Latest news with #HenryBrzustewicz
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Count Kings GM Ken Holland among those who prefer how NHL drafts used to be held
Henry Brzustewicz, left, stands with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected by the Kings at No. 31 overall in the NHL draft at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) For Ken Holland, the Kings' decidedly old-school general manager, new isn't necessarily better. Take the NHL draft, for example. Holland presided over more than a quarter-century of drafts with the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, and they were generally held in one place, with everyone from the executives doing the drafting to the players being drafted on site. Advertisement On Friday, for the first time in a non-pandemic environment, the draft was conducted semi-remotely, with the top 93 draft-eligible players and their families filling some of the seats in the half-empty Peacock Theater in Los Angeles while team representatives made their selections from their home markets. Read more: Kings hire Hall of Famer Ken Holland as their new general manager And whatever the league was attempting to accomplish with the decentralized format, other than saving on travel, it didn't work. After each pick was announced on a giant video board that took up two-thirds of the theater's massive stage, players made their way up the aisle to be greeted by Commissioner Gary Bettman. They then pulled on a team jersey and hat before being led into the "Draft House" — a small virtual reality room in the center of the stage — for what amounted to a congratulatory Zoom call with the club's brass. The Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles hosts the NHL draft. (Juan Ocampo / NHLI via Getty Images) The young men were celebrating the biggest moment of their lives yet they came off like Dorothy speaking to the Wizard of Oz. Much of it was awkward, especially when James Hagens, the eighth selection, was left waving at Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney after the audio in the Bruins' war room in Boston went mute. That was just one of multiple technical glitches that included echoes and timing delays that left players and executives talking over one another. Advertisement When it became obvious the painfully slow-paced event would plod past 4½ hours, the Draft House was closed to some teams. Brady Martin, the fifth pick, didn't even bother to come to L.A. So when Nashville announced his selection — via a celebrity video taped at a golf course — the NHL showed a video of Martin working on his family's farm. Russian goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov wouldn't even get that treatment. When he was announced as the 20th overall pick, the NHL had nothing to show, making Andreyanov the first no-show of the no-show draft. Matthew Schaefer, a 17-year-old defenseman from Hamilton, Canada,, who was taken with the No. 1 pick by the New York Islanders, said being part of video draft did not spoil his big day. Matthew Schaefer stands between Michael Misa, left, and Anton Frondell after being selected 1-2-3, respectively, in the NHL draft at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Friday. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images) 'I'm just honored to be picked,' said Schaefer who cried, alongside his dad and brother, when his name was called. 'I dreamt about it my whole life. It's such an honor. Especially the first pick overall.' Advertisement For Holland, however, none of that counts as progress. 'I'm old and I'm old fashioned. So I like the old way,' said the Kings general manager, whose view was shared by other GMs around the league. 'You draft some player in the sixth round and all of a sudden you hear 'yay!' way up in the corner. It's him, it's his family, and they're all excited to hear [his] name announced by an NHL team. 'This weekend, to me, is about the young players.' Aside from the technical difficulties, the actual draft went largely to form. The Ducks, as expected, took Roger McQueen, an 18-year-old forward from Saskatchewan, with their top pick, the 10th overall selection. The Kings, meanwhile, traded their first pick, No. 24 overall, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After moving down seven spots they took right-handed-shooting defenseman Henry Brzustewicz, 18, a Minnesota native, with the penultimate pick of the first day. Advertisement Round two through seven of the draft will be conducted Saturday. Roger McQueen, second from right, poses for photos with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and actors Joshua Jackson, left, and Marguerite Moreau, second from left, after being drafted by the Ducks at No. 10 overall. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) The Ducks, who had a top-10 pick for a seventh straight year, see the 6-foot-5 McQueen as a raw talent who can develop into a top-line center. 'He has a big body. But what goes along with that is his skill and skating ability,' said general manager Pat Verbeek, whose team has 10 picks this weekend. For the Kings, this draft was the first public move in what could be an intense couple of weeks. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and winger Andrei Kuzmenko are unrestricted free agents and the team would like to re-sign both before they hit the open market Tuesday. Advertisement 'If we re-sign Gavrikov, there's not going to be a ton of change,' Holland said. 'If we don't, then there's going to be change.' Gavrikov, 29, emerged as a solid presence on the blue line, playing a career-high 82 games and posting the best goals-against average of the 17 defensemen to play at least 1,500 minutes. Former Kings GM Rob Blake made Gavrikov a contract offer last March, said Holland, who has since sweetened the deal twice. Replacing him, the GM said, could require a couple of signings. Kuzmenko, 29, reenergized the offense after coming over from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, with the Kings going 17-5 and averaging nearly four goals a game down the stretch. Kings fans cheer after Henry Brzustewicz is drafted by the team at No. 31 overall. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) 'We like Kuzmenko. Kuzmenko likes it here; he likes his role,' Holland said. 'I'm talking to him. I talked two, three, four times this week with his agent. So we'll see.' Advertisement Signing both players would put a big dent in the Kings' $21.7 million in salary-cap space. 'We have a lot of cap space but it doesn't take much and it's gone,' Holland said. 'We've got to figure out how we want to spend our money and they need to figure out how much money they can get.' Aside from Gavrikov and Kuzmenko, the Kings don't have many loose ends to tie up. The team is confident it can get forward Alex Laferriere, a restricted free agent, to agree to a short-term deal and it has to decide whether to re-sign David Rittich, an unrestricted free agent, as the backup to starting goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper. Two players who could be moving on are forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Jordan Spence, both of whom are looking for more ice time and may have to leave to get it. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
National Post
25-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
‘He's been the rock': How Flames prospect Hunter Brzustewicz helped prepare his younger brother for 2025 NHL Draft
Calgary Flames blue-line prospect Hunter Brzustewicz has surely surprised some pals and relatives with this cheeky reply. Article content Hunter cherishes his relationship with his younger brother Henry, so many automatically assume that he is hoping the Flames will select his 'best friend' in the 2025 NHL Draft. Article content Article content Not so fast. Article content 'People always joke about if Calgary drafts him … ' Hunter said. 'And I tell them, 'No, I don't want 'em to, so I can fight him one day.' But we'll see.' Article content Henry, fresh off a Memorial Cup win with the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights, insists that his brother is all talk when it comes to the possibility of a sibling scrap. Article content 'Well, last year we played each other in the OHL,' Henry said. 'And he didn't want to, so … ' Article content There will be no haymakers between the Brzustewicz boys this weekend. Article content Just handshakes and hugs. Article content The NHL has invited all of the top draft prospects to Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, and Henry is among those on the list. Article content Some are projecting he could be selected toward the end of Friday's first round. If not, he shouldn't be waiting long when the name-calling resumes Saturday morning. Article content With an age gap of just over 26 months, these two were essentially inseparable before both leaving home to chase their NHL dreams. Henry, who spent a pair of seasons at Shattuck St. Mary's prep school, credits Hunter as a 'driving force' in his own hockey career. Article content 'Growing up, we've always been best friends and we still are,' said Hunter, who is 20 and just finished his first pro season — cutting his teeth with the AHL's Wranglers and making such a positive impression that he was called up by the Flames to log his NHL debut in Game 82. Article content Article content 'As an older brother, just kind of realizing what's happening for him in the next few months, I'm just really excited for him to experience it. We have talked about the combine or whatever and with each little thing, I ask him, 'Doesn't it make you want it even more?' And he's always like, 'Yeah, it does.'
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 Draft Targets For The Jets At Pick 28
Joshua Ravensbergen / James Doyle Now that a Stanley Cup winner has been determined, the event to look forward to is the NHL Draft, which commences on Jun. 27-28 in Los Angeles, where the Winnipeg Jets will make the 28th overall selection in the first round. Advertisement Although the Jets don't have the deepest prospect pool, they are in a better situation than several teams. Nikita Chibrikov and Elias Salomonsson highlight the prospects who are closest to being NHL-ready, as soon as next season. Brad Lambert, Brayden Yager, Colby Barlow, Zach Nehring and Alfons Freij headline the skilled prospects who could become key contributors sometime in the future. In the 2024 NHL draft, the Jets selected Freij in the second round before selecting three consecutive forwards, those being Kevin He in the fourth round, Markus Loponen in the fifth and Kieron Walton in the sixth. In fact, Freij is the lone defenseman to be drafted by the Jets in the previous two drafts. With a fairly strong balance in their prospect pool, the Jets can afford to select the best available, a strategy that tends to bode well for most teams selecting late in the first round. The Athletic's Corey Pronman released his latest mock draft and had the Jets selecting Henry Brzustewicz, a 6'1, 18-year-old defenseman who scored 10 goals and 42 points in 67 OHL games with the London Knights. Brzustewicz won back-to-back OHL championships and a Memorial Cup playing alongside Jets prospect Jacob Julien. Advertisement Bleacher Report's Lyle Richardson has the Jets selecting Blake Fiddler, a 6'4, 17-year-old right-handed defenseman. Fiddler spent the 2024-25 season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, where he scored 10 goals and 33 points in 64 games. Despite his big frame, Fiddler is a great skater, using it both offensively and defensively. He's strong on the puck, making plays on retrievals and as a playmaker in the offensive zone. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler predicts the Jets draft Bill Zonnon, a 6'2 winger who recorded 28 goals and 83 points in 64 QMJHL games. Zonnon is a hard worker who plays an attentive defenseman game even as a winger. Offensively, he's a playmaker, creating passing lanes with neat zone entries off the rush. While Wheeler believes the Jets could do with a defenseman, he believes Zonnon would be a good fit for the Jets. TSN's Bob McKenzie has the Jets selecting goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen. Ravensbergen is a 6'5, 18-year-old right-handed catching goaltender. He posted a 33-13-4 record with the Prince Town Cougars, routinely showcasing his calmness in the crease. The North Vancouver native uses his size to be positionally sound, but he moves very well in his crease. The Jets are very thin in net in terms of prospects, and Ravensbergen could be the successor to Connor Hellebuyck. The only thing that is certain in this draft is that it'll be full of surprises. Following picks one and two, which are nearing a guarantee to be Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa, no other pick is set in stone, which opens up the possibility for so many trades. The Jets selecting at 28 isn't a foregone conclusion as they could easily trade back, looking to regain draft capital, considering they are making just five selections in this draft. Advertisement Stay updated with the most interesting Jets stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story. Jets Will Make The 28th Selection At The 2025 NHL Entry Draft Jets Will Make The 28th Selection At The 2025 NHL Entry Draft The Winnipeg Jets will make the 28th overall selection at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, which is set to begin on Jun. 27.
National Post
06-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Potential options on defence at the NHL Draft
If there's one thing that's become clear as we've looked through the state of the defence in our Flames Retool Tracker series this week, it's that the organization is well-stocked with young talent on the blue line. Article content That makes it pretty unlikely that the Flames will take a defenceman with their first of two first-round picks at the NHL Draft later this month. Article content Article content After that, though? If the right player is available, who knows? Article content Article content Here are six guys we think might look good in a Flames uniform who are expected to get picked on June 27: Article content Henry Brzustewicz Article content Measurements: 6-foot-1, 192 lbs. Article content The skinny: It's not just that Brzustewicz's brother, Hunter, is one of the most highly regarded prospects in the Flames system and could be part of the blue-line puzzle next season. Henry also played big minutes for the Knights as they won the Memorial Cup this year and was one of the big risers on most draft boards as the season progressed. Scouts praise him for his super-high hockey IQ and his dependability on both ends of the ice, while acknowledging there's room for him to be more assertive offensively. Brzustewicz is expected to be picked in the second round and it would be a great story if the Flames wound up with both brothers. Article content Article content Article content Measurements: 6-foot-4, 200 lbs. Article content The skinny: The son of eight-time Canadian long ball champion Lisa Vlooswyk is a defensive defenceman who brings real physicality to the ice and that could have real value for a Flames team that already has its fair share of offensively minded blueliners in its system. FC Hockey's draft guide credits Vlooswyk for his physical presence, positioning and stick work and notes that he 'excels in denying net-front access (and) tying up threats without losing structure' — and that's exactly what coaches like in a defenceman. If he's available in the later rounds, the Flames just might look at bringing another Calgary kid home. Article content Measurements: 6-foot-0, 190 lbs. Article content The skinny: This writer is a little confused why some outlets have Pickford ranked as low as they do heading into the draft. He put up great numbers for the juggernaut Tigers this season and even set a WHL record for most consecutive games with a goal by a defenceman in the playoffs when he scored in eight straight as his team captured the title. He's a great puck-mover with elite offensive instincts for a blue liner and, while the Flames do have a few guys with similar skill sets, he should still carry a lot of intrigue. It's worth noting, too, that most scouting profiles make a point of mentioning that Pickford isn't a one-trick pony. There's lots to like about his defensive game, too.
