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Will Hunter Brzustewicz need to return to the Wranglers to make room for Zayne Parekh?
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Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Jan 21, 2026, 12:30 ESTUpdated: Jan 20, 2026, 21:49 EST
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The Rasmus Andersson trade has happened and while the dust settles, it’s no secret the Flames are carrying a lot of depth on the right side of their blue line. With Zach Whitecloud coming in and Zayne Parekh healthy and on a temporary conditioning stint with the Wranglers, it seems a likely possibility that Hunter Brzustewicz may need to spend some time back in the AHL this season. However, that might not be the worst thing.

Hunter Brzustewicz 

Hunter Brzustewicz has earned an NHL spot. He’s proved he can play at the pace and be effective at a higher level. After an outstanding start to his season with the Wranglers, he earned a spot with the Flames and his 15 game run over the last month and a bit has only been broken up by a handful of games where Calgary opted to swap him out to get Brayden Pachal a few games. 
Brzustewicz deserves to be in the NHL but while Calgary figures out their defensive pairings and evaluates potential future moves, Brzustewicz is the easiest to move without making him sit out completely. Hunter is waivers exempt as he is still in his entry level contract and knows the system in and out in the AHL. If this option is to sit in the press box to give Parekh some minutes or get meaningful pro ice time on a top Wranglers pairing, it feels like a no-brainer. Especially with the flexibility to call him up at any time with the teams in the same city if something were to happen injury or trade wise. 
Defence at the Wranglers level has taken a noticeable decline since Yan Kuznetsov earned his full time NHL spot and Brzustewicz got called up. The Wranglers have continued to pick up points but haven’t been getting things done in regulation. As it stands, they’re in a playoff spot and between them and the Flames, it’s much more likely the Wranglers qualify for postseason than the NHL squad. In that respect, if there’s a chance to get him playoff minutes as well, why not take it? 
So when the macro scenario is evaluated, you realize Brzustewicz is a real option at the NHL. He’s proved himself in that way. This assignment doesn’t turn into a demotion or a punishment, but a way to further his development. Brzustewicz would go back to dominating ice time in the AHL, get plenty of special teams action and would have more space to get some of his offensive abilities going again. Brzustewicz fits in very well culturally with the Wranglers and would approach an assignment like this with a positive mindset. 
Brzustewicz has also developed close bonds with quite a few of the Wranglers players and with Zayne Parekh specifically. When he spoke about his NHL debut at the end of last season, he recollected experiences alongside Parekh in the 2024-25 pre-season game against the Seattle Kraken where they were on the bench together taking a moment to soak it how cool it was to play at the NHL level. Even if it was just pre-season. He knows a future with him and Parekh as Flames blueliners is in the cards so taking a back seat for a temporary stretch to make that happen is not counter-productive. 

Zayne Parekh

Zayne Parekh is feeling fresh and healthy after recovering from an early season injury in time to represent Team Canada at the World Juniors. He suffered a shoulder injury in the bronze medal game and took a couple of weeks to recover from this injury. He returned to game action on Sunday with the Wranglers on a conditioning loan and while he didn’t look 100% like himself in his first game back, things are taking a step in the right direction. 
Zayne is one of the wildcards at this point in the season. The organization knows he has talent they’d like to leverage in the NHL, but they don’t want to do wrong by him. Where is he going to get the most meaningful games for his development? What needs to be figured out is if he is ready for that full-time NHL jump or if it makes more sense to send him to the OHL to light it up with the Saginaw Spirit. The Spirit are in the bottom half of the Western Conference but if they do make the playoffs, that might be Parekh’s only chance at postseason play this year. 
If Parekh is able to finish the season healthily, he’s got plenty of options for playing time. Best case scenario, he’s a Flame the rest of the season. 

Long term thinking

While this team re-evaluates the future and works on developing their prospects, the best thing to do is to keep these prospects playing and keep them confident. There’s no benefit in having your potential future top pairings watching games when they could be playing meaningful minutes. Calgary is doing what the can to manage the prospects carefully and in pro hockey, the path is not always linear. Some guys get chances and don’t stick but the ones that do, need to be protected. 
Providing both Hunter Brzustewicz and Zayne Parekh with the piece of mind that their spots are there when both sides are ready doesn’t make this an organization versus the player scenario. It makes it mutually beneficial. Neither of these young D-men are being ruled out. If the depth they have at the moment is to get them through some games or be bargaining chips, Parekh and Brzustewicz don’t fall in that category. Their NHL games will be there and they have time on their side to get them in. 

Short term thinking

The Olympic break is coming up and both these guys can play up until then. Parekh can play up to five games in the AHL and only has one so far. The Wranglers play on Saturday and Monday then on Jan. 30 and 31. That gives Brzustewicz the rest of the month along the Flames depth and Parekh his full conditioning allocation. Parekh may only need the next two games for the Laval Rocket series but that will to be determined. 
If transactions are coming for these two defencemen, it’s likely an early February move. Give Brzustewicz the first three Wranglers games in the first week of the month, then he’ll also have the chance to play in up to six other games in February while the NHL is on the Olympic break. For Brzustewicz to be playoff eligible for the Wranglers, he’ll need to be on the AHL roster at the NHL deadline on Mar. 6. Timing wise, it seems to make sense for this assignment. 
Hunter Brzustewicz and Zayne Parekh are protected assets to this organization right now and have a great window here to play meaningful games and minutes to be prepared for a brighter future for the Flames squad in their journey to become contenders again. 
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