Flames coach Ryan Huska was full of praise for Brzustewicz, while emphasizing the need for him to go out and prove himself in game situations

At first glance, Hunter Brzustewicz seems like he’s on the outside looking in at the Calgary Flames’ NHL roster.

There are eight blueliners skating in the group that practices first at training camp, and the 21-year-old is not one of them.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t in the mix, though, as head coach Ryan Huska made clear on Sunday morning.

“Same messaging that we told the guys in the first group: most guys are going to get two games to play and that’s your opportunity to show what you’ve got and how you can help our team move forward and be successful,” Huska said. “It’s no different.

“We had that conversation with Bru on the ice during his first skate. If you could put nine defencemen in a group, I would, but it doesn’t make sense practice-wise.”

Last season, Brzustewicz broke through and played in 34 NHL games, scoring twice and adding five assists.

He’ll almost certainly get opportunities this season, but the challenge is that the acquisition of Simon Nemec means the Flames are loaded with right-shot defencemen. There’s Nemec, Zayne Parekh and Zach Whitecloud, all of whom will surely be on the opening night roster, and Brayden Pachal will be competing for playing time, as well.

That makes it an uphill battle for Brzustewicz to earn an NHL job, but that’s his clear intent.

“Hopefully make the team, that’s the goal, to play in the NHL every single day and make myself an everyday NHLer,” Brzustewicz said.

The NHL’s abbreviated pre-season is making it harder for young players to steal jobs because there are only four games to play in this year. That makes games like Sunday’s exhibition matchup with the Seattle Kraken extra important for a guy like Brzustewicz.

Huska was full of praise for his young defenceman on Sunday while emphasizing the need for him to go out and prove himself in game situations.

“The speed of play overall, a change of pace and I can say after the first three days of practice I feel like he’s done a lot of work on his skating over the summer, so you notice another step or quickness in him, and that’s what you want to see,” Huska said.

“He sees the game very well, we all know that about it; now can you elevate the pace a little bit? He’s shown in practice that he’s put the work in over the summer, so we’re looking forward to seeing him do it tonight.”

If Brzustewicz is unable to crack the opening night roster, a little more time in the AHL with the Wranglers won’t hurt his development. There will inevitably be fans who are frustrated that a young player isn’t getting an opportunity on a rebuilding team, but the Flames have stayed consistent with their messaging that opportunities need to be earned, not given.

Brzustewicz has done all the right things and there’s no question he’ll be in the NHL sooner rather than later. He’s got two pre-season games to prove that opportunity should be right now.

“Any opportunity in the game is good, especially at this level,” Brzustewicz said. “Hopefully take advantage of it.

“I think any chance you get, you put stock into it, but you’ve got to make sure you’re executing well and playing hard.”

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