PROSPECTS: St. Martin helps lead Medicine Hat Tigers to WHL Championship win

A career year for Hunter St. Martin has been topped off with some hardware.

On Friday night, the Florida Panthers 2024 sixth-round (193rd overall) pick and the Medicine Hat Tigers were crowned WHL Champions with a 4-2 Game 5 win over the Spokane Chiefs.

Scoring in three straight games, St. Martin helped the Tigers take the series in five games and earn their sixth WHL Championship in team history, their first since 2007.

Not only did the 19-year-old sound the horn three times in the Championship series, St. Martin also notched two points (goal, assist) in the Game 5 victory.

“Hunter is a skilled skater who has shown a tremendous amount of maturity and adaptability at a young age,” Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito said of St. Martin earlier this season.

On the playoff path to becoming a WHL champion, St. Martin recorded 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 18 games.

Turning heads during the Panthers training camp and preseason, St. Martin rode the momentum straight through his third full WHL season.

“He’s a good player,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said of St. Martin during the preseason. “I remember in camp he chased me down and got the puck off me in the corner. Little things like that, those kinds of guys get the attention of the staff.”

In 65 games during the regular season, the Edmonton native tallied 59 points (39 goals, 20 assists), 232 shots, and a +35 plus/minus rating.

Amongst the Tigers, St. Martin ranked second in goals, fourth in points, second in shots, and first in shorthanded goals (seven).

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s just continuing to learn and get a little better every day,” St. Martin said at the beginning of the season. “It’s gotten me to where I am right now, and it’ll only continue to build off that.”

St. Martin, who signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Panthers last October, and Medicine Hat aren’t quite done yet.

As WHL champions, they will compete later this month for the Memorial Cup, a tournament between the winners of the WHL, OHL, QMJHL, and hosting team (Rimouski Oceanic).

Follow @CHLHockey for more updates on the tournament.