Wild sign Hunter Haight to ELC

The Minnesota Wild have made at least one transaction three days in a row. Wow!

On Thursday morning, the team announced that they have signed forward Hunter Haight to his three-year, entry-level contract that will start in the 2023-24 season.

Just like the Caedan Bankier signing on Wednesday, the team is using this first window to sign players to their rookie contracts that begin next season to lock up a prospect they really like.

Haight, 18, was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has had an up-and-down season so far. He started the year with the OHL’s Barrie Colts but after putting up just nine points in 20 games, he was shipped off to the Saginaw Spirit and has been producing at the expected rate. Through 33 games he has scored 14 goals and 36 points for his new team. The Spirit are an overall worse team on-paper than the Colts, so this trade must have meant an increased role for Haight and therefore more production. The OHL does not provide time-on-ice statistics, so we just have to estimate that is what happened.

During this season’s development camp (in the few available training sessions to the public), Haight impressed with his ability to stickhandle in tight areas of the ice and burst into the zone with speed. He might not project to be an All-Star center, but he can certainly put some points on the board and will continue to develop in the OHL.

This is only Haight’s second season in junior hockey, so he still has two more to go. At least now he has some financial security after putting pen to paper.