2024 NHL Draft player profile: Harrison Brunicke, Kamloops Blazers

With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft just days away, Harrison Brunicke could be one step closer to making hockey history.

The Kamloops Blazers defenceman aims to become the first skater born in South Africa to make the NHL.

“I only moved to Calgary in 2008 when I was two years old,” Brunicke, who was born in Johannesburg, explained. “I would say I’m more Canadian, but that’s back to my roots. My blood is all South African. I’m super, super proud of where I’m from. To be the first South African NHL skater would be unreal. It’s something that I would cherish for the rest of my life.”

The NHL’s only South African-born player was Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Olaf ‘Olie’ Kolzig, who also played junior hockey in the Western Hockey League and is now a part-owner of the Tri-City Americans.

Kolzig suited up for parts of three seasons with Tri-City and the New Westminster Bruins, scoring a rare goalie goal and posting the league’s best goals-against average and save percentage in 1989.

Now, 15 years after Kolzig retired from the NHL, Brunicke is poised to hear his name called at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

The 6-foot-3, 183-pound right-shot defenceman has found his groove on the Blazers’ blueline and caught the attention of scouts across the pro ranks.

“He wasn’t a player that was on the radar and doing all the Hockey Canada stuff from an early age and identified as the next big star,” Blazers General Manager and Head Coach Shaun Clouston said. “He’s really embraced this whole process and seems to be having a lot of fun with it which I think is important for a lot of players.”

When Brunicke broke into the league as a rookie in 2022-23, Clouston says the Blazers opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defencemen on their powerhouse squad to help the youngster get some reps alongside elite players like Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars) and Olen Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks).

Brunicke played well enough to earn consistent minutes through the WHL Playoffs and the 2023 Memorial Cup- where he scored his first CHL playoff goal against the Peterborough Petes.

While Kamloops entered this season in a building phase, Brunicke was eager to take on a bigger role and prove his abilities in his first year of draft eligibility.

The 18-year-old more than doubled all of his offensive totals from his rookie year, netting 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 49 matches.

“He’s a player that can play at both ends,” Clouston added. “He’s a great skater. He can pass the puck out of trouble, he can skate the puck out of trouble. He’s very good at getting the puck moving north and breaking pucks out. He has some ability to make a move at the blue line and jump down and create some offense. He walks the blue line well, but I think in his two years in the league he’s probably made the biggest improvements with his defensive game.”

Initially tagged as a potential fourth or fifth-round NHL pick by NHL Central Scouting in its preseason rankings, Brunicke climbed the list to become one of the 40 Canadian Hockey League Players invited to the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in January.

He was playing his best hockey of the season when he was sidelined by an upper-body injury that ended his season in mid-February.

Brunicke admits it was difficult to see the season pass him by, but he threw himself into recovery with a new goal in mind: representing Canada at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship in Finland.

While he wasn’t at 100 percent in the tournament, Brunicke played a critical shutdown role for Canada, tallying a goal, three assists and a +11 rating in seven games en route to a gold medal.

“I think a lot about it was just seeing that I can play any situation, any role,” Brunicke recalled. “I think a big piece about me is sacrifice and compete, and I think I showcased that well at the U18 level. Whether it’s blocking shots or playing against top lines, soaking up minutes, things like that. At the end of the day, we won gold and that’s all a team effort.”

Between his gold medal run in Finland and a strong showing at the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine- where he interviewed with 19 teams- NHL Central Scouting has cranked Brunicke’s ranking up to 52nd among all North American skaters leading into the draft.

Brunicke will have his parents and sister by his side at the Sphere for this weekend’s draft- but a continent away, his extended family and a burgeoning South African ice hockey fanbase will be cheering him on.