It wasn’t the most productive tournament for Brunet who finished with just an assist in 4 games, but overall, I thought he was using his physicality well to make an impact on a shift-to-shift basis and even flashed some individual skill from time to time. He laid out a few solid hits in the neutral zone, displaying good technique and timing to knock opponents off the puck which helped kill rush plays and initiate play the other way. He made a couple of highly-skilled plays in transition, flashing the puck skills to beat defenders while operating at full speed to work around them and attack the offensive zone with speed before dipping a shoulder and taking it to the front of the net looking to create in tight.

Brunet is a player who has grown on me considerably since the summer and his play at this event only heightened my opinion on him as a prospect. He was leaned on heavily by the Rousseau-Royal throughout the tournament, earning himself top-6 minutes and PP1 time as one of the younger players on the team, picking up 4 points in 3 games in the process. He’s a really strong and powerful kid who was able to facilitate plenty of chances in the offensive zone by winning puck battles and making quick decisions to feed open options in the middle of the ice. Off-puck I thought he did a great job of getting himself into space, especially off the rush where he showed explosive straight-line speed that allowed him to burst into space, catch pucks in stride and show off his impressive catch and release shooting mechanics. His work ethic was commendable as well as I noted a handful of times where he hounded puck-carriers, both on the forecheck and the backcheck, and disrupted play which resulted in his team getting the puck back. With the puck on his stick he would often opt to drive wide off the rush, push back defenders with his speed and wrap around the net to wait for help to arrive and set up play in the offensive zone.

What helped Brunet stand out in certain instances at camp was the overall playmaking ability he displayed from the perimeter in the offensive zone. While he may not possess the skill to work his way through defenders and generate chances from the middle on his own, the passing ability allowed him to set up chances for his teammates. Brunet was able to execute difficult cross-ice saucer passes through traffic that would somehow land right onto the tape of a teammate who could fire off a quick shot from a dangerous area. I liked his puck management as well, as he was consistently spotting and hitting trailer options as a puck carrier off the rush and rarely forcing pucks into congested areas.

Brunet’s size and skill combination are what helped set him apart in this game. He had a great sequence early on in the game where he used a subtle fake to freeze and get around a defender off the rush, attack downhill in the offensive zone and dip his shoulder to drive inside to create a chance in tight. He had some notable moments in transition as well, especially in the second period when he flashed quick hands to beat a defender at the defensive line, gain the offensive zone before dishing off to the flank and driving the net to push back defenders.

Brunet came out of the gate hot in this one, flashing some serious skill as a puck-carrier in transition and executing plays with pace after a controlled entry. His speed in conjunction with his puck control made him difficult to contain in the neutral zone as he was able to gain separation from checkers and consistently gain the offensive line. Brunet even demonstrated the ability to brush off checks at top speed, maintain his stride and make hard cuts to the middle of the ice while keeping control. He even flashed some one on one ability to get through defenders using his hands while in transition to create chances off the rush. He also had some strong moments on the backcheck to nullify odd man rushes and make quick plays up the ice after stripping an opponent.

While his effectiveness wavered from shift to shift, I was able to jot down more than a handful of really strong passing plays that Brunet was able to execute throughout this game. Although most of his puck touches came along the perimeter, there were a couple times where he was able to thread a pass through multiple layers of coverage that somehow found itself on the blade of a teammate in a dangerous area. His vision and patience with the puck was equally as impressive form below the goal line where he was consistently spotting options from the high slot and executing.