FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Imagining a future with Parekh and Brzustewicz on blue line
This is gonna be good.
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That's what Calgary Flames defence prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Zayne Parekh were thinking as they surveyed the scene at Climate Pledge Arena prior to an exhibition audition last fall.
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'When we were in Seattle for the pre-season, I was sitting on the bench with Zayne and honestly we took a moment and we were like, 'This is unreal,'' Brzustewicz beamed. 'And it was just pre-season.'
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This is gonna be good.
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That's what Brzustewicz and Parekh were thinking months later as they bumped fists in Los Angeles prior to their NHL debuts, one having just completed his solo lap and the other about to step foot on the ice for that customary welcome whirl.
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As Brzustewicz put it: 'Looking up at the bright lights in L.A., it was unbelievable … I think the first thing that I looked at was all the banners of the Lakers. That was a really cool moment for me.'
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This is gonna be good.
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That's what Flames fans are thinking as they envision a future — and a not-so-distant one — with both of these guys in prominent roles. If all goes well, it could someday be standard to see them finish 1-2 on the team in nightly ice time.
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There is no debating Parekh's status as the Flames' top prospect. When you match junior scoring records that were set in the 1960s by the legendary Bobby Orr, the excitement tends to crank into overdrive. This 19-year-old star-in-the-making didn't exactly hush the hype when he buried a beauty deflection in his big-league debut.
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Many folks would have Brzustewicz, 20, slotted second on the list of Calgary's most promising pipeline pieces. He is an X-factor in the retool plans because, if he can fulfil his potential, suddenly there's a fixture for the second pairing, too.
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While everybody was buzzing through the winter about what his buddy was doing in the OHL, Brzustewicz was making a positive impression as a first-year pro, really coming on strong as he started to feel more comfortable with the pace and pressure.
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During a recent radio interview, Flames director of player development Ray Edwards suggested that Brzustewicz was the Wranglers' best defenceman over the final third of the season and raved that he 'makes tough plays look easy and makes a lot of them.'
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Brzustewicz completed his first AHL campaign with 32 points, fifth among rookie rearguards on that stepping-stone circuit. Like his pal, he didn't look out of place in that April 17 eye-opener against the Kings in Los Angeles.
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