Well-travelled pro hockey player Brad Hunt is donning the gear for another season of professional hockey with an AHL team.
Hunt signed with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League for the coming season. They are the affiliate for the Washington Capitals, and are looking for their third straight Calder Cup AHL championship. A free agent, Hunt signed a one-year deal.
Now 36, Hunt is coming off a great season in the AHL with the Colorado Avalanche's farm team, the Colorado Eagles, where he played 70 games and led the team in scoring with 16 goals and 49 points. He was also the team captain, and played in the AHL all-star game.
He has played for seven different NHL teams, and this will be his fifth AHL team since he finished up at Bemidji State University.
Hunt toiled in the Edmonton Oilers system early in his career, which started with their AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves in 2011-2012. He finally got a chance to establish himself as a bona fide NHL regular in the 2017-2018 season with the Vegas Golden Knights expansion team.
A former Ridge Meadows Flame, he even had a stint with his "hometown" Vancouver Canucks, when he played 50 games in the 2021-22 season, and put up 17 points.
Through his career, he has played 288 regular season NHL games, scoring 26 goals and 60 assists, and another five post-season games. His best year was with the Minnesota Wild in 2019-2020, when he had 19 points in 59 games.
Hunt has always been a dynamic offensive player at the AHL level, and last year was second in AHL scoring among defenders, and has been selected as an all-star five times. He has 80 goals and 279 points in 381 games.
