Don't Overrreact If Hunter Haight Struggles During His Rookie Season In Iowa 

Hunter Haight will begin his rookie season with the Iowa Wild in the AHL. It's safe to assume that he will struggle to produce, much like Caedan Bankier and Mikey Milne did when they transitioned from junior to professional hockey as rookies. The Wild aren't rushing to bring up Haight to play NHL minutes. Minnesota has many veteran contracts locked into their middle-six, so it's impossible to see Haight make the team anyway. 

So, what are reasonable expectations for Haight as a rookie in Iowa? 

First, Bankier and Milne played in the WHL, while Haight played in the OHL. According to the Hockey Writers, the OHL is ranked the 10th best hockey league in the world, while the WHL is an honorable mention. 

Here's their production: 

• Bankier: 0.93 points (202 games played) 
• Haight: 0.87 points (193 games played) 
• Milne: 0.76 points (175 games played)

Bankier produced the highest point rate out of the group, but they're WHL points. Does the 0.06-point difference between Haight and Bankier ultimately matter? If the OHL is considered a better hockey league than the WHL, then you can argue their point production is similar. 

Bankier scored 23 points in 51 AHL games, below 0.43 points. 0.50 points is average, so he’s scoring at a below-average rate. However, there’s no need to worry about Bankier. He's a former third-round pick on track to make the NHL. 

Milne scored 13 points in 57 games, 0.23 points during his rookie season. However, Milne increased his production from 0.23 points to 0.53 points in his sophomore year, with 21 points in 40 games. Wild fans will likely see Milne earn a call-up as an injury replacement in 2024-25. 

Is Haight capable of performing better because he played in the OHL and is a former second-round pick? 

Height may be under the microscope even more because the Barrie Colts traded him after scoring only 9 points in 20 games. How come Haight didn't explode? Did this tough stretch show the Wild that he’ll be a streaky player? Let's say he stayed on the Colts and stayed healthy. The skater who played the most games was center Jacob Frasca, who played 68. 

Here are the rankings of the rest of the team by production. Haight scored at a 0.45-point rate, which would've been 31 points, which would've finished 9th in scoring. Haight would've been a top-ten scorer on his team. However, the Colts decided it was time for Haight to change his scenery to improve his production. 

Barrie traded Haight to the Saginaw Spirit and scored at a ridiculous pace of 1.21 points, finishing with 51 points in 42 games. Spirit forward Sébastien Gervais played 68 games, more than any other Saginaw player. Spirit forward Michael Misa led in scoring with 56 points. 

If Haight had played a full season in Saginaw, he would have scored 82 points in 68 games. Misa scored at an 85-point pace. Defensemen Pavel Mintyukov scored 54 points in 37 games (1.46 points), which would've been 99 points, becoming the Spirit's leading scorer. Haight finished as a top-three scorer. 

Which one is the real Haight? Is it the player who would've finished ninth or third in scoring? The Colts seem to be more of a juggernaut than the Spirit since they had five players score 60 points or more, including two 90-point scorers, as opposed to six players who scored 50 points or more. 

Haight thrived on a team that played with more structure and defensive responsibility. They won the Memorial Cup this year. In 5 Cup games, Haight scored 13 points in 17 playoff games and 3 points. Winning the Memorial Cup will help Haight mature into a reliable producer. 

Haight must spend more time in the AHL to develop into a top-five scorer. He hit a growth spurt, growing from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-2, which allowed him to learn how to utilize his size better against men. He will take more time to add muscle and grow into his body. Haight is 182 lbs. right now. By the time he gets called up, he should be around 200 lbs. 

Expect Haight to play anywhere from middle-six to top-six minutes to get power play time and significant ice time to see what the Wild have. Haight might get ice time with Graeme Clarke, who the Wild acquired in the Adam Beckman change-of-scenery trade to the New Jersey Devils. 

Haight may also see ice time with Sammy Walker because they had chemistry in last year’s training camp. Walker will be able to help mentor Haight on how to be a successful professional. Walker may be a career AHL player, but perhaps he can utilize his speed to encourage Haight to be more of an explosive skater. Haight has more upside than Walker. So Walker, how about doing us a favor, will ya? 

Haight has arrived in Iowa to begin his professional journey. There will be growing pains along the way, and we likely won't see Haight play a full season in St. Paul for at least three more years. However, when it comes to being a call-up, fans could see Haight sooner as an injury replacement.