The 18-year-old Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman was selected by the Wild in the third round, 65th overall on Thursday during the second day of the 2020 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
Hunt’s selection comes as little surprise. The Brandon native has been on Hockey Canada’s radar much of his career, and that translated into NHL Central Scouting having Hunt ranked 25th among North American skaters heading into the first round on Tuesday evening.
Hunt might have gone even higher in the draft if not for an early-season setback that saw him suffer a severe cut to his right forearm, limiting him to 28 games this past season. He put up 15 assists in that span, following up on a rookie campaign where he scored seven times and had 20 points.
Hunt also suited up for Canada Black in the World Hockey Challenge in 2018, picking up a pair of assists in five games. Later that season Hunt played for Canada in the World U18 championship, picking up an assist in seven games in a fourth-place finish, before suiting up in the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and Canada’s silver medal winning crew last fall.
Hunt was the fourth pick for the Wild and the first Warrior selected by Minnesota in franchise history. Minnesota selected Marco Rossi from the Ottawa 67's with the ninth overall pick, Marat Khusnutdinov from St. Petersburg of the Russian junior league 37th overall and Ryan O'Rourke from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 39th overall.
Hunt and the Warriors are currently in a holding pattern as the Western Hockey League prepares for the coming season, with the 2020 campaign currently slated to begin Dec. 4.
