- Brad Hunt announced his retirement after 14 pro seasons
- The undrafted 5-foot-9 blueliner played 288 NHL games for seven teams
- Read below for Hunt’s full message and the numbers behind his career
Brad Hunt is done.
The 37-year-old defenseman announced Saturday on Instagram that he has retired from professional hockey, ending a 14-year run that took an undrafted kid from Maple Ridge, B.C., all the way to 288 NHL games.
Hunt opened his post by getting straight to it.
“After a lot of thought I have decided to officially announce my retirement from professional hockey. Hockey has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. From dreaming about playing in the NHL as a kid, to living that dream for so many years.”
Take a look at the full message:
No team took Hunt in the draft, so he went to Bemidji State and put up 112 points in 150 college games. That got him an AHL deal with the Chicago Wolves and nothing more.
He scored 33 points in 65 games as an AHL rookie and made the all-star team. Edmonton signed him to an entry-level contract in July 2013.
Vegas is where the NHL job finally stuck. Hunt put up 18 points in 45 games during the Golden Knights’ inaugural season in 2017-18 and held down an NHL job through 2022-23, moving on to Minnesota, Vancouver and Colorado.
That shot is what kept a 5-foot-9 defenseman employed. Watch him rip a power-play goal in Vegas’ first season, set up by Shea Theodore and James Neal:
Seven organizations gave him NHL time, and he left with 26 goals and 86 points. Add 422 AHL games and a gold medal with Canada at the 2023 World Championship, and the resume holds up for a guy who never heard his name called.
His last stop was Finland, where he scored 25 points in 53 games for Vaasan Sport in 2025-26. Jake Leschyshyn just made the same move to the Liiga this week.
Across the NHL, AHL and Liiga, Hunt put up 409 points in 763 professional games. Every NHL team passed on him at the draft, and he still built a decade of work in the league.
