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Hunter Brzustewicz

Minor Transactions: 4/18/25

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There will be several small roster moves today as playoff teams recall their required third goalie for practice and emergency backup purposes, and non-playoff teams conduct some end-of-season roster trimming. We’ll cover all those moves here:

  • The Blues announced they’ve recalled goaltender Will Cranley from ECHL Florida to serve as their emergency backup. St. Louis selected the 23-year-old in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He was previously added to the Blues’ practice roster for a day during the 4 Nations break while Jordan Binnington was traveling back from the tournament. He finished his second professional season with a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 ECHL games. He also logged a .867 SV% in a pair of appearances for AHL Springfield, the first of his career.
  • The Stars added defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic back to the active roster after reassigning them to AHL Texas yesterday for cap purposes. They needed the space to activate Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve for the final game of the regular season. They’re expected to serve as the third pairing in Game 1 of the first round against the Avalanche tomorrow, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. It’ll be the postseason debut for Bichsel, Dallas’ first-round draft choice in 2022. They also recalled goaltender Ben Kraws from ECHL Idaho as their EBUG. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Lawrence last year, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV%, five shutouts, and a 23-12-5 record in 40 games for Idaho. He also posted a 3.01 GAA and .889 SV% in three appearances for AHL Texas, logging a 2-1-0 record.
  • Serving as the Avalanche’s EBUG will be Kevin Mandolese, the team announced. The 24-year-old has spent the year as Trent Miner’s backup with AHL Colorado after being acquired from the Senators over the offseason. He has a 2.87 GAA, .903 SV%, 11-6-0 record, and one shutout in 19 games.
  • Since the Wild’s AHL affiliate is one of the few to miss the cut for the Calder Cup Playoffs, they’re going with a higher-profile option for their EBUG. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt will fill the role for them, according to a club announcement. The 2021 first-rounder is expected to succeed the retiring Marc-André Fleury as Filip Gustavsson’s backup next season, but is coming off a disastrous injury-plagued campaign with Iowa. He finished the year with a 3.59 GAA, .879 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-14-4 record in 27 showings.
  • The Panthers summoned Evan Cormier from ECHL Savannah to be their EBUG, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 27-year-old struggled with a 3.38 GAA, .887 SV%, one shutout, and a 17-13-4 record in 36 showings in 2024-25. He filled the same duties for the Cats in the first half of last year’s playoff run, signing a two-way deal at the trade deadline for the second season in a row.
  • The Penguins returned forwards Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and defenseman Filip Král to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after their late-season call-ups. They’ll aid the Baby Pens as they aim to capture a Calder Cup. Not joining them is top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who sustained a lower-body injury last week and isn’t yet ready to return.
  • The Flames assigned forward Sam Morton and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary after they made their NHL debuts in last night’s regular-season finale. Morton scored his first NHL goal in the outing, while Brzustewicz impressed with a plus-two rating. They’ll join the Wranglers for the postseason.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled enforcer Ryan Reaves from the minor leagues. Reaves recently played in his first AHL games since the 2010-11 season. He recorded one goal and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes in three games of play. The 38-year-old also recorded two assists and 28 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season. He’ll provide a boost of muscle to the Leafs lineup as they head towards a First Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
  • Defenseman Emil Andrae has been reassigned to the minor leagues after holding down a routine role on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup since early March. Andrae split his time between the major and minor rosters this season, with seven points in 42 NHL games and 16 points in 25 AHL games. He was primarily a minor-leaguer last season and managed a stout 32 points, 66 penalty minutes, and minus-10 in 61 games. With the Flyers season over, Andrae will look to again support the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a late-season push.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled depth forward Derek Ryan from the minor leagues. Ryan split time between the NHL and AHL this year, with one goal and six points in 36 games in the Oilers lineup. He also managed eight points in 13 AHL games. Ryan has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five different occasions, racking up 10 points in 60 games. That includes appearing in 19 games of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ryan contributed one assist to the effort. He’ll now be returned to the NHL roster to support another long run.
  • The Rochester Americans are getting a wave of strong recruits, as the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned each of Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen back to the minor leagues. Rosen leads Rochester in scoring this season with 28 goals and 55 points in 60 games. Ostlund has 36 points in 44 games, while Kozak has 14 points in 31 games. Kulich has been the only of the bunch to spend the bulk of the season in the NHL. He carved out a top-six role through points of the season. Kulich finished what was his rookie NHL season with 15 goals and 24 points in 62 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Flames Recall Hunter Brzustewicz and Samuel Morton

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The Calgary Flames have recalled defense prospect Hunter Brzustewicz and forward prospect Samuel Morton ahead of their final game of the season. This is the first NHL call-up of either player’s career. They could make their NHL debut in Calgary’s flag-waving game, after the Flames were mathematically eliminated from the postseason on Tuesday.

This moves marks a chance for Calgary to gauge their early returns on the January 2024 trade that sent Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for NHL winger Andrei Kuzmenko, the rights to Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo, and two draft picks. Kuzmenko spent 66 games with the Flames before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers this season, and Calgary hasn’t yet seen any of their acquired prospects on NHL ice. Brzustewicz could be the player to change that, after posting a stout five goals and 31 points in 69 games as an AHL rookie this season. He ranked second in scoring on the Calgary Wranglers’ blue-line behind Jeremie Poirier. The duo also ranked dead-last on the Wranglers’ blue-line in plus-minus, with Poirier sporting a minus-10 and Brzustewicz a minus-nine.

Brzustewicz has long been lauded as a diligent puck-moving defenseman who excels at getting through the neutral zone with tempo. But that knack has left him exposed to quick-moving plays or turnovers in either end. The fast-paced, downhill style of the NHL could be what snaps the 19-year-old defender out of his one-way funk, and give him the platform needed to mix strong scoring and well-rounded defense.

While Brzustewicz looks to bring a good name to drafted prospects, Morton will look to show the capabilities of undrafted free agents. He signed with the Wranglers at the end of the 2023-24 season, after wrapping up his sixth year in college and his fourth with Minnesota State-Mankato. Morton was a strong scorer in his final collegiate season, netting 24 goals and 34 points in 37 games. That high-energy, hard-earned scoring carried over to the pro ranks. Morton scored 11 points in his first 19 pro games last season, split between the regular-season and postseason. He built onto that with a breakout year this season, netting 20 goals and 45 points in 69 games – good for fourth on the Wranglers in scoring. Morton also posted a team-worst minus-14, though his physical presence has helped make up for some lacking defense. He’s another high-energy scorer who will look to round out his game as he receives more NHL opportunities.

Should they make their debuts in Calgary’s final game, Brzustewicz would likely replace one of Jake Bean or Brayden Pachal in the lineup, while Morton would replace Ryan Lomberg, Kevin Rooney, or Yegor Sharangovich. The Flames take on the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

Pacific Notes: Jasek, Fanti, Brzustewicz

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The Canucks still hold the exclusive signing rights of Czech winger Lukas Jasek, but he won’t be returning to the organization next season. He’s signed a two-year contract with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (translated team release link).

Jasek, 26, was a sixth-round pick of the Canucks in 2015 and spent the following three seasons in the Czech Extraliga before signing his entry-level contract and joining their AHL affiliate, then the Utica Comets, in 2018. He played in parts of four seasons for the Comets, putting up overall decent numbers with 86 points (30 goals, 56 assists) and a +11 rating in 153 appearances, but didn’t get an NHL call-up during that time.

Vancouver liked what they saw enough to extend him a qualifying offer when his ELC expired in 2021, but Jasek declined to accept and returned to Europe for a bigger role. He spent two seasons in Finland with Liiga’s Pelicans before transferring to Sweden in 2022, signing on with the SHL’s IK Oskarshamn.

Jasek had 28 points in 49 games but couldn’t help them avoid relegation to the HockeyAllsvenskan, but he’ll stay in the top tier of the Swedish system next season with Örnsköldsvik’s MoDo. The Canucks must sign him before July 1, 2025, and buy him out of the second year of his new deal with MoDo, or he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • The Oilers will carry netminder Ryan Fanti as their emergency backup for tonight’s Game 1 of their first-round series against the Kings, the team announced. While not on the game roster, he could enter the game for Edmonton if Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard leave the game with injuries. They’ll allow the more experienced Jack Campbell to continue getting game action at the top minor-league level as AHL Bakersfield begins its playoff run. Fanti, 24, has played sparingly this season with ECHL Fort Wayne and missed the first few months of the season with an injury, going 9-6-1 with a .915 SV% in 17 outings since his return. He has no NHL experience and only nine games of AHL experience.
  • One of the Flames’ top defense prospects, Hunter Brzustewicz, will finish 2023-24 on an ATO with AHL Calgary, the minor-league club announced. Brzustewicz, 19, was a third-round pick of the Canucks last year but had his signing rights dealt to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade. He inked his entry-level deal back in March and, given his November birthday, will be eligible to suit up full-time with the Wranglers next season. He finished the year with 92 points in 67 games for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

Flames Sign Hunter Brzustewicz To Entry-Level Contract

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4:30 PM: The Flames have confirmed the deal as a three-year entry-level contract carrying an annual average value (AAV) of $950K. The deal also contains $285K in signing bonuses, per CapFriendly.

11:30 AM: The Calgary Flames have signed defense prospect Hunter Brzustewicz to his entry-level contract, per Wes Gilberton of Postmedia. Brzustewicz was a major focus of the January trade that sent Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks – serving as the top prospect in a deal that also contained a first-round pick and NHL winger Andrei Kuzmenko, among other pieces. Vancouver originally drafted Brzustewicz 75th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. The pick was seen as a steal at the time, with the defenseman being projected to go in the early-to-mid second round.

Brzustewicz has earned his first pro contract with a stellar season in the OHL, where he currently ranks second in scoring among defensemen behind 2024 Draft-eligible Zayne Parekh. Brzustewicz has 12 goals and 85 points in 62 games this season, putting him on pace to rival the most points scored by an OHL defenseman since 2000 – a title currently held by Ryan Ellis’ 100-point season in 2010-11. Brzustewicz will likely fall short of Ellis’ title (though Parekh will also chase it!) but his place in the conversation is commendable enough. In addition to Ellis, Parekh, and Brzustewicz, the list of the OHL’s top-scoring defensemen also contains Tony DeAngelo, Pavel Mintyukov, and Evan Bouchard – all proven NHL defenders in their own right – as well as long-running and successful KHL defenseman Kevin Dallman.

There’s a lot to like in Brzustewicz, who’s at his best when carrying the puck into the neutral zone and finding teammates to spring the rush. He’s a hard passer, with the quick footwork needed to join the offensive rush while still covering his spot on the blue-line. Draft day concerns about his over-eagerness and prowess on the defensive side of the puck kept scouts bearish on the American defender, and Brzustewicz hasn’t done much this season to grow past those concerns. But his ability to create and maintain tempo have made him an undeniable name to watch. Signed to his first pro deal, Brzustewicz will now look to fully establish himself as one of Calgary’s top prospects.

Afternoon Notes: Lindholm, Zellweger, Hertl

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The Vancouver Canucks are hoping that Elias Lindholm can stick around, with the team’s President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford sharing that, “Lindholm could be a rental. He could be a long-term guy. In an ideal world, we’d like to keep him.” The Canucks acquired Lindholm on Wednesday, sending the Calgary Flames Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, and a first and fourth-round draft pick in return.

Lindholm’s contract extension has been heavily discussed throughout the season, with reports from the summer sharing that he could be asking for as much as $9MM per year on a new deal. That’s likely changed after what’s been a slow season for Lindholm, who has only managed nine goals and 32 points through 49 games – continuing his decline in scoring since scoring a career-high 42 goals and 82 points in 82 games during the 2021-22 season. The 29-year-old will look to regain his former scoring touch – and his value on an extension – now on a Vancouver Canucks team that ranks second in the league in scoring.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent top defensive prospect Olen Zellweger to the minor leagues. This move is likely to get Zellweger ice time while the Ducks have an eight-day break for the All-Star Break. Zellweger has appeared in the first four NHL games of his career since getting the first recall of his career on January 23rd. He’s recorded one assist and a +2 in those outings, still looking for the first goal of his career. The 20-year-old is in his first pro season, after spending the last four seasons in the WHL. He’s had a hot start to his professional career, ranking third among rookie AHL defensemen in scoring with 25 points through 34 games.
  • Top San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl, who has been out for the team’s last two games, shared with media that he will play in Saturday’s NHL All-Star Game. This will be Hertl’s return from a lower-body injury that’s held him out since January 27th. The 30-year-old has scored 15 goals and 34 points through 48 games this season, leading the Sharks in both categories.

Big Hype Prospects: Roy, Brzustewicz, Stankoven, Lindbom, Iginla

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Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Joshua Roy, RW, Montreal Canadiens (Laval Rocket, AHL)
5GP 5G 6A 11pts

Perhaps the biggest test NHL prospects face, other than the jump to the NHL itself, is the jump from playing exclusively against one’s peers to playing against men.

The players who oftentimes have years of experience playing professional hockey under their belt present a steep challenge for those prospects who might have been accustomed to using purely physical, skating, or skill-based advantages to success without layering those skills together into a more comprehensive package.

Oftentimes, successful players at the major junior level, for example, will find the tactics that worked for them against their peers to be wholly ineffective against pros. They’ll find their habits need changing, their strategies in need of a tweak, and perhaps their entire identities as players need to be re-examined.

That doesn’t seem to be something Roy, a Canadiens prospect, will have to consider. The 150th overall pick at the 2021 draft, Roy has always been a player of tremendous upside. He was the first overall pick at the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft, but the struggles of his first two seasons in the QMJHL dramatically decreased his NHL draft stock.

After his fifth-round selection, Roy exploded to score 51 goals and 119 points the very next season. In his final season in the QMJHL, Roy’s production dipped slightly as the player focused his efforts on developing not only the defensive side of his game but also more pro-ready offensive habits.

Those efforts have paid off massively to start the 2023-24 season. As a rookie pro player, Roy currently leads the entire AHL in scoring with five goals and 11 points in just five games. He’s become the genuine offensive centerpiece of the Laval Rocket, and has begun to build chemistry with another top Canadiens forward prospect: Sean Farrell.

The recall of Joel Armia in the place of the injured Kirby Dach indicates that the Canadiens would prefer to keep Roy in the AHL and hopefully have him continue playing like a dominant offensive force.

But if he can keep up his scoring at this kind of level, one has to imagine that an NHL call-up isn’t too far off for the 20-year-old fifth-rounder.

Hunter Brzustewicz, RHD, Vancouver Canucks (Kitchener Rangers, OHL)
10GP 5G 15A 20pts

Looking to revamp their prospect pool at a position of need, the Canucks spent their top two draft choices, including the 11th overall selection, on right-shot defensemen last season. So far, while Tom Willander is certainly performing up to expectations at Boston University, it’s Brzustewicz who has impressed the most to start the season.

The 75th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Brzustewicz has become the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers’ true number-one defenseman. He’s responded to that important role with stellar production, and he currently leads the entire OHL in scoring with 20 points in 10 games.

Brzustewicz has helped the Rangers look like a true offensive powerhouse early this season, with the team currently averaging a whopping 5.1 goals per game.

Although Brzustewicz still has some work to do on the defensive side of things to truly place himself in consideration for an NHL job down the line, his early form this season makes clear that his offensive talent is undeniable.

Logan Stankoven, C/RW, Dallas Stars (Texas Stars, AHL)
4GP 4G 3A 7pts

Although there is always worry that high-scoring junior players will struggle to translate their scoring to the professional level, those worries are typically amplified when a player stands just five feet, eight inches tall.

One of the CHL’s most dynamic scorers over the past two years, Stankoven has long been tagged with concerns from some scouts that the things that made him so prolific for the Kamloops Blazers simply won’t be accessible in a professional environment.

So far, Stankoven has shown that he can, in fact, remain a dynamic offensive scorer in the challenging environment of the AHL.

Stankoven currently leads AHL Texas in scoring through four games, with four goals and seven points in that span.

The truly special aspects of Stankoven’s game seem to have traveled with him to Texas, and the progress he made in his final WHL season in terms of making his offensive approach more pro-ready has shown itself so far this year.

Stankoven has thus far thrived despite the immense physicality of the AHL, and so far his size has not limited his effectiveness in the areas he’s counted on most.

The Stars have a lot of offensive talent at the NHL level, so there may not be room for Stankoven to get an NHL shot this season without injuries.

But regardless of which level he plays in this season, these first few games have shown that Stankoven should be a force to be reckoned with, even at the pro level.

Carl Lindbom, G, Vegas Golden Knights (Färjestad BK, SHL)
7GP 5-2 0.99 GAA .950 sv% 1 shutout

When an NHL team spends a seventh-round pick on a goaltender, the selection is typically motivated more by a desire to retain the exclusive rights to sign that player as he develops rather than any realistic expectation that the goalie will become a big part of his NHL team’s future.

While first-rounders are almost always assured entry-level contracts due to their draft position, no such assurances exist for seventh-rounders. A seventh-round selection allows a team to keep tabs on a player, letting the player’s development guide whether he ultimately receives an NHL contract offer.

This past summer, Lindbom’s stellar development earned him an entry-level deal from the Golden Knights.

In the 2019 and 2020 drafts, the seventh round yielded some elite netminder prospects, namely Devon Levi of the Buffalo Sabres and Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames. From the 2021 class, Lindbom appears to have the best chance of continuing that streak.

Picked with the third-to-last selection in the class, Lindbom, 20, is a goalie who relies more on his athleticism and speed than his size. Last season was his first as a regular member of a tandem at the professional level, and he was exceptional. He posted a .930 save percentage and 1.86 goals-against-average in 36 games for Djurgårdens IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan.

This season, Lindbom has moved from Sweden’s second tier to its first-tier (SHL) and has excelled despite the increase in talent level and challenge.

Currently playing in tandem with former Golden Knight Maxime Legace, Lindbom has put up video game numbers. He’s 5-2 through seven games with a 0.99 goals-against-average and a .950 save percentage. His club, Färjestad BK, has given up just 20 goals through 12 games this season, which ranks third-best in the entire SHL.

While it’s fair to question how much a favorable defensive environment in Färjestad has contributed to Lindbom’s early success this season (Legace has also put up strong numbers, after all) it’s clear that the jump from the Allsvenskan to the SHL likely won’t be the source of major issues for Lindbom.

If he can keep up his success from these first few games into the rest of the season, Lindbom could very well find himself playing for the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights next year, placing him within arm’s reach of the NHL.

Tij Iginla, C, 2024 Draft Prospect (Kelowna Rockets, WHL)
11GP 12G 7A 19pts

As the son of Jarome Iginla, an era-defining NHL superstar, Tij Iginla will always be a player with high expectations following him.

As a top-10 pick of the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft, Iginla was, before this season, viewed as a bit of a disappointment. He struggled to make a dent in an absolutely stacked Seattle Thunderbirds forward corps last season and was not widely considered a top prospect for the 2024 draft.

It’s early, but Iginla’s current form with the Kelowna Rockets is doing wonders to change that narrative. The 17-year-old forward is, despite an August birthday, currently in third place in the entire WHL in goal scoring. He’s tallied 12 goals in 12 games, and his 19 points rank second among the league’s under-18 forwards.

Iginla has already crossed his point total from last season despite playing in 37 fewer games and has formed a deadly partnership with Washington Capitals 2023 second-rounder Andrew Cristall.

While he’s not quite the prototypical power forward his father was, (he’s a little shorter, weighs quite a bit less, and is notably more disciplined) it’s not easy to avoid seeing at least some of Jarome whenever Tij snipes the puck straight past a WHL goalie.

There’s still a lot of the season left to be played, and the 2024 draft class is filled with talented players. But so far, Iginla has done more than most draft prospects in terms of raising his stock in the early part of the season.

Just how far he’s able to climb will be one of the more intriguing storylines in the WHL this season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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