Training camp has opened, and the first look at the Calgary Flames’ roster setup already points to one name standing apart: Hunter Brzustewicz.
The groups are split in the usual way between the NHL-level players and the AHL group, but Brzustewicz is the one notable defenceman who might have been expected to be with the main crew. Instead, he finds himself on the outside looking in.
That’s a little surprising given where he’s come from. The Flames got Brzustewicz two years ago in the Elias Lindholm trade package, and he arrived with real offensive promise from the back end after finishing second among OHL defencemen in scoring in his final junior season.
He backed that up enough last fall to crack the NHL roster in his second pro season. Last year turned into one of those uneven seasons that so many Flames players seemed to live through, but Brzustewicz still got 34 NHL games under his belt.
He put up two goals and five assists with a zero plus minus rating, and even handled some power-play quarterbacking late in the year. He also logged 34 games in the AHL, where he scored four goals and added nine assists.
There’s no question he looks like an NHL defenceman. He still has areas to clean up before he can take the next step, but he’s already shown he belongs.
The issue is simple: there may not be a clean opening for him on this Calgary blue line. On the right side alone, the Flames already have newly acquired Simon Nemec, Zayne Parekh, Zach Whitecloud and Brayden Pachal.
Brzustewicz would sit ahead of Pachal on the depth chart, but Pachal makes more sense as a seventh defenceman than Brzustewicz does. And that’s the problem for a player fans would like to see in the NHL - nobody wants him stuck as a healthy scratch most nights.
Waiver status also works against him. Brzustewicz is waiver-exempt, so Calgary can send him to the AHL without risking losing him the way it did Ilya Solovyov a year ago. For now, that makes the Wranglers look like the likeliest landing spot for a good chunk of the season.
That doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It may not be the path Brzustewicz wants, but it could help his development more than sitting on the NHL bench.
With the Wranglers, he’d be the guy. He’d play the most minutes, run the top power-play unit and get into just about every situation available.
That’s a lot more valuable than limited third-pairing work with no special-teams time in the NHL.
There’s also the possibility that his value around the league keeps growing. A young right-shot defenceman with offensive upside is the kind of player plenty of teams would want. Still, there’s no urgency to move him.
The Flames have depth for a reason, and injuries can change everything fast. There are also questions around Zach Whitecloud and whether he fits into Calgary’s plans once his contract expires. If Whitecloud were moved, that could clear the way for Brzustewicz to get regular NHL minutes.
For now, though, Calgary appears ready to take the patient route. Unless injuries intervene, Brzustewicz probably won’t be in the Flames’ lineup anytime soon.
The hope is that he treats it less like a setback and more like a chance to force the issue. If he dominates with the Wranglers, he can push management to make moves.
And on a young team that figures to spend plenty of time near the bottom of the standings, openings will come. He just has to earn one.
By the time the March trade deadline arrives, the picture could look very different. Maybe Whitecloud is dealt to make room.
Maybe Brzustewicz is moved himself for a fresh start. Maybe neither happens right away.
There’s still plenty of runway left, but right now, Hunter Brzustewicz is the Flames’ odd defenceman out.
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