One-on-one with Hunter Brzustewicz: I feel great about where my game is at

KITCHENER, Ont. — On a Friday night in Kitchener, clad in a special Remembrance Day jersey in front of a nearly full arena at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, Vancouver Canucks prospect Hunter Brzustewicz had something of an unusual game for the Kitchener Rangers.

The club’s third-round pick at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville this spring, Brzustewicz is a gifted puck-moving defender. He currently leads all OHL defensemen in points scored — with 30 points in just 18 games played — and recorded two assists in the contest.

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What made the game unusual though, is that both of Brzustewicz’s assists were picked up on breakout passes at the tail end of his shifts. By the time the puck was in the net, on both occasions, he’d already left the ice. They were the rare goals where Brzustewicz got a boost in the point column, without impacting his own plus/minus.

Brzustewicz’s puck-moving ability stands out at this level. He sees the ice extremely well, and is capable of keying the breakout and finding seams when set up in-zone. He’s a natural power-play quarterback and has racked up points at a dizzying clip on the man-advantage. Brzustewicz, and Kitchener’s PP1 flankers Carson Rehkopf and Matthew Sop, rank 1-2-3 in OHL scoring through the first six weeks of the season, a testament to how lethal Kitchener has been on the power play.

Following Kitchener’s 4-0 victory over the Peterborough Petes on Friday, Brzustewicz took 15 minutes to chat with The Athletic about the red-hot start to his draft-plus-one campaign, the work he’s putting in to improve his defensive game and his shot, what he learned at Canucks training camp and what it’s like working with Canucks player development staff — and Mike Komisarek in particular.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

At the draft you talked about identifying your shot as a piece of your game that you wanted to improve on. Now you’re one goal shy of tying your total from last season and it’s just mid-November, but I noticed tonight there’s a lot of wrist shots; on the power play it didn’t look like you were hammering slap shots. Is that consistent with how you’ve had more success as a goal threat this season?

Definitely. I’m just trying to put myself in the right position always, and have that shooter’s mentality, even if it isn’t the perfect position. That’s what I’ve been trying to work on.

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I saw a shooting coach this summer who helped me with my technique, and then also just putting in the work goalie shooting with (Kitchener Rangers goaltending coach Jordan DeKort). That’s been a big help, it’s helped me keep my shot ready for any situations that I need it.

Those shots tonight, honestly, I thought I could’ve put more into them. I thought I could’ve had more of a shooter’s mentality, but also on our power play, having the threats I have on the flanks — who can shoot the puck better than me sometimes…

So you’re conscious of having to strike a balance then? Because just on distance, oftentimes the point shot is going to be the least efficient. Is that something you have to think about?

No, I know where and when the time is to shoot. If there’s a time to blast it or put a wrister on net, I’ll take it.

In terms of working with the shooting coach, what was the emphasis there?

It was more just getting my foot down, and then changing the angle too — the slight move where you pull it in, versus where you start it — and it went from there.

It was all about velocity, and the whole technique all together — how you transition the body, how you torque the body. And then the entire summer in the gym, I’m just trying to add power to it.

You’re the leading scorer in the OHL among defenders, you’ve had a massive 12-game point streak earlier in the year and you’ve had a lot of three-point nights. Are you feeling like you’re in a zone this season?

I feel better, and I think our whole team feels better.

It all starts in the locker room and I can’t say enough about these guys. It’s really fun to come to the rink everyday and just put the work in. Every night right now I go to sleep and I can’t wait to get back to the rink, and when you have that mentality, it makes it easy to want to get better.

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We’re doing well as a team and I feel great about where my game is at.

This was my first time seeing you play live, and you’re scanning a lot — is that just typical for you?

I try to do it as much as I can, I’d actually like to do it more, just to have more awareness.

I also like to check the time on the clock. I’ve always done it ever since I was a little kid. It’s game awareness, and seeing the situation the game is in too.

Overall, how are you feeling about your defensive game, and how have you approached working on that?

Obviously that’s the big point that everyone talks about.

I feel like my defensive game has gotten way better. I haven’t been on for as many goals this year as I was last year, and I feel good and I think I’m getting better every day in practice. I’m just working with my coaches on closing the gap quicker in the corner and having a better stick in all areas of the ice.

I think on the penalty kill, for example, I’ve done a way better job this year. Gapping up, surfing them to the outside, pressuring them right away to try and avoid them getting set up. Thinking about it from an offensive stand point, you don’t want to be pressured and you want the setup to be as easy as possible. So I’m trying to think about it from that other way. “What would I not want them to have?”

What’s the season been like as a drafted player? How much interaction have you been able to have with Mike Komisarek and other Canucks development staff?

It’s been really cool.

For the past year seeing my teammates talk to their development guys, I was wondering what it would be like for me. And me and Mike have had great conversations.

He’s been great, and the experience has been unbelievable.

One thing we talk about is having a good stick, and another thing is being a pro. Even if it’s not during the game, whether it’s off ice or during warmups. That’s something he tells me a lot. Be a leader, be vocal, stuff like that.

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We’ve also talked about video, now, I’m not the biggest video person, but that offer is there. He’s told me that any time I want to watch video I can just reach out.

Obviously it’s not totally up to me, but most of the time it is. Mike always tells me that he’s there for me, anytime I need him. You definitely try to take advantage of that as much as possible.

In terms of your production and what you’ve been able to accomplish in the early going, what role did Young Stars and attending an NHL training camp play in the success you’ve had.

I definitely think away from the puck and the defensive part of my game benefitted from that experience. In Penticton and at training camp, in terms of my game with the puck, I wouldn’t say I was at my best or feeling overly confident.

Coming back here afterwards though, and being an older guy, having that NHL camp experience, my confidence has grown even more than where it was last season.

It’s always interesting to watch young guys at an NHL training camp. Like I remember in Victoria at camp watching you and Sawyer Mynio doing battle drills down low against Anthony Beauvillier and Pius Suter, and those are guys who’ve played hundreds of NHL games. Was that experience eye-opening?

It was really cool, just watching the Canucks in the playoffs a few years ago and then being on the ice with a lot of those players, I never thought I’d be in that position.

It was eye-opening to see NHL players and practice against them, just understanding how hard they work. I remember the boxout drill against Beauvillier, and I thought I did a great job, and the next thing I know — even if the puck is covered — he’s at the net, just still trying to find out a way to get it.

Then if the bus is at 7:30 or 7:15 and we arrive, and you’ll see they’ve been there already for 30 minutes. Just warming up. Doing what they need to do to be at that level.

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How do you apply that experience at this level?

Doing it myself, as much as I can. And helping the younger guys as much as you can. You tell them about it. You try and take that example.

What’s next for you now? What are some goals — team goals and individual goals — for you the rest of the way here?

I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a big individual goal guy myself. I just want to keep winning. It’s really fun and our locker room is a great place to be right now.

We want it to stay that way. We want to keep this going.

(Photo: Chris Tanouye / Getty Images)

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