Ten days after the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Dryden Hunt from the Colorado Avalanche, the player looks to be a ‘momentum-change’ player when the situation is called for.
TEMPE, Ariz. — When Dryden Hunt found out he had been moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he didn’t know whom he had been traded for. He began running down a list of guys who he knew on the team.
There was Michael Bunting, he also knew Morgan Rielly a little bit. But he was also looking forward to being reunited with Denis Malgin.
“I didn’t know I got traded for Malgs right away,” Hunt explained. “I was excited to be back with him, but yeah, it’s weird.”
Hunt and Malgin were teammates together with the Florida Panthers for parts of three seasons before the two players departed the organization in different ways. But alas, Malgin was the piece going back to the Avalanche.
Now 10 days removed from the trade, the 27-year-old Hunt will make his Maple Leafs debut against the Arizona Coyotes. He was initially shocked that the Colorado Avalanche traded him so early in his tenure with the club after they claimed him off waivers from the New York Rangers earlier in the season. But once that wore off and he began to practice and watch some games with the Maple Leafs, he began to see where he can fit.
“I try to bring that energy and be that reliable guy that can kind of change momentum when need be,” Hunt said. “You think about that a little bit but I just want to be able to chip in where I can.”
Perhaps that changing of the momentum can occur when the team needs a physical presence who can stand up for his teammates? Hunt has built out a reputation for always finishing his checks.
In addition to being a physical presence who draws more penalties than he takes, he has a scoring touch.
Just watch as he uses his hands to get around now current teammate Ilya Samsonov.
Hunt will skate on the team’s fourth line with Zach Aston-Reese and Pontus Holmberg, whom he has been able to admire from a distance.
“He’s a pretty special player,” Hunt said of Holmberg. “It’s pretty subtle in the things he does out there but you can tell he’s got all the tools and makes great plays out there.”\