Islanders Sign Former OHL Blueliner Hughston Hurt

The Charlottetown Islanders have made a midseason addition, announcing the signature of former OHL blueliner Hughston Hurt on Wednesday.

Hurt, 19, has played the entirety of this season with the OJHL's Markham Royals, scoring 13 (2+11) points in 18 games. For the three seasons prior to this one, he'd been a fixture on the Sarnia Sting blue line, even sporting an 'A' on his sweater for the past couple of years.

This year, with Sarnia attempting to pivot to a new group, the Tennessee native was left without a spot on the blue line, and was sent to play in junior A. Now, he's found a way back up to the major junior level, out in Prince Edward Island.

Growing up in the Nashville Jr. Predators system in his home state, Hurt made the switch out to Michigan to play with the Little Caesers 13U program as a young player. His play there earned him a fourth-round pick by the Sting in the 2023 OHL draft, where he made the team out of camp and played all but one game as a rookie.

The Islanders have really needed help on the blue line, as they've conceded the most goals in the league this season by a very good amount. That's left them in a bit of a tailspin lately, as their 6-9-2 record has the team down to ninth in the East.

Charlottetown will hope Hurt's experience and leadership can help stabilize things on that side of the puck, while not having to give up any future assets to acquire a veteran like this since he's a free agent signing.

The 6-foot-1 defenceman could make his debut as soon as Saturday as the Islanders host the red-hot Cape Breton Eagles.

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