Throughout the summer and into the fall, we’ll be counting down the days until the Edmonton Oilers begin their 2023-24 season with a daily trip down memory lane. Today at No. 59, we have Brad Hunt, an undrafted free agent defenceman who broke through with the Oilers.

Passed over in the Western Hockey League’s Bantam Draft, Hunt started playing junior hockey in 2005-06 with the Ridge Meadows Flames of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. He made the jump to Junior-A in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Burnaby Express that same season and was a part of the team’s Centennial Cup championship run.

Hunt spent two more seasons playing in the BCHL with the Express and scored 38 points in 2006-07 and 51 points in 2007-08. He then joined Bemidji State University and put up 112 points over four seasons for the Beavers between 2007-08 and 2010-11. The team won

Following his NCAA career, Hunt joined the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League on a professional tryout contract. He scored five points over 14 games to finish off the 2011-12 season and earned a contract for the 2012-13 season, where he would put up 33 points across 65 games.

Craig MacTavish was the head coach of the Wolves during Hunt’s first two professional seasons. Shortly after he was named general manager of the Oilers in April of 2013, MacTavish signed Hunt to a two-year, entry-level contract.

Hunt had a huge season for the Oklahoma City Oil Barons in 2013-14, as he finished second in team scoring with 50 points over 66 games. The Oilers called up Hunt as an injury replacement in January but he only appeared in three games. In the fall, Hunt performed well for the Oilers during training camp and he cracked the team’s roster to start the 2014-15 season.

Hunt scored his first NHL goal in the second game of Edmonton’s season against the Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers were on the power play and Hunt opened the scoring with a one-timer from the point.

He appeared in a few more games with the Oilers but was placed on waivers in early November in order for the Oilers to make room on their roster to recall Oscar Klefbom from the AHL. Hunt was called up by the Oilers again in January and ultimately scored three points over 11 games for the Oilers in 2014-15.

Peter Chiarelli replaced MacTavish as the team’s general manager at the end of the season and Hunt was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract. He spent the majority of the 2015-16 season with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL and didn’t pick up a point during his seven games with the Oilers.

Hunt left the Oilers in the off-season and inked a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues. He started off the season in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves and played his way into a callup by scoring 29 points over 23 games. Hunt then put up five points across nine games and got claimed off of waivers by the Nashville Predators when the Blues tried to send him back down.

After being claimed by the Preds, Hunt didn’t suit up for a game in the AHL for five consecutive seasons. He inked a two-year deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, was traded to the Minnesota Wild and re-signed on a two-year contract, and then inked a one-year pact with the Vancouver Canucks. Between 2017-18 and 2021-22, Hunt played in 208 NHL games and scored 67 points.

Hunt is about to enter the second season of a two-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored 10 points in 47 games with the big league club and 21 points over 24 games with their AHl affiliate. Hunt also won a gold medal with Canada at the World Hockey Championships in the spring.