Toast 887 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Position: RW Height: 6'0" Weight: 185lbs Born: Wolverhampton, England EARLY LIFE Kurtis Hunter was born in Wolverhampton, England to two loving parents. They wanted their son to have as much of a memorable childhood as he could, but also one that was different... and thus they decided to get him involved with the local ice hockey team. Surprisingly, it somehow stuck and Kurtis would go on to pick up quite the talent for the game. Hunter played forward for most of his youth, switching between center and winger when he pleased. Hunter also seemed to be quite ahead of the other teens as he advanced through the ice hockey levels around England, full of kids who probably didn't even want to be there. As Hunter aged a bit more, he began attending camps around Europe as well as tournaments. Without much of a hockey scene around England, it seemed as though Hunter would just get to live hockey as a hobby and nothing more than that. Fortunately enough for him, that wouldn't be the case. THE SHL PLAYING CAREER Hunter was out in Finland attending a hockey camp when the Toast Player Agency noticed him. A representative approached him afterwards and informed him of an upstart league in North America known as the Simulation Hockey League. With some persuasion and help from the realization that he truly had nothing else going on for him, Kurtis Hunter packed his bags and jetted off for North America. Hunter's agent convinced him that in order to adapt to the level of hockey in North America, he should declare himself eligible for the S6 North West Junior Hockey League. Following prospect camps heading into the draft, Hunter ended up being drafted to the Montreal Impact (no, not the soccer team... and yes, this is very North West). From there, Hunter worked his way onto the roster and would actually keep up with the other hungry prospects on the Impact, such as Simon Aspelin. Unfortunately, S6 of the NWJHL was about 100 years ago and the stats are long lost. Hunter at least made enough of an impression that drew the attention of SHL general managers. In the S7 SHL Entry Draft, Hunter was drafted in the third round, 22nd-overall by the Manhattan Rage. Somehow against the odds, the Brit had found his way onto a SHL team. Three days later he was traded in a package to the Minnesota Chiefs once the Rage general manager realized he drafted a kid with no experience minus the NWJHL to be on his team. Despite being an inexperienced rookie, Minnesota showed some confidence and placed Hunter on the third line. Hunter proved that he really didn't have too much going for him in terms of hockey skill, but kept working at it. Through his 50 appearances with the Chiefs that season, Hunter ended up with four goals and eight points. He was one of three players on the Chiefs with a below 0 +/- at -10 on a team that just ended up missing the playoffs. With 90 shot attempts through the season, at least he was trying? Before S8 could even roll around, it seemed that Hunter was in the middle of some drama after requesting a trade from the Chiefs. Hunter firmly believed he deserved more than a third-liner role and would eventually be traded to the Edmonton Blizzard. After moving to a new country yet again and switching conferences in the SHL, Hunter was ready to make an impression. Slotting nicely into the second line right wing spot, Hunter would see much more success this season with 10 goals and 27 points. He ended up dropping the gloves five times throughout the season and proved that he was at least useful to have around. Yet, even with strong performances from Hunter and the other Blizzard players (such as legend Jardy Bunclewirth), Edmonton finished last in the conference and did not qualify for playoffs. S9 was much of the same thing for Hunter, who kept his spot on Edmonton's lineup. Through 48 games, Hunter put up 10 goals and 28 points this time around. He battled injury troubles earlier in the season, but it was nothing compared to the blow when he found out he had been traded once again. This time he was driving down the road to report to the Calgary Dragons. The deal took place at the trade deadline, so Hunter only played six games with the team, recording two goals and three points. For the first time in his career though, Hunter was going to play some SHL post-season games! the Calgary squad was simply too impressive and in just 10 short games after a first-round bye, the Dragons had won the Challenge Cup! In his first post-season appearance, Hunter had managed to become a Champion. He had 10 points in his 10 games. Hunter was a fan of "taking it easy" heading into the end of his SHL career. Hunter was on such a high that he announced that S10 would be his last as a SHL player. He had seen it all and claimed his fame, so it was time to get out while he was in the spotlight. Hunter went on to put up 20 points in 50 games as he had been slotted down to the third line for his final season. The Dragons won the Presidents' Trophy as they finished as the best regular season team. Unfortunately, Calgary couldn't keep their luck going into the playoffs as they were eliminated in the second round by the Winnipeg Jets. In 12 games, Hunter had 5 points to end his SHL playing career. Following his playing career, Hunter would go on to become general manager of the Minnesota Chiefs for several seasons. It was so horrific that we won't go into detail to protect the identity of those involved. VHLM After several seasons away from the sport, watching as a fan, Hunter decided that he wanted to give it one last go in his career and approached the Toast Player Agency, who just happened to be searching for a client to put forward into another league taking the sport by storm, the VHL. To touch up his skills though, Hunter declared himself eligible for the VHLM and the VHL Entry Draft process. Don't bother asking how a 30-year-old managed to exempt himself from the rules... he probably paid off the Blue Team or something. The Toast Player Agency really wasn't prominent for creating superstars, but is known for providing consistent talent. Kurtis Hunter being one of the oldest players in a draft in recent memory probably didn't help his draft stock, but he was eventually drafted to the Saskatoon Wild, 12th overall in the draft. Hunter would eventually be named captain for the S39 campaign due to his experience, and the quest to make a comeback in the sport was on. Hunter struggled early on trying to get back into the pace of a fast game which has evolved into something even faster now. Through his 71 games he was only able to put up 51 points with a +26, but he was continuing to work at it and the Wild managed to get into the playoffs. However, scouts were starting to doubt if Hunter could handle the pace of the game at this point of his career. The Wild would overcome the threat that was the Brampton Blades in 7 games before being eliminated by the Ottawa Lynx in seven games. Hunter was a locker room warrior pumping up the crew, but only managed four goals and six points through the 14 games. Hunter psyching himself up before one of the Wild's playoff games. Everyone thought the older player was doomed, but as everyone remembers from the S40 draft, Davos had other plans. "With the 11th-overall pick in the S40 Entry Draft, HC Davos selects.... from Wolverhampton, England.... Kurtis Hunter!" PROS Puck Handling - One thing that hasn't deteriorated through the years is Hunter's puck handling. He can carry the puck up the zone when needed and seems more comfortable with the puck on his stick. He's always someone to watch out for. Hunter will do whatever he can to make sure that the puck gets out of his own zone. Scoring - The old man still has finishing the play under his cap at least. While his name didn't appear much on the scoreboard in his draft year, Hunter is now one of the big threats to put the puck in the back of the opposition's net. He just recently had a four-goal game! Leadership - At least one advantage about having this guy on the team is the leadership that he provides to the younger players. On a roster like Davos, it's pretty important to have those who can lead as the team is still relatively young. While he may not have a letter on his jersey, Hunter does what he can to help lead the charge. CONS Checking - It's a pretty simple formula here. As you get older, the younger players are going to have an easier time skating around you or knocking you to the ice. We have seen Hunter try to retaliate with hits, but it just never seems to go well for the older player. Maybe he has to hit a gym a few more times a week. Discipline - You would think with age comes more responsibility on the ice, but Hunter is the polar opposite of that. It seems he hasn't learned a thing since starting his career as he still gets caught up in ugly penalties. He's going to need to focus for his last few seasons so he doesn't spend it watching from the penalty box. Strength - Much like his inability to hit, Hunter is easy to knock over. Hence why so many players blast by him on the rush. Recently it seems as though Hunter is looking to improve his physical game, so we'll see if things stay this way going into the next few seasons. CoachReilly 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22326-the-old-man-final-1010/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,943 Posted July 23, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 23, 2015 jeez your SHL career was bad Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22326-the-old-man-final-1010/#findComment-248048 Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachReilly 688 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Munk and Smarch 2 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22326-the-old-man-final-1010/#findComment-248072 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JardyB10 4,865 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Bunclewirth truly is a legend. Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22326-the-old-man-final-1010/#findComment-248081 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast 887 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 jeez your SHL career was bad Hunter is an absolute legend! You take that back!!! Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22326-the-old-man-final-1010/#findComment-248224 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,943 Posted July 24, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 24, 2015 Skvoznak > Toast 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22326-the-old-man-final-1010/#findComment-248262 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tylar 219 Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Overview: 5/5 - lol third round pick in shl, you scrub. Nice little biography on your oldie. The SHL part was interesting. Hunter just a good soldier Grammar: 3/3 - noobNorth America, he = North America, he season games! the = season games! The Presentation: 1/1 - Looks pretty like you Over 1000 Words? 1/1 Overall: 10/10 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/22326-the-old-man-final-1010/#findComment-248423 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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