Calgary Flames sign defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz to entry-level contract
The average annual value of the deal is US$950,000.
Calgary acquired Brzustewicz from Vancouver on Jan. 31 in a trade that also brought in Andrei Kuzmenko, Joni Jurmo, and the Canucks’ 2024 first-round pick and 2024 conditional fourth-round pick in exchange for forward Elias Lindholm.
The six-foot, 190-pound blue liner has skated in 62 games with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League this.
It was reasonable to assume that Ignatjew was being considered for a contract by experts. The 24-year-old’s only professional hockey experience came from five games he played for Jukurit of Liiga in his home Finland in the 2021–2022 season. He was not selected in the draft. Ignatjew, though, has had some success in the last few seasons. The Helsinki native went 21-2-5 with the Mestis team Kiekko-Espoo last season, recording the greatest goals-against average (1.74), save percentage (.927), and helping Espoo win the league for the first time.
In 2023-24, Ignatjew signed with Mora IK of HockeyAllsvenkan. He was named the league’s best goaltender after going 26-18-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .918 SV%. Ignatjew helped Mora to the semifinals of the promotion playoffs before being eliminated by Djurgårdens IF.
For a goaltender to have not played in the top division of a pro league overseas, and get signed to an NHL contract, it might be a head-scratcher to some. However, with his recent body of work, Ignatjew has earned the opportunity to play in North America.
As a result of the signing, the Flames have 32 standard player contracts signed for next season, three of which are goaltenders. Oscar Dansk (UFA) and Dustin Wolf (RFA) are currently without contracts for the 2024-25 season.
