Prospect Info: Hunter Brzustewicz: 75th Overall 2023 Draft (Kitchener) - RD

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Discuss.

EDIT:

EliteProspects Profile - Hunter Brzustewicz at eliteprospects.com

Rankings:
Ranked #53 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #52 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #51 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #54 by FLOHOCKEY/CHRIS PETERS
Ranked #58 by DAILY FACEOFF
Ranked #44 by THE HOCKEY NEWS
Ranked #52 by TSN/BOB McKENZIE
Ranked #66 by MCKEEN'S HOCKEY
Ranked #61 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #41 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
Ranked #82 by HPR/SHANE MALLOY
Ranked #48 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #56 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #32 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #91 by SMAHT SCOUTING

Click to read more...

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

We should be having the "first round pick in a re-draft?" and "steal of the draft" conversations shouldn't we? I feel like we are doing this wrong.

we are just beginning our future pairing mock line up conversations, the would have been 1st round pick conversations is still a little ways away......but its still way before the yay but this is against boys lets see him do it against men chats.....which eventually become we can't afford to resign him when his ELC contract THANKS ALLVIN which is quiet a ways down the road

 

[Hodgy]

If there is one thing I have learned about prospects, it’s don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Willander and Brew could both very easily bust.

 

[arttk]

Wrong thread oops

 

[Jerry the great]

If there is one thing I have learned about prospects, it’s don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Willander and Brew could both very easily bust.

usually the busts show themselves early, and both guys have had great starts to their D+1 seasons. Juolevi and Virtanen, FWIW, showed no progress whatsoever in their D+1 seasons. could still go awry....but early indications are promising.

 

[MS]

If there is one thing I have learned about prospects, it’s don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Willander and Brew could both very easily bust.

Brz, yeah.

Willander was a top-5 level pick in most drafts. We should 90% be getting an NHL contributor there.

 

[bobbyb2009]

Brz, yeah.

Willander was a top-5 level pick in most drafts. We should 90% be getting an NHL contributor there.

Yes!! We need to hit on Willander

 

[Brock Boeser Laser Show]

There is long range of outcomes when it comes to defenseman. I think with a strong D+1 the range improves both in terms of upside and floor.
Floor is now very productive AHL defenseman/7th NHL dman. Upside has increased from 3rd pairing pp specialist to someone with decent Top 4 upside.

How he handles the adjustments to pro hockey these next few years will help determine his ultimate NHL upside. He might be one of these guys like Vince Dunn who flourished offensively in a different organization.

 

[oceanchild]

I see him as a prime asset for acquiring an NHL dman for our team.

 

[Raistlin]

Brz, yeah.

Willander was a top-5 level pick in most drafts. We should 90% be getting an NHL contributor there.

IS he though? Reinbacher and Simashev have a higher upside than him. So far I do see a top4D, The possiblity for top pair duty is certainly there, which is what needs to be present for a top 5 pick, but he could turn out to be Nick Leddy if his offensive instincts don't develop. I think we grabbed him where we did due to the extreme scarcity of RHD with high upside. He is a top 5 pick for the canucks, probably not for a franchise without an abyss on the right side.

 

[credulous]

i think willander is getting overrated by people who don't really watch the ncaa normally here. he's been fine but he hasn't been 'top 5 pick' good

i'm not saying willander is a bust or the pick was bad but i think he's much less of a sure thing than was advertised. his skating is good enough and his size is good enough he'll almost certainly make the nhl but he has a lot to improve

if you want to see what a top 5 pick looks like as a freshman in the ncaa check out artsiom levshunov. he isn't eligible until 2024, is probably going to be picked in the 5-15 range and is putting up a season like lane hutson's 2022-23 so far. he's also 6'3, right handed and built like a tank

(also maxim strbak is the steal of the draft imo. second round pick by buffalo and he's basically willander but with a dynamic offensive game so far)

 

[MS]

IS he though? Reinbacher and Simashev have a higher upside than him. So far I do see a top4D, The possiblity for top pair duty is certainly there, which is what needs to be present for a top 5 pick, but he could turn out to be Nick Leddy if his offensive instincts don't develop. I think we grabbed him where we did due to the extreme scarcity of RHD with high upside. He is a top 5 pick for the canucks, probably not for a franchise without an abyss on the right side.

I mean, Nick Leddy is going to play 1000 NHL games and has been a top-4 defender pretty much that entire time. If that's your downside here ... uh, that's pretty good.

Willander's skating absolutely pops and he's a high-IQ player. He might not be a PP1 guy in pro but even if that doesn't happen he certainly has Brodin/Lindholm sort of upside.

 

[VanJack]

Right shot d-men, who can put up points in any league, are basically 'unicorns'. Look at the what the Canucks gave up for Hronek, or why they took a flyer on Filip Johansson.

With Willander and Brzustiwicz in the pipeline on the right side, the Canucks are set, at least as far as their prospect pool goes. Now it's all about 'player development' to try and turn them into NHL players.

 

[biturbo19]

OK I’ve been focussing on him a lot more recently, especially after that shift for shift video kind of lowered my hype.

There’s something that I am noticing, that seems to be a major part of why he’s having so much success right now.

His vision with the puck is truly great, I think it might be his biggest attribute.

I think his normal kit is fine obviously needs a lot of work, but you can’t teach that vision.

At the end of the day, that work needed elsewhere is really going to be the tipping point with someone like Brzustewicz. This offensive spike is certainly welcomed in a prospect and a promising sign about his vision on the ice. However, ultimately, the question with a player like that is whether he's going to be able to get the skating and defensive play up to a standard that NHL coaches will trust. That's the make or break transition point.

Smallish, offensive/powerplay specialist D just aren't what coaches want in their lineup. There are very few niches left in the NHL for guys like that. There are so few real "powerplay defencemen" in general these days. So he's going to have to really round out and refine the rest of his game and leverage that puck-moving ability to make himself useful and reliable 5v5. which is always an uphill battle in a smaller offensive guy who doesn't have elite skating. But that's the challenge with any of those guys wearing a similar profile as prospects. So the fact Brew is really taking that productive element of his game and running with it is certainly a positive, as is the vision he's demonstrating in doing so. It's a very good building block.


Just have to step back and recognize that offense alone isn't going to get it done. It's going to be a longer development process. Running its course through the OHL and at least some stop-off period in the AHL. That's just the way it goes. The warts are why you can get a guy with this sort of productive upside where we did. No different than drafting a more defensive-minded guy and waiting to see how that puck-moving vision comes along.



Putting things in some different perspective...Calen Addison never "blew up" quite the same way offensively in the CHL, but profiles as a fairly similar sort of player imo. That guy getting to the NHL is a reasonable "success story". But as you can see with shipping him off to San Jose for basically a 5th rounder...even if the offensive skills translate, if the other parts don't come along, they're not really valued commodities and struggle to earn any NHL minutes. So it's fair to be excited, but also very reasonable to pump the brakes a bit on any sort of runaway hype just because Brew is seeing his offensive game take a huge jump. It's a positive indicator, but it's still going to take time and is far from a guarantee of NHL success.

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

I mean, Nick Leddy is going to play 1000 NHL games and has been a top-4 defender pretty much that entire time. If that's your downside here ... uh, that's pretty good.

Willander's skating absolutely pops and he's a high-IQ player. He might not be a PP1 guy in pro but even if that doesn't happen he certainly has Brodin/Lindholm sort of upside.

Willander is also a rookie on a team that is running the offence through Hutson who is their PP1 in all situations, unless Hutson gets hurt this year he ain't giving that spot up

 

[VanJack]

Checking the OHL scoring leaders, Brzustewicz is sitting in second place with an insane 6 goals and 30 assists in just 21 games.

That's a 110 point pace--Of course Kitchener is on pace to be one of the most dominant teams in recent OHL history.

 

[Raistlin]

I mean, Nick Leddy is going to play 1000 NHL games and has been a top-4 defender pretty much that entire time. If that's your downside here ... uh, that's pretty good.

Willander's skating absolutely pops and he's a high-IQ player. He might not be a PP1 guy in pro but even if that doesn't happen he certainly has Brodin/Lindholm sort of upside.

Yeah, i think he's "pretty good", just not top 5 pick good. It's a sizeable gap from Leddy to Brodin, Hampus potential. He is ultra smooth and agile and can defend the rush, but it's too early for me to see the elite instincts yet, he doesn't always make the best decisions or handle the puck with authority yet. One thing is, I always have to look for him in the ice, instead of him popping.. I admit I'm not that savvy to really appreciate elite defensive d men prospects, so I will wait for him to further impress upon me. I have sky high hopes for him.

 

[Jay26]

I mean, Nick Leddy is going to play 1000 NHL games and has been a top-4 defender pretty much that entire time. If that's your downside here ... uh, that's pretty good.

Willander's skating absolutely pops and he's a high-IQ player. He might not be a PP1 guy in pro but even if that doesn't happen he certainly has Brodin/Lindholm sort of upside.

And boy do we need that kind of player! I'd be thrilled with a Brodin/Lindholm. Absolutely thrilled.

 

[Krangers08]

Sources have indicated Brzustewicz may not be getting an invite to camp after all as USA already has a lot of similar players that have more defined roles for the team. I think he belongs in camp, but that may not be the case. Per Chris Peters

Falls victim to the CHL bias

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

Sources have indicated Brzustewicz may not be getting an invite to camp after all as USA already has a lot of similar players that have more defined roles for the team. I think he belongs in camp, but that may not be the case. Per Chris Peters

Falls victim to the CHL bias

If that’s the case, hopefully it motivates him to improve his weakness

 

[docbenton]

Sources have indicated Brzustewicz may not be getting an invite to camp after all as USA already has a lot of similar players that have more defined roles for the team. I think he belongs in camp, but that may not be the case. Per Chris Peters

Falls victim to the CHL bias

Yeah I can understand that thinking really beyond CHL bias - despite the points I wouldn't say he's been fabulous this year. Takes a lot of risks and makes turnovers unnecessarily at times. I think he's capable of playing solid 2-way hockey but that's not been his MO this year apparently. Offensively he's smart but also not the most dynamic player. Lots of upside as an NHL prospect definitely but can understand if USA feels right now the upside is not worth the risk (again, even though he's shown he can play solid hockey, he hasn't chosen to do so many games this year).

 

[Canucker]

To not at minimum get an invite is a joke...he's done enough to get a look, if the coaches choose someone else and he misses the cut, so be it, but to not get an invite is ridiculous.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Sources have indicated Brzustewicz may not be getting an invite to camp after all as USA already has a lot of similar players that have more defined roles for the team. I think he belongs in camp, but that may not be the case. Per Chris Peters

Falls victim to the CHL bias

Person in charge of invites probably could not spell his name and just said f*** it.

 

[Raistlin]

or sent the invite to Gunther Bruzstewich who lives in Hamburg Germany instead.

"Mutter? Vhuz ist dis vurld juniors championship?"

 

[IComeInPeace]

It already sounded like he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder from having to take a backseat to Lane Hutson and Seamus Casey on the USNDT a couple of seasons ago…

…hopefully, he can use this as a little extra motivation by becoming the clear cut best NHL’er out of the 3 of them.

 

[VanJack]

Just about every scouting service in a 2023 NHL 're-draft' has Hunter Brzustewicz as one of the top 'value picks' in the entire draft.

Getting him in the third round is shaping up as a serious draft day 'steal' for the Canucks. I guess the real test will be whether he can replicate his gaudy junior stats when he hits Abbotsford.