| Daemon Hunt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (2002-05-15)May 15, 2002 (age 22) Brandon, Manitoba | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams | Columbus Blue Jackets Cleveland Monsters (AHL) Minnesota Wild | ||
| NHL draft | 65th overall,2020 Minnesota Wild | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Daemon Hunt (born May 15, 2002) is a Canadian professionalice hockeydefenceman for theCleveland Monsters of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to theColumbus Blue Jackets of theNational Hockey League (NHL).
As a youth in 2011–12, Hunt played six games and scored two points for the Saskatchewan Junior Pats in the Brick Invitational tournament.[1] He was a member of the under-15 team of theBrandon Wheat Kings in 2015–16 and 2016–17 before joining their under-18 squad for the 2017–18 season.[1] He scored 60 points in the 2016–17 season and was selected in the first round with the 15th overall pick of the 2017WHL bantam draft by theMoose Jaw Warriors.[2] He had 36 assists and four goals in 40 games with the Wheat Kings in 2017–18 and also played nine games that season with Moose Jaw, scoring a goal and having an assist.[1][3] In the 2018–19 season with the Warriors, Hunt appeared in 57 games and scored 20 points on seven goals and 13 assists.[1] He became an alternatecaptain for the team in 2019–20 and scored 15 points in 28 games.[1][4]
Hunt was selected in the third round of the2020 NHL entry draft with the 65th overall pick by theMinnesota Wild.[5] Before the2020–21 season, he played briefly on loan for theVirden Oil Capitals of theManitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and then had a three-game stay with theIowa Wild of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL), after which he returned to the Warriors and served as their team captain, scoring 18 points in 23 games.[6] He played three further games for the Iowa Wild after the WHL season finished.[7]
On May 6, 2021, Hunt signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild.[7] He remained with Moose Jaw as team captain in the 2021–22 season, playing 46 games and scoring 39 points.[8][9] He finished his WHL career with 163 games played and 94 points scored (33 goals, 61 assists).[4] He played with the AHL Iowa Wild in the2022–23 season and appeared in 59 games while totaling 11 points (two goals, nine assists).[4] He had two game-winning goals, placing first among the league's rookie defencemen.[4]
Hunt was injured in a Minnesota Wild preseason game in 2023–24 and was then sent back to Iowa.[10] After four games with Iowa, he was called up to Minnesota on October 23, 2023, and made his NHL debut in a 3–2 loss to theWashington Capitals.[4][10] He played two games for Minnesota, posting one shot on goal, before being reassigned to Iowa on October 30.[11]
During the2024–25 season, Hunt was traded by the Wild alongside four draft picks to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange forDavid Jiříček on November 30, 2024.[12]
Hunt played for the Canada team at the2018 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[13] He played at the2019 IIHF World U18 Championships, recording one assist in seven games while having aplus–minus rating of plus-five.[4] Hunt was also selected to the2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and played five games, helping Canada win the silver medal.[8][14] He was in the World Junior selection camp in 2020 but did not make the final cut after contractingCOVID-19.[15][14] He helped Canada win the gold medal at the2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[4]
Hunt was born on May 15, 2002, inBrandon, Manitoba.[16] He grew up inMoosomin, Saskatchewan.[2] His cousin is former NHL playerMatt Calvert.[8]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Brandon Wheat Kings U18 | MMHL | 40 | 4 | 36 | 40 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 57 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 28 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Virden Oil Capitals | MJHL | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 23 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 46 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 59 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 51 | 3 | 26 | 29 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Canada Black | U17 | 5th | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Canada | U18 | 4th | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Canada | HG18 |  | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||||