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

Mr. Canucklehead

Mr. Canucklehead

Kitimat Canuck
Dec 14, 2002
42,941
39,145
Kitimat, BC
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
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Bobby9

Bobby9

Registered User
Feb 10, 2019
2,667
3,578
Are the Canucks planning to ever draft somebody who can help keep the puck out of our net as opposed to just scoring? Need a Tanev/Cernak on the team at some point.
 
Canadian Canuck

Canadian Canuck

Hughes4Calder
Jul 30, 2013
14,228
3,973
Kamloops BC
Love our first two picks. Idk what we’re doing in the 4th round though.,.

Bobby9 said:
Are the Canucks planning to ever draft somebody who can help keep the puck out of our net as opposed to just scoring? Need a Tanev/Cernak on the team at some point.
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Willander is a shutdown guy who can produce. Also WOOOO
 
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AHLdepth

Registered User
Feb 17, 2020
650
914
Grand slam! Really excellent pick, in my mind you pluck guys that can skate really well with every and any pick you can and if he does the things this kid can do, double bonus!
 
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Chairman Maouth

Chairman Maouth

Retired Staff
Apr 29, 2009
26,507
13,346
Comox Valley
Vector said:
Hunter BrzustewiczRDUSAOHLNov 29, 2004686515741 (NA)6'0''190lbs

1st Round Consolidated Ranking: 48
Bob McKenzie: 52
Elite Prospects: 52


The Athletic Scouting Report (Pronman)

Brzustewicz is a dangerous player with the puck on his stick. He has great offensive sense and patience with the puck. Brzustewicz makes a lot of difficult plays through seams. He has the ability to hold pucks, let lanes develop and enough skill to execute when they do. He's a strong skater who can transport pucks up ice and with his offensive touch he can walk the line well to create chances. Defensively Brzustewicz is OK. His skating helps him make some stops, but he's not an overly physical player. There's enough to him to play games, but unless his offense is just tremendous, he may not be good enough of an all-around guy to be a legit NHL minutes defender.

The Athletic Scouting Report (Wheeler)

Brzustewicz is a 2004 who was a star in minor hockey growing up. He spent two years at the program playing with kids from the draft class in front of him (though he missed almost all of his U17 year due to a shoulder injury), and de-committed from the University of Michigan to play in the OHL this season, where he led Kitchener’s defence in scoring. Brzustewicz is a mobile and strong kid who has worked hard to fill out his frame (the lost season helped with that), defends the rush effectively and is now getting to show that he has always had more offense to his game than his production at the program (where players like Seamus Casey and Lane Hutson were awarded greater opportunities offensively) showed last season. He walks the line well, is comfortable and patient in control of the puck in all three zones, and will take and execute on what’s given to him. He plays and reads the game very tactically — one of those players who makes the right calls with the puck pretty much whenever he has it. He’s a strong athlete who impressed in testing at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

He has become more and more active in transition. He can comfortably play his off side. His on-ice intelligence gets high grades for how methodical and poised he is. His head is always up and he’s comfortable beating the first layer of pressure even if he’s not a dynamic creator past that. There’s a lot to like. He projects as an effective No. 3-5 defenceman at the next level.


Elite Prospects Scouting Report

Hunter Brzustewicz, or “Brue” as he sometimes introduces himself, was the subject of many fierce debates within our ranks.

One of our scouts was impressed by his puck-moving game early in the season and continued to see him as one of the best transition forces in this draft, a great option for an NHL team wanting to add some pace to their game.

“Again, great puck-moving habits,” Elite Prospects lead scout David St-Louis wrote in a March report. “Brzustewicz can really evade opponents with incredibly tight turns and spins and lateral steps. And he tries to deceive on every pass. And he’s always activating. The transition part of the game, he’s got it. He just needs to perfect his reads under pressure."

Brzustewicz can constantly make forecheckers miss with fake changes of direction, timely spins, and by moving the puck before they can get to it. And, at the top of his game, when he’s in tune with the plays of his teammates, his puck skills also start to resurface in the offensive zone. He attacks space to fire on net and manipulates defenders to get shots through and opens passing lanes to the slot.

But the Kitchener Rangers defenceman’s performance fluctuated from game to game and, because of it, there was divergence in our evaluations of this player. Brzustewicz lost his aggressiveness some weekends. His deceptive skills abandoned him; he let teammates make the bulk of plays and faded in the background, becoming simply a rush defender and a puck distributor.

Some of our scouts also questioned his skating ability, as while it’s clearly above-average at the junior level, an asset, it may not stay that way in the pros. Brzustewicz completes most of his breakout escapes by using his inside edges or by pivoting in place. He doesn’t have the same cutback explosiveness as high-end NHL puck-movers who separate from opponents with just a couple of strides. And while he kills a lot of opposing plays in transition in the OHL, his backward skating might not generate enough power to allow him to do the same at a higher level.

As Brzustewicz is one of the older players in the draft class, we weighed his inconsistencies and mechanical inefficiencies a bit more when ranking him. He ended up in the middle of our second round, a spot that accurately reflects his number four upside, but also his weaknesses.
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Thanks to all you mods for putting in all the work you guys do.
 
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Russian_fanatic

Registered User
Jan 19, 2004
7,944
2,244
Pronounced: Brew-Ste-Vich

I love this pick. Very good all around defenseman. IMO hes going to be a solid top 4 defenseman at the next level,

Solid skater, who can use some work with his top end speed, but his edge work and motility is some of the best in this class. Offensively, he's not much of a shooter, he's a passer, but he has terrific vision and passing abilities.

Defensively he's very solid. Not the most physical guy, but he has good stick work and doesn't really get himself out of position.

Love this pick. It's pretty easy to tell where the Canucks are going defensively. They want guys who can skate and create from the back end.
 
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F A N

Registered User
Aug 12, 2005
19,713
6,483
Personally I'm not a fan. He's a legit pick where we were drafting so it's fine. Another RHD prospect added to the prospect pool.
 
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