Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Brzustewicz named to CHL’s second all-star team

Another day, another year-end honour for Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Brzustewicz.

After previously receiving honours from the Ontario Hockey League and his club, the Kitchener Rangers, on Sunday Brzustewicz was named a second team all-star by the Canadian Hockey League. In essence, he was named one of the top four blueliners in all of Canadian major junior hockey.

Brzustewicz’s teammate Carson Rehkopf, a Seattle Kraken prospect, was named to the third all-star team.

A third-round selection by the Vancouver Canucks at the 2023 NHL Draft, Brzustewicz was sent to the Flames as part of the Elias Lindholm trade. He signed an entry-level contract with the Flames in March. After posting a pretty impressive 57 points over 68 games in 2022-23 – his draft year – as an OHL rookie, Brzustewicz absolutely exploded offensively in 2023-24. He posted 13 goals and 79 assists for 92 points over 67 games.

To summarize Brzustewicz’s 2023-24 honours:

Simply put, Brzustewicz impressed a lot of folks across hockey with his strong 2023-24 season. He’s 19, turning 20 in late November, and it seems likely that he’ll need some time to mature and fill out his game a bit in the American Hockey League before making a push for any NHL appearances. But simply put: Brzustewicz has shown the ability to grow his game in a very good OHL circuit, and he’s shown the ability to generate offence really consistently. Time will tell if he can round his game out a bit or figure out how to defend against grown men, but his impressive performances and growth over the past few years are likely sources of optimism.