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Henry Brzustewicz and Jared Woolley, a pair of Los Angeles Kings prospects, have been key pieces to the defensive puzzle for the London Knights this year. They excel at goal prevention — and they can score at the other end, too.
The London Knights’ blueline is led by a pair of Kings.
Los Angeles Kings prospects, that is.
Jared Woolley and Henry Brzustewicz have both been workhorses for the Knights this season, and they’re among the team leaders in points despite being defencemen.
Brzustewicz is fifth among OHL blueliners with seven goals this season. He has 12 points in his first 19 games of the 2025-26 OHL season. Selected by the Kings in the first round (31st overall) of the most recent NHL Draft, he says the moment was made all the more special because the draft was held in Los Angeles.
“It was unbelievable … a really cool moment for me and my family,” Brzustewicz said. “I just tried to soak it in and enjoy the moment.”
The Washington, MI native was a first round pick (22nd overall) of the Ottawa 67’s before joining the Knights via trade as a 16-year-old back in 2023.
On the Knights’ blueline, he’s joined by fellow Kings prospect Jared Woolley, who was selected by LA in the sixth round of the 2024 draft. Two years prior, Woolley had been a sixth round pick in the OHL draft.
Brzustewicz says it was helpful having a familiar face during his first NHL training camp this year.
“It’s really nice having a guy there to help show me the ropes, someone you can lean on a little bit if you have any questions,” the defenseman told Gameday London.
Woolley, who already had one training camp under his belt, says he just tried to make the most of the opportunity.
“As much as you’re trying to make the team, it’s a really good learning experience,” he said. “You’re playing with guys who’ve played a lot of NHL games, people who’ve worked a long time in this sport. You try to take a bit from everyone you meet and bottle it up.
“You’re playing with and against guys who were drafted before you were even born, and they’re still doing it at the highest level.”
The pair have something else in common. They were both named alternate captains for the Knights this season.
Brzustewicz says there’s an added responsibility being a leader in the locker room, but he says it’s most important to stick to the things that have made him successful in the past.
“I’m just doing the same things I’ve been doing before. There’s a reason guys get letters, and it’s because of what they did before, so you just have to keep playing your game.”
Since losing their first four games of the season, the Knights have lost just six times in 20 contests.
Despite significant turnover from last year’s Memorial Cup Championship roster, Woolley says the team knew they still had a winning lineup — they just needed to be patient and continue working at getting better.
“(We have) a lot of new guys who were trying to get to know each other and get a feel for each other. That can take some time. Chemistry isn’t something that is built over one game or one weekend.”
London’s offence has started to come together, but in the early going it was defencemen like Bruzstewicz and Woolley who helped provide the scoring. Of London’s first 57 goals of the season, a defenseman scored 17 of those.
And on the blueline? They’ve allowed the second fewest goals against this season and boast the league’s top penalty kill. Brzustewicz and Woolley? They’ve played a King-sized role in that.
