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By Mikki Tuohy -
Hockey Wilderness is counting down the Minnesota Wild’s Top-10 Prospects, as voted by our staff. Today, we give you everything you need to know about our No. 8 prospect, Daemon Hunt.
Last year’s injury-riddled team was hard to watch, but there was one potential upside. While trying to plug the holes in the sinking ship, fans saw some of the prospects the Minnesota Wild promoted from Iowa up close. Daemon Hunt played 12 games with Minnesota last season, and it was enough to get a good taste of how Hunt could look in the NHL.
Without reliving last season’s trials and tribulations, Hunt got his first NHL game two weeks into the season. He only played 4:12 in his NHL debut, but the coaching staff must’ve seen that they could trust him because his ice time went up almost every game he played for Minnesota. During fellow prospect Jesper Wallstedt’s NHL debut, Hunt played the most ice time with 16:41 that night in Dallas.
Hunt meaningfully improved offensively in his second AHL season. During the 59 games he played during his first season in Iowa, Hunt had 11 points (2 goals and 9 assists). During his second season, Hunt had 29 points (3 goals and 26 assists) in 51 games. Hunt increased his point total because he started playing on the power play. During his stints with Minnesota, he even played 3:15 minutes of power play time spread over three games. He's also been on the penalty kill in Des Moines, giving him even more valuable ice time.
While Hunt racked up plenty of assists, he has a powerful shot when he plays high enough. In the clip below, he shows off his one-timer with a bomb from the right circle. Hunt is primarily a stay-at-home defenseman, so opportunities for shots like this are few and far between in Iowa.
However, it was a different story in St. Paul. Generally, the Wild encourage their defensemen to move up in the play if they feel it makes sense, letting a forward fall back to take their place. With some coaxing, Hunt may be able to do the same and use his shot more often.
We would be remiss to skip over Hunt’s off-ice personality. In a professional sport where the athletes are mostly unwilling to take a fashion risk, Hunt is more willing to try new things. He has also mentioned wanting to have a clothesline at some point in time. He’s got various tattoos that he designs himself. All around, he’s got great off-ice vibes.
In this video clip, Jesper Wallstedt interviews him, and you can see his laid-back attitude and great sense of style. In a world where many hockey players try to blend in, Hunt likes to stick out. Combining a fun personality with on-ice skills is always a fun hockey player to have around, especially from a player the Wild drafted who has been in their system for a while.
The Wild drafted Hunt in the third round in the 2020 draft (65th overall). He's on the last year of his entry-level contract (ELC), so this will be the season where he needs to prove that he's valuable enough to stick around. Hunt doesn't have many options with a full blue line in Minnesota. Jon Merrill's contract is also up after this season. With the defensive depth, Hunt could easily slide into the 7th D-man slot with a good season this year.
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