Brad Hunt

Bradley Michael Hunt (born August 24, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche. Hunt beginning his professional career in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Chicago Wolves, where he was an All-Star in the 2012–13 season. He is considered undersized for a defenseman, but is known for possessing a hard slapshot. He has a younger sister, Brittany. As a child Steve, a former Senior AA goaltender, set up a deck for Brad to shoot pucks from in the family's backyard. Growing up, he was best friends with Victor Bartley, who also plays professional hockey.

Playing career Amateur Hunt began playing in the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association at the atom level. In his first year with the Flames, he was named the team's Rookie of the Year and played in the PJHL All-Star and Prospect Game. That said, he was with the team when they won the 2006 Royal Bank Cup as Canadian junior A champions. He stayed with the Express the following season and played in 60 games scoring 4 goals and 38 points and added another 8 points in 14 playoff games. For his efforts, he was named the team's Most Outstanding Defenceman. In the 2007–08 season, his final with the team, he increased his offensive production to 16 goals and 55 points and played in the BCHL All-Star Game. He was again named the team's Most Outstanding Defenceman, while the Express Lost in Round 1 in 5 Games against the Victoria Grizzlies.

Following his third season in junior, Hunt attended Bemidji State University (BSU). While there, he played with the Bemidji State Beavers, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. In his first season with the Beavers, Hunt scored 9 goals and 32 points in 33 games. By winning the tournament, Bemidji State earned an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The Beavers entered the tournament as the lowest seeded team and matched up with Notre Dame. BSU upset the Fighting Irish and proceed to defeat Cornell University, advancing to the Frozen Four. With the wins, Bemidji State became the first number 16 seed to make the Frozen Four, and the first team to ever make the Frozen Four from outside college hockey's top four conferences. Their Cinderella run ended with a 4–1 loss to Miami University. Hunt was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team. At the end of the season, he was also named to the All-CHA Rookie Team, All-CHA First Team, and named CHA Rookie of the Year. Though they failed to capture the automatic bid for the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, BSU received an at-large bit thanks in part to a school record 22 consecutive weeks of being ranked in the top 15. The Beavers lost in the first round of the tournament to the University of Michigan.

For the 2010–11 season, Bemidji State moved from the CHA to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Hunt's point production dropped in the new conference as he registered 3 goals and 21 points. In his senior season, Hunt was named one of the team's alternate captains. By finishing his Bemidji State career with 112 points, Hunt became just the sixth defenceman in school history to eclipse the 100 point mark and left as the Beaver's all-time leader in defenceman scoring and defenceman power play goals.

Professional Undrafted out of college, Hunt signed an amateur tryout contract with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Chicago Wolves, where his first head coach was Craig MacTavish. He scored his first professional goal on March 29, 2012, in a game against the Abbotsford Heat in front of 40 friends and family members. He played 14 games for Chicago, registering one goal and five points. He remained with the Wolves for the Calder Cup playoffs, playing in 5 games scoring 1 goal and 5 points as the Wolves lost in the first round to the San Antonio Rampage. In the off-season, the Wolves signed Hunt to a standard player contract. In the game, Hunt scored a first period goal helping the Western Conference to a 7–6 victory. He finished the season with 4 goals and 33 points as the Wolves missed the playoffs.

In the off-season, Hunt signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers, for whom MacTavish had become the general manager. He attended Oilers training camp and in his first preseason game, Hunt registered two assists against the Vancouver Canucks. He failed to make the team out of camp and was assigned to the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons. Hunt played 29 games for the Barons, scoring 3 goals and 15 points, leading the Oklahoma City defence in scoring. After the Oilers suffered some injuries on the back-end, he was called up to Edmonton. He made his NHL debut on January 3, 2014, in a game against the Anaheim Ducks. He played in two more games before being reassigned to Oklahoma City.

On July 2, 2016, Hunt effectively made a return to the Chicago Wolves, in agreeing as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues. In the 2016–17 season, Hunt excelled with the Wolves, leading the league in scoring, as a defenceman, through 23 games. He was recalled by the Blues and despite making an immediate impact, was later placed on waivers after 9 games on January 16, 2017. He was claimed the following day by the injury-depleted Nashville Predators.

On July 1, 2017, having left the Predators as a free agent, Hunt agreed to a two-year, one-way contract with expansion club, the Vegas Golden Knights. On January 21, 2019, after playing in 58 games for the Golden Knights, Hunt was traded to the Minnesota Wild along with a sixth round 2019 NHL entry draft draft pick in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2019 Draft. He tallied 3 powerplay goals and added 5 points in 29 games from the blueline with the Wild, as the club missed the playoffs for the first time in 7 seasons.

On June 24, 2019, Hunt was signed to a two-year, $1.4 million contract extension to remain with the Wild.

After the better part of three seasons with the Wild, Hunt left the club as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 28, 2021.

As a free agent from the Canucks, Hunt was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, on July 15, 2022. After attending the Avalanche 2022 training camp, Hunt was placed on waivers and re-assigned to the begin the season with AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Adding a veteran presence to the depth on the blueline of the Avalanche organization, Hunt played in a top-pairing role with the Eagles and was leading the team in scoring with 20 points through only 22 games before he was recalled by the Avalanche on December 9, 2022. He immediately made his Avalanche debut in a 2-1 shootout defeat to the New York Rangers. He recorded his first goal with the Avalanche against former club, the Edmonton Oilers, in a 3-2 overtime victory on January 7, 2023. He was initially named as the Eagles representative to the AHL All-Star Classic, marking his sixth occasion, however remained with the Avalanche. Hunt added 6 points through 26 games with the Avalanche before he was placed on waivers due to the returning health of the blueline on February 11, 2023. Hunt made his return to the Colorado Eagles on February 17 after clearing waivers where he was named team captain.

On August 2, 2024, having concluded his two-year contract with the Avalanche, Hunt was signed as a free agent to a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears. He was limited to just 41 regular season games through injury during his tenure with the Bears in the 2024–25 season, posting 4 goals and 19 points from the blueline.

As a free agent, Hunt following a 14 professional seasons in North America, opted to pursue a career abroad by agreeing to a one-year contract with Finnish club, Vaasan Sport of the Liiga on September 12, 2025. In the 2025–26 season, Hunt contributed with 7 goals and 25 points through 53 appearances from the blueline with Sport. Having concluded his contract with Sport, Hunt was confirmed to have left Sport on March 25, 2026.

On August 2, 2026, Hunt announced his retirement from hockey following a 14 year professional career.

International play

On May 5, 2023, Hunt was named to Canada men's national ice hockey team at the 2023 IIHF World Championship where he recorded three assists in ten games and won a gold medal.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2005–06 Ridge Meadows Flames PIJHL 45 5 16 21 47 — — — — — 2005–06 Burnaby Express BCHL 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2006–07 Burnaby Express BCHL 60 4 34 38 65 14 2 6 8 16 2007–08 Burnaby Express BCHL 60 16 39 55 53 — — — — — 2008–09 Bemidji State University CHA 37 9 23 32 24 — — — — — 2009–10 Bemidji State University CHA 37 7 26 33 35 — — — — — 2010–11 Bemidji State University WCHA 38 3 18 21 33 — — — — — 2011–12 Bemidji State University WCHA 38 5 21 26 8 — — — — — 2011–12 Chicago Wolves AHL 14 1 4 5 8 5 1 3 4 0 2012–13 Chicago Wolves AHL 65 4 29 33 22 — — — — — 2013–14 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 66 11 39 50 34 3 1 0 1 4 2013–14 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2014–15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 11 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 2014–15 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 62 19 32 51 18 10 3 7 10 6 2015–16 Bakersfield Condors AHL 57 13 28 41 18 — — — — — 2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 7 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Chicago Wolves AHL 23 9 20 29 6 — — — — — 2016–17 St. Louis Blues NHL 9 1 4 5 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Nashville Predators NHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —2017–18Vegas Golden KnightsNHL45315186————— 2018–19 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 13 2 5 7 2 — — — — — 2018–19 Minnesota Wild NHL 29 3 2 5 6 — — — — — 2019–20 Minnesota Wild NHL 59 8 11 19 6 4 0 0 0 2 2020–21 Minnesota Wild NHL 12 1 0 1 4 — — — — — 2021–22 Vancouver Canucks NHL 50 3 14 17 12 — — — — — 2022–23 Colorado Eagles AHL 24 7 14 21 12 2 0 1 1 2 2022–23 Colorado Avalanche NHL 47 4 6 10 12 1 0 0 0 0 2023–24 Colorado Eagles AHL 70 16 33 49 41 3 1 2 3 0 2024–25 Hershey Bears AHL 41 4 15 19 10 2 0 1 1 0 2025–26 Vaasan Sport Liiga 53 7 18 25 30 — — — — — NHL totals 288 26 60 86 52 5 0 0 0 2

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2023 Canada WC 10 0 3 3 4Senior totals 10 0 3 3 4

Awards and honours

Award Season Ref Junior PJHL All-Star and Prospect Game participant 2004–05 Ridge Meadows Flames Rookie of the Year 2004–05 Royal Bank Cup Championship 2005–06 Second Team All-Star 2013–14 First Team All-Star 2014–152023–24