And he made sure Jason Steele got some credit ahead of his surprise England selection.
The 35-year-old goalkeeper's first call was certainly a surprise for the media – and that started on Friday morning in Lancing.
Hurzeler was asked a question about Danny Welbeck and England as he spoke at his routine press conference.
The timing was slightly awkward. The questions were coming just before the England squad announcement for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
So Hurzeler answered about Welbeck and then, to general surprise in the room, suddenly sidestepped in full stride and moved on to his No.2 goalkeeper.
Why would he do that? The answer soon became clear.
Steele was about to be named as one of five goalkeepers in a 35-man group which did NOT include Ollie Watkins, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Nick Pope or, indeed Welbeck.
In full flow when talking about Welbeck, Hurzeler suddenly veered off and said: : “I want to emphasise that we still have a great second goalkeeper with Jason Steele.
“Although he is not playing, he is incredible shape.
“When I see him training every day, that's just impressive and every time we need him, he's there.
“He showed really good performances in the FA Cup games so therefore he's a really good candidate as well.”
So why now? Why the call for a goalkeeper who has been ever-present for Hurzeler in cup ties when available.
But who has not played in the league since the very early days of the current boss’s tenure, when Bart Verbruggen was coming back from injury.
Steele was made first choice by previous boss Robert De Zerbi in the 2022-23 season.
That then changed to a horses-for-courses alternation with Verbruggen after the big Dutchman was signed in the summer of 2023.
The rotation looked a little bit random, but it wasn’t.
In general, Steele would play home and away against some teams, Verbruggen against others, and there was a pattern when you looked at how those opponents played.
After a tough night in Rome when Steele was unconvincing, Verbruggen then assumed first-choice status and it has been that way ever since.
But Steele's contribution has always been highly valued.
The initial theory after the England announcement was that Steele could go to the World Cup as a training goalkeeper.
He is known and has been highly praised for his work ethic and his collective spirit around a squad even when not playing.
He appears to love being part of the set-up and always looks sharp when called upon.
There was clear evidence of that earlier this year.
In his first outing for weeks, he made two superb saves in the first few minutes of the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. No time needed to get up to speed.
Chris Hughton, Graham Potter, De Zerbi and Hurzeler have spoken glowingly about him as a team man as well as a good goalkeeper.
That appears to be a big reason why Thomas Tuchel sees him as a good man to have around.
For those reasons, it makes sense, even if it is a selection which took even those who cover England closely by surprise.
Albion colleagues will be delighted for Steele and he will relish whatever task he is given.
It is one of the good news stories of the season – just not the one we expected.