Wild 2025-26 Report Cards: Daemon Hunt

The Minnesota Wild have to watch from the sidelines as the Stanley Cup gets closer to being awarded. The Vegas Golden Knights have punched their ticket as they swept the Colorado Avalanche, and they’ll face either the Carolina Hurricanes or Montréal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final. While that battle moves along, it’s time for another Wild report card. 

The goaltenders are finished, which means it’s time to move on to the defensemen. In the past, we’ve done grades for players who’ve been traded away, but since the biggest trade the Wild had was early on in the season, it’s hard to give those players grades since they left so quickly. It’ll also be difficult with several of the players that came in at the trade deadline, but we’ll see when we get to them. For now, we’ll start with defenseman Daemon Hunt. 

Hunt Jumped In 

Although Daemon Hunt started out the season watching from the sidelines, when the injuries started to pile up, Hunt jumped in. It’s unfortunate it took injuries to get him a spot in the lineup, but he did what he could with the time he had. Offensively, he didn’t make a huge impact as he recorded six assists sporadically throughout the season. 

He played in 32 games, and although he wasn’t afraid to throw his body around with 21 hits, what was even more impressive was his 43 blocked shots. When it comes to defensemen, the more blocked shots the better because that means fewer chances make it through to the goaltender, and fewer goals are scored. Hunt’s impact was definitely more on the defensive side, but he threw in offense when he could. 

“Yeah, Huntsy’s awesome. A ton of credit, obviously, it’s not easy when you’re not in the lineup every single night, and he never, never complained once, and he’s always out there working. But I think you can see with the way he skates and the way he thinks the game that he’s a great player. It’s his birthday today, so he’s 24 maybe now. A lot of upside obviously with him. He’s just very, very calm back there. He just plays his game, never gets rattled. He’s such a great skater and just thinks the game very well,” said Jared Spurgeon to the media in his end-of-season interview when asked about Hunt. 

It’s important to remember Hunt was still considered a rookie this season because he’d only played 13 games combined in the two seasons prior to this. He made some great strides this season and made an impact. Although he had some bumps in the road, as any player would, he learned as he went. Looking at his play, he earned an A- for his performance. While he did make some mistakes, he was still a rookie, and he could’ve played worse. On the flip side, his grade wasn’t higher because he has room to improve his game with a lot of potential. 

Hunt Earns Postseason 

Hunt’s performance in the regular season, although short, earned him a spot in the postseason when injuries crept in once again. He didn’t play in Round 1 against the Dallas Stars, but he did get in for Round 2 against the Colorado Avalanche because of an injury to Jonas Brodin. It may have taken him a little bit of time to adjust to things in the postseason, but he did pretty well. He played in five games, and he registered an assist in Game 2. On the defensive side of things, he once again shone brightly. 

He had six hits and eight blocked shots, which were crucial against a team like the Avalanche, and even though they lost, he still made an impact with his game. He did make some mistakes just like his teammates did, but he wasn’t the reason they lost that series. 

“Yeah, Huntsy’s impressive to me. You know he had a, what did he play, 30 games this year? Every time he came in, he did a tremendous job. Works hard away from the games, like in practice, and that type of thing. He’s tremendous, got a tremendous work ethic. But he skates so well, too, right? And that was something that anyone who moves kind of the way he does, he’s a tremendous skater that allows him to jump in and make a bang in the playoffs like he did,” said Jake Middleton to the media in his end-of-season interview when asked about Hunt’s impact. 

Being that it was his very first postseason, he deserves a little bit of leeway; it’s a lot to jump in when you’ve been in and out of the lineup like he was. Regardless, he did what he could, and his grade will be the same as his regular-season grade, an A-. It’s hard to go higher because he has a lot of room to grow and work out his mistakes, but it’s hard to go lower because it was his first time in the postseason, and he did make an impact even if they lost. 

Hunt’s Overall Grade

Hunt is an interesting player since he spent a lot of time bouncing back and forth between the NHL and the American Hockey League. As Spurgeon said above, he did so without complaint as well, which is crucial when in the position he was. Some players will get down on themselves or upset with their team, but Hunt kept digging and kept going. 

When looking at the overall picture, both the regular season and the playoffs with an A- in both, his combined grade is an A-. To some, that may seem way too high, but again, it was his rookie season, and although he didn’t have quite the impact Brock Faber did in his rookie season, he was still noticed, and nothing bad was said about his play. He did make some minor mistakes, but that happens, and every player has done it, rookie or not. His blocked shots really stood out and are something the Wild have to have in a defenseman. 

Once again, his play didn’t lead to their loss; it was a team effort. For those who don’t think his grade is high enough, the same reason applies as above. He’s still a rookie and has a lot of room to grow his game and become an even better defenseman. He fit well into the Wild’s lineup even though there wasn’t always room, but if he keeps pushing, they will make room for him. It’ll be interesting to see where he lands next season and if he can improve on this grade.