Now he’ll have one last chance to crack the line-up on their most famous of teams.
Hunt was one of 15 players invited to the National Junior Team Selection camp on Wednesday, marking his second opportunity to crack the roster for the prestigious World Junior Hockey Championship, running Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer.
“It means everything,” Hunt told Marc Smith of mjwarriors.ca shortly after the announcement. “I worked my way up through Hockey Canada, this is definitely my biggest goal and my biggest goal for my hockey career, it’s humbling.”
As expected, the Warriors captain has had a solid start to the 2021-22 Western Hockey League campaign. The Brandon native has scored seven goals and 14 points in 18 games this season, but more importantly has turned in an impressive showing as the team’s bona fide defensive leader, with his calm presence playing a large role in the Warriors’ success so far this campaign.
Now the key will be to do the same when the selection camp kicks off in Calgary on Dec. 8.
“I know what my role is, being true to myself, being a good teammate and again, just trusting the process,” Hunt said. “They know what I’m capable of, so just sticking to my game and what I do best.
“It will definitely be a challenge, there’s a lot of skill out there, but I’m capable of really anything at this point, so just sticking to my game, my role and being great every time I touch the ice.”
Hunt is no stranger to the Hockey Canada program, as the 19-year-old has been a member of every Program of Excellence team since he burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old in 2017-18.
Hunt had two assists in five games at the 2018 World U-17 championship and later that season added an assist in seven games with Team Canada at the World U-18 championship.
He was right back in action with the maple leaf the following summer at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as a part of Canada’s silver-medal winning crew.
Hunt took part in the World Junior selection camp in Edmonton last season but was hit by a brutal stroke of bad luck when he was diagnosed with COVID-19 while in camp and sent home at the final cutdowns.
The 15 WHL selections included six from the East Division, with Prince Albert defenceman Kaiden Guhle, Brandon defenceman Vincent Iorio, Winnipeg defenceman Carson Lambos, Regina forward Connor Bedard and Brandon forward Ridly Greig also being named.
“We are excited to unveil the 35 players who will compete for a spot on Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, and to continue working towards winning a gold medal on home ice,” said Alan Millar, director of player personnel for the Program of Excellence and former general manager of the Warriors. “We know our athletes and staff are ready for a highly-competitive selection camp, and we look forward to assembling a group that will wear the maple leaf with pride and embrace the opportunity to once again compete in front of fans in Alberta.”
The National Junior Team selection camp will include a series of practices and scrimmages before the traditional contests against the USports All-Stars on Dec. 11 and 12. Cutdowns will happen soon after and the World Junior team will take part in a training camp Dec. 14-19 in Banff.
Canada opens the tournament on Boxing Day against the Czech Republic in Edmonton.
