Sound Beach's Brandon Bussi making his mark as goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes
Brandon Bussi of the Carolina Hurricanes in net against the Maple Leafs on Nov. 9, 2025, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
Brandon Bussi readily cedes the designation as the most successful goalie from Long Island to Farmingville’s Keith Kinkaid, a former AHL teammate, and the Sound Beach product never looks to what his future may entail. His long path to the NHL has rooted him in the present moment.
But it’s quite possible Bussi, 27, may eventually come to be considered Long Island’s best netminder given his record-matching rookie season for the Hurricanes and his newly-signed three-year, $5.7 million deal.
“I played with Keith Kinkaid my first year in Providence [in 2022-23], it’s a funny, small-world thing,” Bussi said in a telephone interview with Newsday on Tuesday. “He’s probably the most successful Long Island goalie. To see that he was able to make it and have such a good, long career and being a kid from Long Island, it was very cool to see. It hopefully gives people hope that they can do it one day.”
Bussi (23-3-1, 2.12 goals-against average, .908 save percentage, two shutouts) will likely get the start as the Hurricanes resume their season on Thursday hosting the Lightning in a match pitting the Eastern Conference’s two division leaders. His GAA is second in the NHL and he’s tied for third in wins. He went into the Olympic break on a personal seven-game winning streak and tied the Hurricanes’ team record with nine straight victories from Oct. 30-Dec. 14.
The Hurricanes rewarded the pending unrestricted free agent with a new contract on Feb. 16.
Brandon Bussi of the Hurricanes is introduced prior to a game against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 9, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Credit: Getty Images/Jared C. Tilton
“It feels great,” Bussi said. “You look at the team we have here and the success we’ve had and people are locked in for a while. It’s just super exciting to know I’m going to be here for a few years.”
That’s as far as Bussi will go in discussing his future.
“I’m strictly on the now,” Bussi said. “I’m not looking too far ahead because I just feel like in hockey you’re always constantly proving yourself. Yeah, it feels good to have the stability of this contract but, the truth is, if I don’t perform then I won’t be here. I’m day to day.”
The Hurricanes claimed Bussi off waivers from the Panthers just prior to the season as insurance for their injury-prone tandem of Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. Andersen (7-10-5, 3.26 GAA, .871 save percentage) has struggled this season while Kochetkov is out with a season-ending, lower-body issue.
Bussi, an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan, signed with the Panthers this offseason after three-plus seasons in the Bruins’ organization and several call-ups on an emergency basis to serve as a backup without entering a game.
“He’s doing tremendous things up there,” Kinkaid said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “His preparation and the way he battles has always been top-notch. It’s really good to see him doing well.
“Other than me and him now, I don’t really recall many Long Island goalies making it. You see the young wave coming back through Long Island and it’s great to see. It really helps Long Island hockey get going.”
Goaltender Keith Kinkaid of Farmingville attends the Islanders' prospect development camp on Sep. 12, 2024, in East Meadow. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Long Island-born Joe Schaefer played two games for the Rangers between 1959-61 and Paul Skidmore of Smithtown played two games for the Blues in 1981-82.
Kinkaid, 36, who runs a goalie camp on Long Island — and joked he was going to pressure his former teammate to visit as an instructor — finished his 10-season NHL career with a 70-58-21 record, a 2.91 GAA and .905 save percentage for five teams, including six seasons with the Devils and two with the Rangers. He also recalled Bussi quickly unseated him as Providence’s No. 1 goalie in their season together.
Bussi said he never wanted to be anything but a goalie because his father, Robert, first played the position. He grew up a Rangers’ fan and called Henrik Lundqvist, “my guy.”
“When I started in hockey, I was adamant I wanted to be a goalie,” Bussi said. “[My father] was adamant I had to learn how to do all the skating and crossovers, backwards. Doing that at a fairly high level for my age, I checked off all the boxes and then I became a goalie.
“In terms of my growing up in youth hockey, I was a bunch of different places. I always found myself playing for the weaker of the ’98 age-group teams. I would get a lot of shots. I played for PAL back before they were the Junior Islanders. I played for the Royals, I played for the Gulls.”
To honor Bussi’s contract extension, the Hurricanes announced their charitable foundation would donate $10,000 to the Autism Society of North Carolina.
Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi celebrates following a win against the Florida Panthers on Jan. 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Credit: AP
Bussi’s younger brother, Dylan, 25, is on the autism spectrum and lives in a group home on Long Island. Bussi wears a puzzle-themed “Piece of Mind” mask as a tribute to his brother, who he described as non-verbal.
“The helmet, while intended to be more of a personal thing, has grown and gotten national attention. Which is awesome,” Bussi said. “I have a voice that most people don’t have. Just sharing my story, having that opportunity to talk about it and do whatever I can to help the community, it’s been a lot of fun.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
