New Face in Saskatoon

[dshervill 45]

After having a disappointing 0-2 start the Saskatoon wild have decided to take a chance on some younger blood to fill out the bottom 6 of their roster. Entering the lineup is winger Braxton Hunter, Hunter (pictured below) has a bigger frame and has no issues moving it around to create advantages in the offensive and defensive zones for his previous teams. With him entering the VHL however, the young forward will struggle against higher caliber players and how he will react to not being the biggest kid on the ice anymore. 

When asked for a quote from Assistant General Manager Timothy Brown, he had the following to say about his young foward:

"We were looking to bring some grit and toughness to our 4th line. We have a lot of smaller framed skill guys here, so to bring Braxton in as a bigger kid he has a shot to make a difference on the fourth line. We really liked his willingness to check and lay the body out there, so we are hoping he brings that here as well."

Promising words from AGM Brown, when asking Hunter for a quote and how he feels about being given the opportunity he has this to say:

"Honestly... It feels pretty surreal, I was just getting ready to go start my shift as a delivery driver when I got the call. Especially to go to such a great team like Saskatoon, I heard so many great things about their team and even their fans are pretty awesome. I can see myself calling the city and team home for a long time."

When asked about Hunter as a player, his former coach was more than willing to give us an inside look on what makes Hunter tick:

"Braxton first and foremost is a great kid, he's always been the first one in the building and most days I have to kick him out so I can go home. He has an incredible work ethic that tends to rub off on his teammates, he's certainly a quiet leader and prefers to lead by example with his play on the ice. He won't put up a ton of goals, but what he does is make sure that he puts himself and his teammates in great positions to win. His passing for a guy his size is pretty impressive. He does have a lot of holes in his game though, his lack of scoring may turn some teams off because he does prefer to set up his teammates for better scoring chances. He also struggles in some games where he may be at a slower pace than what's being played on the ice. If he sticks to playing his game though he should be able to have an impact at the next level. I'm incredibly happy for him to have a shot at playing in the VHL, the kid deserves it."

When asked for a player comparison he gave us a few names but the ones that stood out most to us are:

 

Braxton Hunter's floor - Titus LaClass
Braxton Hunter's ceiling - Hunter Hearst Helmsley

 

Both are incredibly talented players but to throw out a legend like Helmsley's name is a pretty bold take, Hunter has the base to get there but it will certainly be difficult for him to reach that level. For the 17 year old forward it will be a drastic change, moving across the country away from London where he's played all of his hockey so far to Saskatoon, where excellence is expected and the fans are incredibly passionate. Time will only tell the impact Hunter will have on this roster, but Saskatoon will definitely be wanting to see Hunter make a big impact on the bottom two lines. 

Until next time, this has been Jeremiah Johnson with the London Gazette.