For a rookie stepping into just his second career NHL game, Hunter Brzustewicz didn’t look like someone feeling things out. He looked like someone quietly, confidently taking everything in stride.
His season debut—against the Detroit Red Wings —offered an intriguing look at a young defenceman who didn’t just survive the pace of the game… he dictated his own. Watching his shifts closely, the first question that came up was whether nerves might be settling in. After all, making your season debut against a team from your home state could create plenty of pressure.
But that wasn’t the case. The Washington, Michigan product looked composed from the opening minutes. If anything, the more you rewatch the shifts, the clearer it becomes: Brzustewicz wasn’t timid. He was methodical.
He slowed the game down to his pace—not in hesitation, but in control. Head up, surveying his options, his outlet passes were firm and clean. When he hung onto the puck, it wasn’t indecision—it was intention. His decisions looked deliberate, calculated, and mature. Were the passes slow? No, they were placed with purpose.
Was his skating behind the pace of play? Not at all—he managed his energy and positioning well.
Was there hesitation? Only the kind that comes with thinking the game one step ahead.
As the night went on and his confidence visibly grew, so did the pace of his plays. He pinched at the right times, held the blue line with conviction, funneled pucks deep, and even directed a few toward the net. It was steady, reliable hockey—the type that keeps you on the ice, not stapled to the bench.
Through two NHL games, he’s a plus-3. It’s a tiny sample size, sure, but the early signs point to a player with strong instincts and a calming presence—traits that should make Flames fans perk up.
Head coach Ryan Huska certainly liked what he saw.
“I thought he played well,” Huska said postgame. “I thought he had some composure with the puck both in the offensive zone and coming out of our own zone, so I thought he did a lot of good things.”
“He’s an offensive defenceman, that’s kind of what he’s known for, so try to put him in situations where maybe he can help us get one or two.”
Brzustewicz’s performance isn’t coming out of nowhere either. He’s been a standout with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers this season, posting 4 goals and 12 points in 23 games—leading all Wranglers defencemen in scoring and sitting sixth on the team overall.
Two NHL games won’t define his future, but they’ve offered a glimpse of his potential. A composed, intelligent defenceman with confidence growing shift by shift. That’s the kind of rookie every organization hopes to find.
And right now, Brzustewicz is giving the Flames every reason to keep watching closely.