How the ‘Bus’ is helping drive the Carolina Hurricanes’ success this season
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Claimed off waivers, he became a starter and reached an 11–1–0 record.
- He set NHL history with the fastest goalie to 11 wins and tied team streak.
- Western Michigan roots and past injuries shaped Bussi’s development and poise.
Like many who have watched Brandon Bussi’s historic goaltending start with the Carolina Hurricanes, Drew Worrad has been impressed by his former college teammate.
Impressed, but not amazed.
Bussi won nine games in a row and is 11–1-1 overall for the Canes, making NHL history as the fastest goalie to win his first 11 games. His nine-game streak tied the Hurricanes’ franchise mark set by Cam Ward, and Bussi had a 2.05 goals-against average, second-best in the NHL, prior to Friday night’s game against Florida.
And all this from a 27-year-old goalie claimed off waivers just before the season began.
“I’m just trying to bring my best every game,” Bussi said a week ago after the Canes’ 3-2 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. “I feel good right now. Confident.”
Worrad and Bussi played together for three years at Western Michigan, which won its first NCAA tournament game in the 2021-22 season. Worrad was the Broncos’ leading scorer; Bussi manned the net.
“What he’s doing now is awesome,” Worrad said. “I remember him coming in as a freshman (in 2019) with a lot of high expectations. We leaned on him a lot right away and he had an immediate impact.
“He was so steady. From the start, he had that confidence about him. He’s intelligent. He anticipates well. He’s athletic. But he always had that confidence.”
Ups and downs at Western Michigan
After a strong freshman season, Bussi was sidelined his second season by a torn groin muscle, WMU coach Pat Ferschweiler said Tuesday.
“We knew Brandon had an elite quality to him,” Ferschweiler said. “Unfortunately, he got hurt in the first game of his sophomore season. He had come to camp that year and looked incredible, then was out the entire season.
“He came back his third year and it took a little while to really trust the groin and get back comfortable in that explosion, side to side. But by the end of the year, he looked like himself again.”
Bussi had 30 saves as the Broncos topped Northeastern in a 2-1 overtime victory in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, a first for the WMU program. Western Michigan lost in the next round to Minnesota, and Bussi left for pro hockey after the season, signing with the Boston Bruins.
The Broncos program has continued to prosper: Western Michigan was the NCAA champion last season, earning a 6-2 win over Boston University in the Frozen Four title game.
Bussi is ‘hyper athletic’
Ferschweiler was an NHL assistant with the Detroit Red Wings before joining the WMU staff in 2019 under former head coach Andy Murray. It was Murray who recruited Bussi when the goalie played the 2018-19 season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL.
A former WMU player, Ferschweiler took over as head coach in 2021 when Murray resigned. Ferschweiler said that while Bussi was undrafted by NHL teams, he sensed he had the potential to reach the NHL.
“Obviously his size stands out right away at 6-5,” he said. “But he’s hyper athletic as well. You see that in some of those post-to-post saves he’s been making.”
Worrad, a forward who played in the AHL and ECHL, said he saw Bussi this past summer as the WMU hockey alumni gathered for a celebration of the NCAA championship. Bussi had signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Florida Panthers, the two-time Stanley Cup champions.
“He was so excited about the opportunity with Florida and the chance to work with and learn from (goalie) Sergei Bobrovsky,” Worrad said.
Wild start to the NHL season
Then came preseason training camp. When the NHL rosters were being finalized for this season, the Canes put goalie Cayden Primeau on waivers Oct. 5 while claiming Bussi off waivers from Florida. Good decision. The Toronto Maple Leafs claimed Primeau and Bussi was soon on his way to Raleigh.
“I was super bummed at first because I knew he was excited about Florida,” Worrad said. “But hockey can be a crazy game, especially for goaltenders. A couple of injuries and you can be right there.”
For Bussi, “right there” was making his NHL debut on the road against San Jose on Oct. 14, in the Canes’ third game of the season. With goalie Pyotr Kochetkov injured and not on the six-game trip, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour went with Bussi quickly in the first game against the Sharks and the Canes won, 5-1. “We didn’t know much about him. We picked him up kind of last-minute,” Brind’Amour said after the game. “He kind of fell in our lap, and it obviously was a great start for him.”
Bussi, calm in net, had 16 saves and got a lot of help from his teammates — the Sharks did not have a shot on goal in the third period.
“I saw him go post to post for a save on the power play in that game, and it was like, ‘Here we go,’” Worrad said. “He looked so comfortable, no matter the scenario.
“Brandon has had his share of injuries in his career. But I always thought it was just a matter of time before he started putting up some good numbers.”
‘He doesn’t get shaken’
Bussi’s one loss with the Hurricanes came in the Oct. 25 game at Dallas, his third start, when he allowed three goals on 34 shots in a 3-2 Stars win. It has been all victories since then for the Long Island native known as the “Bus,” who has a .911 save percentage and is making a strong push to be the Canes’ No. 1 goaltender.
“He doesn’t get shaken,” Canes forward Seth Jarvis said. “The position he was in. coming in, a bad goal or something could have ruined his confidence. But I think he’s incredibly confident in himself. And for us, knowing we have a guy back there who can make timely saves and will bail us out when need be, is huge.”
The Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes began a three-game road trip Wednesday with a win over the Nashville Predators. The second stop: Florida, where Bussi played well, but the Canes lost in a shootout to the Panthers.
Brind’Amour said Bussi brings energy every day and always seems to have a smile on his face.
“Oh, he had that smile here, too,” Ferschweiler said. “He just loves hockey.”
Bussi said he realizes hockey can be a humbling game. It has been in the past. But for now, he said, he’s just “living the dream” and enjoying the ride.
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
