Kings select Henry Brzustewicz No. 31 overall in 2025 NHL Draft
The Los Angeles Kings have selected defenseman Henry Brzustewicz with the 31st overall selection at the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday night at The Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
The Kings received the pick, as well as the 59th overall selection, in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, with L.A. giving up the No. 24 pick. The Penguins went on to pick University of Michigan commit Will Horcoff.
Brzustewicz was projected to be selected 39th overall on average across all of the main draft rankings, going as high as 24th and as low as 75th. He was also ranked 19th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis projected him to go in the lower end at 38th overall.
Ellis had this to say about Brzustewicz in his most recent draft rankings:
“Brzustewicz is an all-around defender who may not be the most refined right now, but he doesn’t have many notable flaws. He had a solid year in London, which finished with a Memorial Cup championship. He’s a two-way defender who can shoot the puck, skate well and is willing to join in on the rush any time he can. The more he played, the better he played, too. Brzustewicz feels like a safe pick to become a second-pairing defenseman, but I’d like to see him take further steps in his own-zone play.”
Brzustewicz spent the entirety of his 2024-25 season with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League, where he had 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points in 67 games played. That production was only 10th on the Knights, and third among defensemen behind San Jose Sharks 2024 11th-overall pick Sam Dickinson and Washington Capitals 2023 fifth-round pick Cam Allen. The Washington, Michigan product was still first among U-19 defensemen on the Knights.
Brzustewicz did see his production drop off slightly during the playoffs, where he had just one goal and four assists for five points in 17 games. The Knights went 16-1 in a dominant run en route to their second consecutive and sixth overall J. Ross Robertson Trophy win.
Brzustewicz also had one goal and one assist for two points in five games in the Memorial Cup as the Knights went on to win that championship as well, the third in their history.
SPONSORED BY bet365