Photos by Michael Caples
The 2023 NHL Draft featured 49 Americans selected by franchises of hockey’s highest league, and five of those hail from the Great Lakes State.
South Lyon native Trey Augustine was selected by his hometown Detroit Red Wings to lead the Michigan contingent in the annual draft selection process. The USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program product and incoming Michigan State freshman goaltender was chosen in the second round, No. 41 overall, by the Original Six franchise.
“I grew up watching games at Joe Louis Arena,” Augustine said via the Red Wings’ official website. “It’s pretty special that it comes full circle now. I’m really excited about it.”
Augustine, a 6-foot-1, 183-pound netminder, posted remarkable numbers for the NTDP this season, logging a 29-1-2 record with a 2.14 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in a mix of NCAA and USHL competition. Despite being the youngest player on the team, he was Team USA’s starting goaltender at this year’s World Juniors, helping the Red, White and Blue to a bronze medal with a 4-1-0 record, 2.85 goals-against average and .891 save percentage.
He spent his formative youth hockey years with the HoneyBaked Hockey Club.
The second Michigan native selected was Washington’s Hunter Brzustewicz, selected by the Vancouver Canucks with the No. 75 overall pick. Brzustewicz, also a product of the NTDP in Plymouth, was a late 2004 birth-year player who was wasn’t eligible for last year’s draft with the rest of his Team USA class. A 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman, Brzustewicz spent this season with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, where he posted 57 points in 68 games.
Brzustewicz spent the majority of his youth hockey days with HoneyBaked before playing for the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies for his 15-Only year.
In the fourth round, the Philadelphia Flyers selected Grand Rapids native Cole Knuble at No. 103 overall. Knuble, fresh off being named the Dave Taylor Junior Player of the Year by USA Hockey, will be playing for Notre Dame next fall. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward recorded 66 points in 57 games for the USHL’s Fargo Force this past season, while also serving as captain for the Team USA squad that won gold at the World Junior A Challenge.
Knuble is a product of the Fox Motors Hockey Club.
It won’t be the first time Flyers apparel circulates through the Knuble household, either; Cole’s father, Mike, spent five seasons in Philadelphia as part of the illustrious 16-year NHL career for the East Kentwood native and former University of Michigan star.
The Nashville Predators claimed 6-foot-5 center and Okemos native Sutter Muzzatti in the fifth round at No. 143 overall. A 2003 birth-year forward, Muzzatti caught the eyes of NHL scouts after a strong freshman season with RPI, where he logged 22 points in 35 NCAA games.
Muzzatti, son of Carolina Hurricanes goaltending coach and MSU alum Jason Muzzatti, spent his formative youth years with Meijer Hockey AAA, which is now known as Biggby Coffee AAA. He spent two seasons with the Austin Bruins of the NAHL before making the jump to the college ranks this past season.
In the sixth round, the New York Islanders claimed South Lyon native Zachary Shulz at No. 177 overall. Captain of the Team USA squad that captured gold at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Switzerland two months ago, Schulz just wrapped up his two-year stay with the NTDP alongside Augustine. A lockdown defenseman, the 6-foot-1, 196-pound blueliner finished with a +24 rating this past season against USHL and NCAA competition.
A product of HoneyBaked, Schulz will be playing for a team not located in Michigan for the first time this upcoming season when he joins the Wisconsin Badgers.
