The Week That Was – Signing Season
Each week, CHL.ca goes coast to coast to highlight the top stories from around the league.
Hunt wild about Minnesota
Ink was flowing across the hockey landscape this week.
Beginning in the west, Moose Jaw Warriors captain Daemon Hunt came to terms with the Minnesota Wild on his three-year, entry-level contract.
Chosen 65th overall by Minnesota in the 2020 NHL Draft, the 18-year-old Hunt has spent the past three campaigns with the Warriors. Limited to 28 games last season due to injury, the two-way defender had a solid bounce back in 2020-21 in which he also rounded out his game offensively as he finished second in team scoring with 18 points in 23 games highlighted by a career-high eight goals.
Some more signings! ✍
The #mnwild has signed defensemen Daemon Hunt (@DaemonHunt22) and Ryan O’Rourke to three-year, entry-level contracts starting with the 2021-22 season.
🗞 » https://t.co/VHgU1sA2u1 pic.twitter.com/cIGdImyMCr
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) May 6, 2021
“I couldn’t be more happy to be part of Minnesota and the State of Hockey,” Hunt told reporters at the time of his selection.
A first-round pick from the 2017 WHL Draft, Hunt saw a nine-game trial with the Warriors in 2017-18, beginning a WHL career that has since counted 117 total appearances in which he has collected 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points.
Earlier this year, Hunt earned a brief showing in the pro ranks in making three appearances with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, and with the 2020-21 WHL campaign now concluded, the budding blue-liner has since returned to the minor-pro ranks for additional seasoning.
O’Rourke, Daws land deals
In all, it was a productive week for the Wild, who also came to terms with Soo Greyhounds defenceman Ryan O’Rourke, the 39th overall selection from the 2020 NHL Draft.
A throwback-style defender, O’Rourke reached new offensive heights in 2019-20 – a season in which he was also appointed captain of the Greyhounds – in recording a career-high 37 points that counted seven goals and 30 assists across 54 appearances, good for third in scoring among Soo rearguards.
This season, like Hunt, O’Rourke has gotten a taste of the pro ranks in Iowa, appearing in 30 games with the minor-pro club in which he has registered one goal with six assists.
Originally hearing his name called 20th overall by the Greyhounds in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection, O’Rourke debuted with the Soo later that year, making an immediate impression as a freshman as he finished his first season with 22 points across 62 appearances and earned a spot on the OHL Second All-Rookie Team.
The product of Bowmanville, Ont., has also represented Canada internationally and earned a silver medal alongside Hunt at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Congrats Nico Daws!
Reigning Jim Rutherford #OHL Goaltender of the Year Award recipient and @Storm_City graduate has signed an entry-level #NHL contract with the #NJDevils.
DETAILS 📰: https://t.co/uPWylkl7MJ pic.twitter.com/aY05yMYH2U
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 8, 2021
Elsewhere in the OHL, Guelph Storm netminder Nico Daws inked his entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils.
After going unselected in the 2019 class, Daws put together a breakout campaign in 2019-20, coming away with 23 victories while also leading all OHL goaltenders with a .924 save percentage. At year’s end, the 2000-born Daws was presented with the Jim Rutherford Trophy as the OHL’s Goaltender of the Year, his latest accolade that also includes a gold-medal win with Team Canada at the 2020 World Juniors as well as a J. Ross Robertson Cup victory as OHL playoff championships with the Storm in the year prior.
A dual citizen of Canada and Germany, Daws spent the 2020-21 campaign competing with Ingolstadt ERC in the top professional German league where he came away with a 4-6-0 record and a 2.90 goals-against average.
Selected 84th overall, Daws was the first of five CHL goaltenders chosen in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Desnoyers set to fly
Rounding out the recent signings, the Philadelphia Flyers also reached an entry-level agreement with Halifax Mooseheads centre Elliot Desnoyers.
A fifth-round selection from the 2020 NHL Draft, Desnoyers recently completed his third season in the QMJHL and first with Halifax following an offseason move from Moncton. With the Mooseheads, the 19-year-old Desnoyers led the club in all offensive categories including goals (21), assists (28), and points (49), while also finishing seventh in league-wide scoring.
Desnoyers posing with Flyers Assistant Coach Ian Laperriere who played Midget with Elliot's Dad David in 1989-90. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/OZW2qD8VG8
— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) May 5, 2021
“Elliot Desnoyers had a productive year in Halifax and played a strong, two-way game with lots of passion,” Flyers vice-president and assistant general manager Brent Flahr said in a statement. “As he matures physically and gets stronger, his game should continue to grow.”
Following the completion of his season with the Mooseheads, Desnoyers has since joined the Flyers to take part in on-ice workouts.
Originally chosen 18th overall by Moncton in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft, Desnoyers has since skated in 159 career contests, amassing 44 goals and 71 assists for 115 points. The budding offensive talent was one of four CHL skaters selected by the Flyers in the 2020 NHL Draft, and is the third to sign his first contract following Tyson Foerster of the Barrie Colts and Zayde Wisdom of the Kingston Frontenacs.