Dryden Hunt

History

2010-11: Dryden Hunt played four junior A games with the Trail Smoke Eaters in the British Columbia Hockey League and was a point-per-game scorer for the Kootenay Ice midget AAA team. He had no points nor penalties playing with the Smoke Eaters. Hunt scored 19 goals with 28 assists and 84 penalty minutes in 40 midget major games for Kootenay.

2011-12: Hunt made the Regina Pats out of training camp, skating in 62 regular season games and three playoff contests in his first WHL season. He scored 5 goals with 5 assists and was -3 with 28 penalty minutes during the regular season. The Pats finished fourth in the East Division, falling to Moose Jaw in a first-round playoff series. Hunt was -3 with no points nor penalties in the playoffs.

2012-13: Hunt missed all but two games due to upper-body injuries in his second WHL season. He had no points nor penalties in those two games with the  Regina Pats.

2013-14: Hunt scored 21 goals in 62 regular season games for Regina, showing no ill effects from his injuries the previous season. He had 19 assists and was -3 with 64 penalty minutes. The Pats finished first in the East Division before being swept by Brandon in a first-round series. Hunt scored 4 goals (three on the power play) and had 1 assist, finishing -6 with 4 penalty minutes in four playoff games. He was ranked 144th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings but was not selected in the 2014 NHL Draft.

2014-15: Dryden attended development camp with Carolina and skated for the Hurricanes’ entry in the Traverse City prospect tournament before returning to Regina for his fourth WHL season. He skated in 37 games for the Pats and was Regina’s leading scorer when he was acquired by the Medicine Hat Tigers as part of a multi-player trade in January 2015. In 71 regular season games he scored 33 goals with 50 assists and was +8 with 50 penalty minutes. Medicine Hat finished second in the Central Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Dryden scored 5 goals with 2 assists and was -1 with 6 penalty minutes in 10 playoff games.

2015-16: Hunt attended training camp with the Montreal Canadiens as a free agent but was not signed to a contract, returning to the WHL for an overage season. Obtained by the Moose Jaw Warriors in September 2016 for two draft picks, the 20-year-old led the league in scoring and was the WHL Player of the Year. Playing right wing much of the year, the left-handed shooting Hunt scored 58 goals with 58 assists in 72 games and was +12 with 48 penalty minutes. Moose Jaw finished third in the East Division, advancing to the second round in the playoffs. Hunt scored 7 goals with 9 assists and was -5 with 8 penalty minutes in 10 playoff games. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with Florida in March 2016.

Talent Analysis

Hunt was signed by Florida after scoring 58 goals for the Moose Jaw Warriors as a 20-year-old. The WHL's leading scorer and Player of the Year, he has a well-rounded game and can score or create chances for teammates in myriad ways. As with many overage scorers who put up big numbers in junior hockey but were never drafted, the supplementary areas of his game are still developing.

Future

Hunt was the WHL's leading scorer in 2015-16, finishing with 116 points in 72 regular season games for the Moose Jaw Warriors and signing an entry-level contract with Florida in March 2016. He will attend his first training camp with Florida this fall. Hunt projects as an offensively inclined second or third line winger with some scoring ability. He will likely need time at the minor pro level to round his overall game and adapt to the faster pace and higher level of play.