'His speed and shot are elite': Hunter Haight strives to be 'a name they need to talk about'

ST. PAUL — When Hunter Haight arrived for the prospects showcase two weeks ago, the Minnesota Wild’s 2020 second-round pick told The Hockey News in a one-on-one conversation that he wanted his play on the ice to make him “a name they need to talk about.”

It’s safe to say he accomplished that between the rookie tournament, training camp and preseason action in front of the Wild before getting sent back to juniors last Monday. 

It started two weeks ago in the prospect showcase as Haight, 19, scored a goal and three points on a line with Sammy Walker and Riley Heidt. Haight flashed his skillset that caused the Wild to draft him at No. 47, and he wasn't afraid to throw the body around either. He even fought third-year AHLer Keean Washkurak.

Judd Brackett has seen the growth Haight has made over the past year — namely his confidence, strength and getting into traffic more to employ his speed to his advantage.

“You can tell he’s just supremely confident,” Brackett, the Wild’s director of amateur scouting, told The Hockey News on a phone call last week. “You can’t get the smile off his face…that hasn’t changed, but the difference is he’s got more confidence to go make plays, which is what we want from him.”

Something that stood out to Brackett between development camp and the showcase is the way Haight conducts himself within a practice environment — the habits and pace he has. And he saw Haight see the ice well and drive play at the showcase.

“The speed, the shot, the vision,” Brackett said of Haight's strengths. “That’s the hallmarks of his game are his quickness and ability to get defenders on their heels through the neutral zone.”

Not only did Haight look like he belonged, but he also lifted the play of an older, more experienced player in Walker.

“That’s a testament to the work he put in the past year, how much he’s grown as a person and with his confidence,” Brackett said, “but then it also tells you that he can elevate his game when on the ice with better players, bigger players, guys that maybe have some more experience than him. 

To watch him be able to elevate in that scenario also tells you where his potential growth can go.”

Haight capped off his latest visit and second training camp with the Wild by showcasing his vision and passing ability with a primary assist on Walker’s goal in Minnesota’s 4-3 win over Colorado in the preseason opener.

“He’s a great player,” Walker said of Haight, who earned assists on three of Walker’s goals between the showcase and preseason. “I think the biggest thing (is) he’s a great passer, and I would just try to get open — and he’s pretty good at putting it right on my tape.”

When Chris Lazary — Haight’s coach in Saginaw — pulled clips of Haight from the preseason game, he liked how the Wild’s center prospect utilized his speed to make plays offensively without sacrificing defensively.

“You could look at a guy like him,” Lazary told The Hockey News on a phone call last week, “and make a case that he could be arguably an everyday NHL player.”

Enter the fresh start that turned Haight’s season around and gave him the confidence to do what he accomplished over the past few weeks. Haight got off to a slow start last season with three goals and nine points in 20 games after scoring 41 points in 63 games in 2021-22. The Barrie Colts, who drafted Haight in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection, traded him to the Saginaw Spirit last December.

The Spirit actually targeted Haight in the 2020 draft with their 19th overall pick, according to Lazary, but Haight had already been selected by the Colts at No. 9. So they were happy when they acquired him via trade in December.

“We felt pretty confident when we got him that we had a stud,” Lazary said. “We just needed to invest time into his game, get his confidence back and get him feeling good.”

Haight took off after the trade and never looked back.

The 5-foot-11 center scored 18 goals and 51 points in the final 42 regular season games after the trade — a 1.21 point-per-game clip. That’s 29 goals and 83 points over a full 68-game season, which would have tied him for 16th in OHL scoring last season. Brackett said he saw Haight make “great strides” after the trade.

“Obviously it was a pretty slow start there in Barrie,” Haight said, “and I was lucky enough to get a change of scenery going to Saginaw there and things just clicked once I got there with the players and the systems.”

Haight saw top-six minutes and centered one of the top two lines. He played in all situations, which included a ton of five-on-five usage and in tight games.

“When he goes onto the ice, I don’t think twice about it,” Lazary said of playing Haight in big moments.

The offensive production continued into the postseason, where Haight recorded eight points in 11 games and helped the Spirit take down the Flint Firebirds in the first round — which included him scoring the Game 2 winner.

So what makes Haight so good offensively?

“His speed and shot are elite,” Lazary said. “He’s extremely quick, (and) he’s got a great shot. He’s a very good passer with some good vision. … He understands how to manipulate a defender (and) put himself in good areas that open up the middle of the ice for him.”

Haight attributed his success to the fresh start and Saginaw’s system that creates a lot of offense for them using motion and movement. As far as what he believes he improved most last season, it’s the little things that can make a world of difference.

“I would say I just became more detailed,” Haight said. "That’s a really big thing if you want to make the jump to the next level in terms of being aware in the defensive zone, having a good stick and just being harder to play against.”

Lazary, who gets feedback from the Wild development staff, said he worked with him on refining some of his details, and Haight quickly inserts them into his game.

"A lot of it was supporting pucks better on breakouts as a center, playing harder through his checks (and) then offensively like getting to the inside like whether that's the net front or the bumper or the slot area like playing on the interior, not so much on the perimeter," Lazary said. 

“Those three things to me, he’s done a great job at making them focus points of his game — especially with a message coming from Minnesota.”

Brackett noticed those details as he remembers a specific instance in the showcase where Haight backchecked and broke up a 2-on-1 rush with his stick. Brackett said those details will end up helping him offensively, too.

“Hunter’s game has really grown (and) it’s not just the offensive side,” Brackett said, “he’s a little bit stronger, a little heavier on the puck. He’s got his details improved, and that’s what we want. We want every facet of his game to keep on improving — and I would say it has.”

One of Haight’s goals this season is to increase his shot output, especially since his release is something he feels he’s improved. Haight had a 3.18 shot-per-game clip last season with 197 shots in 62 games.

“I think my shot’s something that’s developed over the past season as well,” Haight said, “and I need to start leaning on that more in terms of utilizing it when I have opportunities.”

That will go a long way for Haight, who Lazary said is a top-10 player in the OHL and expects his offensive production to reflect that this season. Lazary said he expects Haight to contend for a spot on the Canadian World Junior team, too.

With this being Haight’s final season in the OHL before he’s expected to turn pro in 2024-25, it’s an important season for his development. Haight, who signed his three-year entry-level contract in March, said he doesn’t have a specific time frame for making the Wild. For now, he’s focused on showcasing what he has — and he did that.

What gives Brackett confidence that Haight’s game will translate to the NHL?

“I think obviously for starters is the fact that he can play at the pace that he does,” Brackett said. “He does everything at speed, obviously not just carrying the puck, but he shoots off the rush. He can shoot in stride — so the speed translates for sure.”

Haight is emphasizing and inserting more physicality into his game, too, since that will be important when he does turn pro.

“In terms of improving, I’d say just being more physical,” Haight said. “This is a man’s game, man’s league, so making that jump to get here is just being relentless and being a physical force out there.”

Haight displayed a lot of everything, including that physicality element, between development camp in July and the prospects showcase, training camp and preseason action this month. He showed a glimpse of his future potential, which the Wild hope culminates in him being a force in St. Paul.

And, if you’re wondering, there’s no slow start for him this season.

The Spirit, who are hosting the Memorial Cup this year, scored five goals in their first two games and Haight has his name alongside three of them with a goal and two assists.