The regular season of the NHL of Calgary Flames starts in just 10 days. The 2025–26 campaign opens with a struggle for Alberta on the road to compete against the Edmonton Oilers. The Flames are still in preparation for four preseason, and one of the biggest decisions that can still be made will be who the season starts in the last defense jar.
The blue line of the Flames is ready for a youth movement and Zayne Parekh has already established that he deserves a place. The competition for the bottom link was tighter than many could have imagined, with Hunter Brzustewicz fighting for an NHL spot under Jake Bean, Daniil Miromanov, Ilya Solovyov and Yan Kuznetsov.
This week we wanted to know who Flames -fans think the last place deserves. We asked, you answered.
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Who should earn the last place on the defense?
We have presented the poll below to our readers:
Hunter Brzuszewicz
Hunter Brzustewicz was clearly the favorite in this week’s poll and collected more than 60% of the votes. The 20-year-old defender is in third place in the preseason scoring and last week has two assists against De Kraken in Seattle. On average more than 19 minutes per match, he looked defensive and calculated on attack.
Brzustewicz played 70 games for the Calgary Wranglers last season and set five goals and 32 points. Brzustewicz makes his NHL debut in the last game of the NHL season of 2025 and is exactly on the verge of a daily NHler. There are still a few games left in the preseason, and he has a big chance to cement himself as a clear favorite to start the year with the NHL club.
Brzustewicz is not the same player as Zayne Parekh, but he brings much more offensive taste than a Jake Bean or Joel Hanley. As we all know, the flames desperately need attacking help. Even if he doesn’t start the season with the Flames, Hunter will certainly see more than a few NHL matches this season.
Ilya Solovyov or Yan Kuznetsov
Ilya Solovyov and Yan Kuznetsov combined 29% of the votes this week and finished second in this week’s poll.
Solovyov, a former pick from the seventh round 2020, has played in 15 NHL matches for the past two seasons. Last year he played a major role for the Calgary Wranglers and placed 28 points in 59 games. The 25-year-old Belarus has been suitable for two pre-season matches and has played well, but not on.
Kuznetsov, a former pick of the second round 2020, made suitable for only one NHL game in his career in 2023-24. Kuznetsov has difficulty finding his foot in the NHL despite its top 50 design status. The 6’4 “defender did not turn many heads this preseason, but there is still time for him to establish himself.
Both Solovyov and Kuznetsov could approach the end of their respective roads with the flames. With a pipeline of promising defensive talent, the Flames will not like to hang on the Rand Nhlers in their mid -twenty.
Danil Mironanov or Jake Bean
Oh boy, Danill Miromanov and Jake Bean combined for only 10% of the votes. I hate to do this for two weeks in a row with Miromanov, but the chance of his advantage is.
Jake Bean, on the other hand, may have the best chance of everyone in this conversation with regard to management. Unfortunately I get the status of the birth city and the connection with the flames too deep to send it down. He has not had a striking preseason, but not really bad. It might be just enough to earn the sixth place.
Shutdown
The decisions that the Flames will make in the coming weeks will be a strong indicator for the direction that this team intends to follow the 2025-26 campaign. The defensive group begins to make defensive prospects, with Zayne Parekh a Shoo-in to start the NHL season 2025, and Hunter Brzustewicz who tries everything in his power to also earn a place on the line-up map of 8 October.
With a handful of preview matches, we will see if Brzustewicz will continue to increase his gap on the competition. Flames fans can only hope.
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