We are heading back to the WHL. Fellow WHL’ers already highlighted on the Prospect Pond include, Pavel Novak, Josh Pillar, and Caedan Bankier. It is clear that Bill Guerin has been sending plenty of scouts to Western Canada to find talent. After highlighting another potential solution to the Wild’s Center problems, we are stepping back to the blueline.
The #8 spot on the Prospect Pond is Daemon Hunt. With the 65th overall pick in the 3rd round of the 2020 draft the Wild selected Hunt. The 6’1 200 lb Defender was selected from the Moose Jaw Warriors, who he is still with today. Hunt adds to the Wild’s future flexibility on the blueline, especially with left-shot options.
Stats
In 2018-19, one season before Hunt’s draft year, the Moose Jaw Warrior had 20 points in 57 games. Hunt was selected to represent Canada at the U18 World Championships after strong overall play that season. Playing a somewhat limited role, Hunt had 1 point in 7 games with Canada. His season in the WHL combined with his selection for the Canada U18 led some scouts to believe that Hunt could be a late first rounder if he had a strong draft season.
Unfortunately Hunt had an extremely challenging 2019-20 season. On top of not scoring a goal across 28 games, instead putting up 15 assists, Hunt suffered a very serious injury. In a December 3rd, 2019, matchup against the Edmonton Oil Kings, . This injury required immediate surgery. Hunt was kept out of the lineup for over 3 months after the injury. Upon returning he only had 5 games left to play. Due to the injury, and lack of a significant point toal Hunt wasn’t taken until the 3rd round. This despite the fact that many scouts had touted a significant upside in the player.
Following a difficult 2019-20, Hunt also faced a strange 2020-21 season as the WHL didn’t begin play until late February. This led to Hunt playing 3 games in the Manitoba Junior League, and 6 games in the AHL with Iowa. Following these short stints, Hunt put up 18 points across 23 games with Moose Jaw in the shortened WHL season. In Hunt’s 6 games with Iowa he didn’t show any excellence or anything overly special. That being said, he didn’t stick out as someone that did not belong there. The AHL is a men’s league, just competing at that level shows Hunt has some potential. His WHL season was also strong. This season he has 12 points in 16 games, as he continues his positive development curve.
The Pond Report
Hunt is known for his skating abilities. Much like Jack Peart, Hunt is able to take the puck from behind his own net and skate it out of his own zone. His speed and large frame make him difficult to stop in the WHL. Most scouts mark Hunt as a two-way Defenseman. He isn’t afraid of offense, but will never leave his team in the lurch to try to create a play from the point. Hunt’s strongest part of his play is his skating. He skates fast and is hard to knock of the puck, as long as this continues to develop he should have no issue skating at the NHL level.
The biggest knock on Hunt is that aside from his skating and strength, he isn’t elite at anything. He has a good IQ defensively and offensively. The Moose Jaw Warrior can move the puck alright and has a decent shot. The left-shot Defense-man can play physical, but doesn’t yet use his body to be a force on the ice. All of these traits are decent, but need a good amount of development before reaching the NHL. This is not a knock on Hunt. We can’t expect 3rd round picks to be NHL ready after just a few season of development.
Hunt has a lot of strength for a player his age. He has also shown flashes of being able to use that strength. Hunt has to commit to playing more physical to really get the most out of his size. Considering the Wild may lack a ton of physical blue-liners when his time to shine comes, this is something Hunt should look to make a strength. This is something that can develop with time.
Analysis
Daemon Hunt should one day find himself on the blue line at the Xcel Energy Center. As long as his development continues on the positive path he is on, he has what it takes to be at least a 3rd pairing Defenseman. The upcoming corps of Wild Defensemen is a little bit undersized. At 6’1 and over 200 lbs Hunt will be one of the bigger players coming up with the Wild. If Hunt can further develop his physical game in the coming years he will cement his status as a future Wild D-man. Another highly physical blue-liner will appear soon on the Prospect Pond. Despite this, other Wild Defense prospects are more offensively minded.
The lack of defensively minded D-men and size in the pipeline will bode well for Daemon Hunt. Hunt has everything it takes to kill penalties in the NHL. While not huge, he has some length, and his first step allows him to cover a good portion of the ice in his own zone. He’s also a bulldog behind the net, and should be able to clear pucks from danger in his own zone.
One of the major concerns for anyone hoping to move into the NHL, but especially Defensemen is strength. Physically weak players rarely find a spot on an NHL team and rather end up as career AHL’ers with a few call ups. Hunt shouldn’t have to worry about this, he is one of the stronger players in the WHL, and should be able to develop that NHL strength in no time. The raw physical attributes of Hunt are those of a top prospect. The rest of his game does need development however.
With a bevy of left-shot Defensemen, a player like Hunt could potentially become trade fodder for the Wild. Perhaps as early as this season in the search for a Center that can help the Wild get past the first round of the playoffs, or in a few years when the squad may face issues at Right Wing. That being said, Hunt is one of the biggest Wild D-men coming up. However because of Hunt’s size and speed the Wild certainly have reason to keep him around.
Projections
Chances of becoming NHL regular: 60%
Again, as long as Hunt continues his positive development he will find a spot on the Wild roster. He does, however, have a good ways to go to reach the NHL. He will also have some competition at Defense as Jonas Brodin,Jared Spurgeon, and Calen Addison will most likely take up 3 spots for the time being, and the Wild have ~5 prospects at the position coming up that he will be competing with.
Chances of becoming star NHL’er (Top 50): 5%
Hunt’s speed, size, and strength would lead one to believe that he could become a big player in the NHL. That being said, the rest of his game needs a lot of development to get to the point of being elite. The Wild have a few other options that we will see in the coming weeks that currently look more likely as first pairing D-men. Regardless, Hunt could easily develop into a top 4 pairing guy that still sees well north of 20 minutes per game.
NHL arrival: 2024-25
This might be slightly optimistic for Hunt. It’s also important to note that eventually the Wild may face a log jam of D-men coming up that could bottle someone like Hunt in the AHL for an extra season. In contrary, Hunt’s speed and strength are already close to being NHL ready. Often times players stuck in the AHL are there for these issues. Hopefully after a couple seasons in the AHL Hunt has developed his puck skills to get him onto the roster.
Conclusion
Check out the rest of the Prospect Pond. Thanks for reading again, we will be back next week with #7 and #6. As we count down the Pond we will be getting into the names that should really get fans excited about a bright Wild future, so stay tuned. Also comment below your thoughts on Daemon Hunt.