BRAD HUNT
Bemidji State
Jr. | D | Ridge Meadows, B.C.

Key Statistics: Hunt made a splash as a rookie, setting the Beavers’ D-I level school record for assists by a defenseman with 23. The record lasted just one season, as Hunt eclipsed his own mark as a sophomore, leading the team with 26 assists.

In two seasons at Bemidji State, Brad Hunt has recorded a total of 49 assists.

What He Does: Teammates note that at 5-foot-9 and less than 170 pounds, Hunt doesn’t have the strapping frame you’d expect to see on a college defenseman. Any shortcomings in stature are forgotten when Hunt gets the puck on his stick, which is how he’s earned a reputation as one of the top offensive defensemen in the game. While some players of his size spend the off-season in the weight room looking to add mass, Hunt has struck a balance, spending just as much time running to improve foot speed and endurance. He knows that his ability to start the play in the defensive zone and finish the play from the offensive blue line are his biggest contributions to the Beavers’ success.

The Bigger Picture: Hunt is majoring in business administration, and has dreams of owning his own sports bar someday when he’s done playing hockey. But if he were to major in math, it would surprise few of his earliest teammates. Despite being blessed with the body and the skills of a forward, when Hunt was a youth hockey player he did the math when he noticed that there were always fewer kids who wanted to play defense and figured a spot on the blue line equated to more time on the ice. He’s ridden that logic from the peewee leagues in British Columbia to juniors, then to college and, as a Bemidji State rookie, all the way to the Frozen Four. Hunt calls the Beavers’ surprising run to D.C. two seasons ago the greatest experience of his hockey career, but admits that his team has now lost the element of surprise, maybe forever. With a sparkling new lakeside rink set to open in Bemidji and the Beavers stepping up to membership in the WCHA, there will be new challenges and opportunities for the junior and more pressure to keep setting up Beaver goals at a school-record pace.

Beavers captain Matt Read on Hunt: “Brad has an absolute laser of a slap shot that often ends up in the back of the net, or bounces to one of our guys. When we’re in the offensive zone, we love to feed him the puck, watch him blast it and look for a rebound.”