Gone are the days of having the pro shop on speed dial.
For a few years, at least.
For Dryden Hunt, there’s another, more noble endeavour that’s taken over in his life, as he spends his first-ever hockey offseason as a father to 15-week-old Wells.
“A little less golf. A little less sleep,” laughed Hunt, who put pen to paper on a two-year, two-way contract with the Flames on Friday afternoon.
“It’s a bit of a change of pace for me.
“I don't think anybody can prepare you for your first child. I don't want to say I thought it would be easy, but coming home every day, it's unbelievable. I used to come home and put a few more hours on the couch and a few more hours on the course, but it's a little different now. He's a little sponge, so you have to be there for him and be a good role model. It's been a lot of fun and I can't wait to watch him grow and have him out at the rink so he can watch his dad play hockey.
“I’m looking forward to that the most.”
Hunt, who’s originally from Cranbrook but has made his home in Calgary, returns to the Flames organization for what will be his third full season and fourth, overall, with the club after being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the spring of 2023.
For Wells to watch his father play here, in the Scotiabank Saddledome, makes it just that much sweeter.
“This means a lot to me,” he said of the new contract, which will pay him $825,000 at the NHL level in each of the next two seasons. “Thinking the last couple days, I thought it would be special to be with one organization for this long – almost four years. The franchise here is top-notch. And being here the last couple of years, you get comfortable with everybody, so it was kind of a no-brainer for me to come back.
“I'm really excited and can't wait to get the season going.”
Hunt has tallied three goals and 11 points in 33 games with the big club over the past two seasons. But it was with the Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, where the 29-year-old achieved new heights last year with a career high in both points (49) and points-per-game (1).
And in a campaign littered with ups and downs – which included the mid-season departure of their head coach due to extenuating circumstances – Hunt was there to help steady the ship.
“Definitely last year, I think I took a big step in that role,” he said. “Especially in the AHL, it's a very young league and there weren't many older guys on our team this year. I had to step up and be a guy that could lead the way. Last year, there were a lot of ups and downs, different coaches, guys going up and down. And look, when you see guys go up to the Flames, it's special.
“We fought through a lot. But we stuck together and I’m proud of our group for doing that.”
The Wranglers were the class of the American League early in the campaign, winning nine of their first 10 games and piling up a 19-5-1 record before Christmas.
By February, though, adversity struck in a big way.
At one point, they lost eight straight and 18 of 21, overall, as the playoffs drew closer.
It was around that time when Hunt was recalled to the Flames, where he spent the next month, before showing out with a two-assist effort in Calgary’s regular-season finale.
“This guy looks like Jonathan Huberdeau!” a mic’d up Ryan Lomberg quipped of his talents that night on The Chase.
Hunt is hoping that performance – along with his best-ever body of work with the Wranglers – will springboard him into a strong showing at Flames camp come the fall.
“Every year that I come into camp, I'm pushing to play in the NHL,” Hunt said. “Obviously, I know it's the best league in the world and everybody's there for that reason, so the competition is – and should be – high. But the fact is, whoever’s playing the best will get the opportunity to stick. I'm going to be coming to camp ready to go, and if not, the Wranglers are in town and I would go down there, be a great leader and try and be whatever I can for this organization.
“Last year was a lot of fun for me personally. There was a lot of opportunity given to me by the coaching staff and I was able to take advantage of it.
“I think I've got a lot of good years left, so hopefully I can build off that and keep challenging myself.”
