Veteran defenseman retires after 10-year NHL career

After 14 seasons of professional hockey across the NHL, AHL and Finland’s Liiga, veteran defenseman Brad Hunt announced his retirement on Saturday. The 37-year-old defenseman played his final season with Sport Vaasa, where he recorded 25 points in 53 games during the 2025-26 campaign.

Hunt finished his professional career with 288 NHL regular-season appearances across 10 seasons, playing for the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche. He accumulated 26 goals, 60 assists and 86 points while developing into a trusted depth defenseman who could provide offense when needed.

Despite going undrafted after his collegiate career, Hunt worked his way to the NHL through the minor leagues. He played four seasons at Bemidji State University, logging 24 goals and 88 assists for 112 points in 150 NCAA games. His freshman season was especially successful, as he finished with nine goals and 32 points in 37 games while earning conference rookie of the year, first-team all-star honors and helping the program win a conference championship.

Hunt became one of the AHL’s most productive offensive defensemen. Across 422 career games with the Chicago Wolves, Oklahoma City Barons, Bakersfield Condors, Colorado Eagles and Hershey Bears, he amassed 84 goals and 214 assists for 298 points. He earned six AHL All-Star selections, including five straight appearances from 2012-13 through 2016-17, while tallying four 40-point seasons and two campaigns with at least 50 points. During the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons with Oklahoma City, he collected 101 points in 128 games and added 11 points in 13 playoff contests.

Hunt’s best productive NHL season came with Minnesota in 2019-20, when he set career highs with eight goals, 11 assists and 19 points in 59 games. Hunt played 100 games for the Wild between 2018 and 2021, contributing 12 goals and 13 assists while also seeing time on the second power-play unit.

Before turning professional, Hunt spent three BCHL seasons with the Burnaby Express, garnering 89 points in 122 games. Internationally, he represented Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, collecting three assists as Canada won the gold medal. Across the NHL, AHL and Liiga, Hunt concluded his professional career with 409 points in 763 games.

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