Greyhounds deal 19-year-old defenceman (update)

With his return to the lineup on the horizon and some interest going back into October, the move wound up making sense for all involved.

On Wednesday afternoon the Soo Greyhounds dealt 19-year-old defenceman Luc Brzustowski to the North Bay Battalion in exchange for a pair of fourth round draft picks.

Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said Wednesday evening that Brzustowski was drawing interest from a number of teams as discussions began.

Raftis added that the team wasn’t actively shopping the veteran blueliner.

“Talking to North Bay the last little bit, they just became more aggressive with it,” Raftis said.

While feeling that the deal made sense for his club, Raftis said it wasn’t an easy one to make.

“Luc was a really great person and that’s what makes it the toughest part (about making the deal),” Raftis said. “He was good with the young players and I know the older guys really liked him too.”

Brzustowski was injured in a game against Ottawa on Oct. 30 and had not returned to the lineup prior to the deal.

The veteran was injured in a hit by Ottawa 67’s forward Tyler Boucher during the game in which the now-former Greyhounds blueliner suffered a seizure in the moments after the hit.

Battalion general manager Adam Dennis confirmed on Wednesday in an interview with BayToday that Brzustowski will be in the lineup on Thursday when the team hosts the Greyhounds at the North Bay Memorial Gardens.

“He’s been fully cleared to play,” Dennis said.

Dennis called Brzustowski “a steady, defence-first defenceman.”

“(He’s) a puck-moving defenceman who’ll be able to eat minutes,” Dennis added.

The deal adds a defenceman to a Battalion lineup that has been hit hard by the injury bug of late on the blueline with a pair of veterans in Tnias Mathurin and Avery Winslow.

Raftis added that the opportunity for Brzustowski to get some minutes early on and learn the system in North Bay is a plus for Brzustowski,

Raftis said the weeks leading up to the deal helped dictate the trade market for 19-year-old players as well and reiterated that interest in Brzustowski was high.

“Going back to when a few of the bigger 19-year-old forwards moved, not just to North Bay, but other teams too, it seemed like it really picked up around the league,” Raftis said. “A lot of teams were potentially waiting to see where they were, but with us, it was a situation where we had enough action and don’t have a ton of 19-year-old defencemen. It seemed like we were getting a lot of guys calling about Luc. He was playing really well for us.”

A former sixth round pick by the Greyhounds, Brzustowski suited up in 66 career games with the team after making the club prior to the 2021-22 season.

Brzustowski scored a goal and 11 points in 54 games last season and had a goal in 12 games this season before being injured against Ottawa.