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Vegas Golden Knights Report Card: Brad Hunt

By Andrew Steele-Davis

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Brad Hunt #77 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on December 30, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Brad Hunt #77 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on December 30, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Brad Hunt played just a handful of games for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19 before finding himself on the move after being traded to the Minnesota Wild.

Brad Hunt: Grade D

We roll on with our 2018-19 Vegas Golden Knights Report Cards today as we turn the focus on Brad Hunt, who was here and then he wasn’t for the franchise last year.

His Season

After racking up the most games in his NHL career (45) during his first year with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18, Brad Hunt was looking for more of the same ahead of the 2018-19 season. However, he fell just short of matching that tally after enduring an up and down year that took in two teams.

Beginning the year with the Golden Knights, Hunt was a depth defenseman on a blueline that didn’t have any standout stars but more relied on the collective effort than the individual. The 30-year-old tallied two goals and five assists for seven points in 13 games for Vegas, posting four power play points and a plus/minus rating of +3.

However, following Nate Schmidt‘s return from a 20-game suspension coupled with the emergence of Jon Merrill and Brayden McNabb, the Golden Knights decided to trade Hunt to the Minnesota Wild on Jan, 21, 2019 for a conditional pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Hunt, who at 5’9″ and 187 lbs isn’t your stereotypical NHL defenseman, finished 2018-19 with five points (three goals, two assists) in 29 games for the Wild, including four points on the power play and a plus/minus rating of -5.

The veteran was mainly a presence on the bottom-line for Minnesota but he obviously did enough to impress the front office, earning a two-year, $1,400,000 contract earlier in the offseason. In total, Hunt played 58 games for the Vegas Golden Knights, posting five goals and 20 assists for 25 points.

ST. PAUL, MN – APRIL 02: Brad Hunt #77 of the Minnesota Wild takes a shot on goal during a game with the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center on April 2, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN – APRIL 02: Brad Hunt #77 of the Minnesota Wild takes a shot on goal during a game with the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center on April 2, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Why The Grade

Brad Hunt only played 13 games for the Vegas Golden Knights and we are only judging him on his performances for the Knights. As such, 13 games is a very small sample size so it was hard to come up with a fair grade for the veteran blueliner.

But, given that he actually performed okay during that small body of work, totalling seven points (two goals, five assists) in 13 games with a plus/minus rating of +3, we felt a D Grade was a lot fairer than not grading Hunt at all.

Next. Ryan Reaves Report Card. dark

He was a solid depth defenseman during his time in Sin City and he could be relied upon to log heavy minutes, as backed up by his average 15:10 minutes of ice time per night. He also recorded 10 blocked shots, seven hits and six takeaways for the Knights in 13 games last year.

The Numbers

Games: 13

Goals: 2

Assists: 5

Points: 7

Plus / Minus: +3

PIM: 2

ATOI: 15:10

Blocked Shots: 10

Hits: 7

Takeaways: 6

CF%: 56.5

oZS%: 61.0

Next Report Card: Jonathan Marchessault

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