CHL to NHL: Brzustewicz plays first NHL game on final day of regular season

Former Kitchener Rangers defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames Thursday night.

In a 5-1 win over LA, Brzustewicz played 18:23, had two shots and one hit and was a +2.

In two seasons with the Rangers, Brzustewicz piled up the points from the blue line with 149 points (19 goals) across 135 games. In 2023-24, the 20-year-old led all OHL d-men with 79 assists while his 92 points ranked second. In the process, he is one of just 10 CHL d-men to surpass 90 points in a season over the past 25 years.

In his first season of professional hockey with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, Brzustewicz sits second in team scoring among defencemen with 31 points.

The 75th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft by Vancouver, the Flames acquired Brzustewicz in January 2024.

Milestone pucks galore 🔥

First NHL game pucks for Aydar and Bru, first NHL goal pucks for Z and Morty, Backs with the puck from his goal that ties Lanny for the sixth-most goals in Calgary franchise history (215) , and Naz with his 35th goal puck! pic.twitter.com/Q6ZnYva6E3

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 18, 2025