The NHL Central Scouting Bureau released their mid-term rankings on Monday morning, with defenceman Daemon Hunt ranked 22nd among North American skaters and goaltender Brock Gould ranked fourth among goaltenders.
For Hunt, the ranking comes despite having not played in a Western Hockey League game since Dec. 3. The 17-year-old Team Canada regular suffered a severe cut to his right forearm against the Edmonton Oil Kings and required surgery and has been recovering since. At this point he wears a hand brace, but is able to write and is regularly gaining strength as he heals.
The 6-foot-0, 198-pound Brandon product was an ‘A’ list prospect earlier in the season, projecting him as a first-round draft pick.
And for good reason.
Hunt scored seven goals and 20 points as a 16-year-old with the Warriors, and just as importantly has emerged as a steady presence on Hockey Canada teams ever since he cranked out 22 goals and 60 points in only 36 games as a Bantam.
Through 23 games with the Warriors this season, Hunt put up 11 assists.
Warriors fans are still getting familiar with Gould, who joined the Warriors last week in the Victoria Royals trade.
The 18-year-old Colorado Springs product was selected by the Royals in the eighth round, 170th overall in the 2016 Bantam Draft, but it’s been all uphill since then.
Gould played 33 games for the Royals in 2018-19 and recorded a 3.77 goals against average with a .873 save percentage. With Victoria this season, he’d taken the ice in 15 games and put together a 2.81 GAA and .899 SP while racking up a 6-6-1-0 record.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder is one of four Canadian Hockey League goaltenders who will see action in the 2020 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Thursday, Jan. 16 in Hamilton.
The 2020 National Hockey League Entry Draft will take place June 26-27 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
