recoveries after turnovers, but I’m seeing improvement there too.
Stylistically, a fair bit like Jordan Harris on Montreal."
Josepho
i want the bartkowski thread back
I hate to base my opinions off the two shift by shift videos I've seen but his agility definitely doesn't look NHL ready and I frankly have no idea how the f*** he is producing so much with this mobility.
Nona Di Giuseppe
Registered User
I think the issue with Hodgson was his legs were too short. Basically long body short legs and poor body mechanics from that.
Back problem as well and then genetic disorder.
Billy Kvcmu
Registered User
The mood in this thread now:
The more pts he scores, the more unimpressed ppl are.
Weird
The more pts he scores, the more unimpressed ppl are.
Weird
To me Hodgson was all stick and no wheels. Plus he maxed out around 18 - 19 years old. Like Shane Wright, Hodgson had potential for a full beard by the time he was 15 years old. Guess Wright still has chance to make it however.
To be fair, Hodgson was a consensus top 10 prospect who if he had Stamkos’ skating could have competed for #1 overall.
I think Hodgson did/would have succeeded in the NHL if not for injuries and his degenerative condition. I do have a soft spot for him and I do think his skill and hockey IQ allowed him/would have allowed him to overcome his average skating.
I think he is underrated even in his time here. A lot of us believed that Gillis had somehow “built him up” to be traded but I think both the eye test and his underlying numbers suggest that he was a good player. I think Hodgson could have had a similar career to Sam Reinhart.
Hodgson and some other prospects disappointed for sure. But that really has nothing to do with Brzustewicz and his career trajectory. I think it’s fine to start to get excited about this guy. As an 18 year old prospect he’s obviously got some high end skills and the potential to be one of the steals of the draft. Whether he realizes that potential is still an open question but there’s no denying that he’s off to a hell of a start this year.
AwesomeInTheory
A Christmas miracle
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The Sedins are poor skaters who can't hack it at the NHL level.
Kesler has a shot that wouldn't break a pane of glass.
Etc.
Lots of things can happen between then and now. (I know you know this, haha.)
I'm just happy that we have prospects that aren't like top 5 draft selections that seem to be performing like actual prospects. I might have to walk back a lot of my skepticism on Todd Harvey if things keep tracking in a positive direction.
The fact is you can never have too many d-men with offensive credentials. It's so hard to score five-on-five that having d-men who can join the rush or even lead it, is crucial now.
From all reports, Brzustewicz's offensive skills are off the charts. It's not easy being a PPG d-man in any league, particularly when you're still only 18 and playing in a top CHL like the OHL.
Obviously there are parts of his game that will need to improve. He's not the biggest guy and he's going to have to adjust to a hard, physical forecheck in the pro's. But that's what 'player development' is all about.
I guess an interesting question is where would Brzustewicz go now, if there was a 2023 're-draft'?
From all reports, Brzustewicz's offensive skills are off the charts. It's not easy being a PPG d-man in any league, particularly when you're still only 18 and playing in a top CHL like the OHL.
Obviously there are parts of his game that will need to improve. He's not the biggest guy and he's going to have to adjust to a hard, physical forecheck in the pro's. But that's what 'player development' is all about.
I guess an interesting question is where would Brzustewicz go now, if there was a 2023 're-draft'?
bandwagonesque
Practically a late 1st
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Basically no defencemen make the NHL in their D+1 unless they are tall, athletic and have good reach and Brzutewicz shows us why. He's too small and still too slow to make up for his inexperience and he'd be totally ineffective against NHL players. He still has a ton of potential.
He had some of the best testing results (for skating) at the 2023 CHL Top Prospects game. Mobility is probably a plus at the CHL level at least.
CHL Top Prospects Game Testing - HockeyProspect.com
The CHL Top Prospects game always includes testing as well as the game itself. This year the game is is Langley, BC.
hockeyprospect.com
Good to see leech boy is still racking up the points.
Seriously though, it's almost as fun tracking prospects as it is following the Canucks. At least it is for me, although I'm no where close to the deep dives posters here are sharing. I think it's one of the best ways of building and keeping your fan base interested. I can't get my head around the idea that picks are just "magic beans", when there's so much more to the process than just the players making the NHL. It's funny how many people here can name drafted players from 20 years ago and still be able to talk about their skill sets, successes and failures.
The awesome revisiting of GM Brendan Guance is such a good example of this. He's had such a tiny impact on the team, but he's been a subject of passionate discussion on these boards for a decade. Very cool imo.
Drafting and development is key to a healthy organization and the Canucks have done very little over their history to develop this aspect of the franchise. Gillis spoke to it's importance, but then didn't engage it as needed until his final years, and then of course Benning tore it all down to the studs.
It's a real pleasure watching it being built up again, regardless of how untrusting I am personally of the process. Buster is just a good example of how engaging it can be.
yep, can't spell his name yet
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I actually don't think it's weird at all. I think as he continues his amazing start people take notice and start to watch him more closely. This leads to a closer evaluation of the parts of his game he needs to work on to become an NHL player.
Don't get me wrong, he has had a phenomenal start and deserves a lot of praise. His offensive instincts are great. From what I've seen, his defensive zone play needs some work. His positioning and decision making seems off at times. I'm hopeful that, with some time and good coaching, he can develop in these areas.
RobertKron
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- Sep 1, 2007
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Yeah, people like to act like even after basically losing more or less an entire crucial development year to injury, he didn't score at like a 60 and 50 point pace in his early twenties in Buffalo before the wheels fell off. You can't really blame the scouts for identifying a guy who clearly ended up with the ability to be a solid NHL contributor as a 17 year old future solid NHL contributor.
Raistlin
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- Aug 25, 2006
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I look at Quinn Hughes and all the significant holes of his game that got patched up over his years. Elite players like EP and QH have a drive that helps them push through their limits.
I want to see if Hunter has the same intangible over his development years. This is a great great first step, but I'm still very cautious with his chance at being a regular in this just his D+1.
Still, what an exciting prospect to follow with how prolific he is right now.
I want to see if Hunter has the same intangible over his development years. This is a great great first step, but I'm still very cautious with his chance at being a regular in this just his D+1.
Still, what an exciting prospect to follow with how prolific he is right now.
A lot of stuff happened with Hodgson.
The missed year didn't help and you wonder if it was connected to his later health issues.
But he did turn into a pretty effective player with Buffalo for a couple years (and had a great WC tourney as well) before his illness sent things off the rails. The scouts got that pick basically right.
But holy hell was he overrated by this fanbase. I remember saying here that I thought he projected as a Daymond Langkow-level player (which I still think would have been pretty spot on) and you'd think I called him a pedophile by the reactions. One poster here was outraged by the Naslund jersey retirement because 19 was Cody Hodgson's junior number and Hodgson deserved to have his preferred number retired at GM Place eventually.
As for Brz ... big talent, worthwhile pick. This start has upped his stock, but there are also some pretty big warts there that are the reason he was available where he was.
RobertKron
Registered User
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I think with Hodgson, a lot of folks have kind of bundled that hype in with the idea of what his realistic expectation should have been from the pick, and so there’s a sense that he didn’t deliver on the post-draft hype and thus the scouts must have blown it.
But like, if a young 50-60+ point centre is a blown pick from 9OA or whatever he was, then you better get ready to be bummed out a lot in life.
For Brz, I’m not especially familiar with the player, but it seems like a situation where he’s obviously producing well and that’s exciting and great and all, but at some point if he scores 1.5ppg versus 2ppg vs 2.5 or whatever, it eventually becomes kind of diminishing returns and a bit irrelevant with regards to his projection moving forward. Like we know he’s good at that.
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Ha, I meant to say something like this in my previous post and then posted before I did. Yeah, there were a lot of shattered dreams with that pick and big disappointment and I think that's been projected back onto the pick itself and not that the expectations were unrealistic.
The hype on Hodgson was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. I don't think he ever realistically projected as anything other than a 60-70 point 1B/2A C at best but an entire fanbase was convinced he was going to be a megastar.
In retrospect, Langkow would probably be a 30+ goal 70+ point C in today's game and was underrated by the Canucks fan base. In his prime he was a really good player who was underrated because he wasn't bigger.
Yep. Maybe some draft guru thinks there was an obvious choice at #75 but it's a crapshoot at that point and Brew is a worthwhile pick. Any successful recent NHL comparables MS?
Yeah, Langkow was a good player and I considered it a compliment to compare Hodgson to a guy who played 1000 NHL games and scored nearly 300 goals and topped out a 77 points in the DPE.
But people were outraged by that. At one point in 2009 there was a poll about whether people would prefer Stamkos or Hodgson and Hodgson won easily. 'Best prospect in franchise history' was a phrase that got tossed around a fair bit.
Rasmus Sandin maybe? Smallish, slowish very skilled offensive D with some defensive issues.
I've said before that Brz gives me Adam Clendening vibes but that would be the downside. Sandin would probably be more of the upside. Would have looked like a flattering comparison last year, not so much this year.
