{"id":542114,"date":"2026-04-05T13:51:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T13:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/542114\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T13:51:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T13:51:33","slug":"kings-sign-henry-brzustewicz-to-entry-level-contract-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/542114\/","title":{"rendered":"Kings Sign Henry Brzustewicz To Entry-Level Contract \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Kings have signed<\/a> 2025 first-round pick Henry Brzustewicz<\/a> to a three-year, entry-level contract set to begin in the 2026-27 season. He will complete the 2025-26 season on a professional try-out contract with the AHL\u2019s Ontario Reign. This news will shift Brzustewicz to the pro level after the OHL London Knights\u2019 season came to an end on Friday.<\/p>\n

Brzustewicz stepped into London\u2019s top defender role this season, following Sam Dickinson<\/a>\u2019s move to the pros at the end of last season. He filled the role seamlessly and finished the season with a team-leading 54 points in 59 games. Brzustewicz also scored 19 goals, tied with St. Louis Blues prospect Adam Jiricek<\/a> for the third-most among OHL defensemen. Brzustewicz\u2019s stat line was rounded out with 57 penalty minutes and a minus-15.<\/p>\n

All together, Brzustewicz\u2019s 2025-26 campaign was another gradual step up from his previous year. He scored 10 goals, 42 points, and 77 penalty minutes in 67 games on the OHL championship-winning London Knights last season. It was a major improvement over the six points he scored in 52 games of his rookie OHL season. That performance, complimented by Brzustewicz\u2019s knack for physical hockey, helped him earn the 31st selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. He earned that spot despite not appearing in any junior-level, international tournaments. Brzustewicz, an American playing Canadian hockey, was left off of Team USA\u2019s roster at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and World U18 Championships, two tournaments that his older brother, Hunter Brzustewicz<\/a>, appeared in during his junior career.<\/p>\n

Despite a slimmer resume than his peers, the younger Brzustewicz will bring an exciting and well-rounded profile to the Kings\u2019 depth chart. The right-shot defenseman plays a 200-foot game with impressive strength, smooth passing, and reliable skating. His game is best suited for the defensive side of the puck, where his quick reactions help spark breakouts and keep play out of the defensive end. That style will be welcome on a Kings blue-line that has found roles for styles like Michael Anderson<\/a>, Joel Edmundson<\/a>, Cody Ceci<\/a>, and Brian Dumoulin<\/a>. With the right development, Brzustewicz could begin to test his own footing in those roles next season, with hopes of one day serving as the defensive-punch behind Brandt Clarke<\/a>\u2018s offense.<\/p>\n

First, Brzustewicz will look to be an X-factor addition to an Ontario Reign club that leads the AHL\u2019s Pacific Division. The Reign haven\u2019t generated much offense from the blue-line this season, with the defense led in scoring by Samuel Bolduc<\/a>\u2018s 21 points in 56 games. Brzustewicz will compete with Otto Salin<\/a> and Jack Millar<\/a> for minutes on Ontario\u2019s right-side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Kings have signed 2025 first-round pick Henry Brzustewicz to a three-year, entry-level contract set to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5126],"tags":[584,401,486,5,186,1760,240,5303,1507,793,145,5304,5302,30,4,625,403,405],"class_list":{"0":"post-542114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-kings","8":"tag-2025-nhl-draft","9":"tag-ahl","10":"tag-henry-brzustewicz","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-kings","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-la-kings","15":"tag-lakings","16":"tag-london-knights","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-los-angeles-kings","19":"tag-losangeles","20":"tag-losangeleskings","21":"tag-newsstand","22":"tag-nhl","23":"tag-ohl","24":"tag-players","25":"tag-transactions"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116352429851747635","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}