Mark Hunter (ice hockey player)

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CanadaCanada  Mark Hunter Ice hockey player
Mark Hunter
Date of birth November 12, 1962
place of birth Petrolia , Ontario , Canada
size 183 cm
Weight 93 kg
position Right wing
Shot hand Right
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1981 , 1st lap, 7th position
Canadiens de Montréal
Career stations
1979-1981 Brantford Alexander
1981-1985 Canadiens de Montréal
1985-1988 St. Louis Blues
1988-1991 Calgary Flames
1991-1992 Hartford Whalers
1992-1993 Baltimore Skipjacks

Mark William Hunter (born November 12, 1962 in Petrolia , Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player in the position of right winger . Between 1981 and 1993 he was active in the National Hockey League for the Canadiens de Montréal , St. Louis Blues , Calgary Flames and Hartford Whalers, among others .

Hunter is the owner and Vice President of the London Knights from the Ontario Hockey League and was also an official in the organization of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2014 to 2018 . His brothers Dale and Dave were also professional ice hockey players.

Career as a player

Hunter played from 1979 for the Brantford Alexanders in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League . There he was one of the best scorers from the start, but in his second season he also collected the most penalty minutes within the team. In the 1981 NHL Entry Draft , the winger was selected in the first round in seventh position by the Canadiens de Montréal .

In Montréal Hunter succeeded immediately after the draft jump into the NHL squad, where he scored the Canadiens' first goal of the season in the opening game of the 1981/82 season. In a series of attacks with Pierre Mondou and Doug Risebrough , the rookie scored 18 goals, but also achieved the team's second highest score with 143 penalty minutes. In the following two seasons, a knee injury threw him back before he played his most successful season to date in the Canadiens jersey in 1984/85.

After the season ended, Hunter was transferred to the St. Louis Blues in an exchange deal that included a total of nine draft picks for the 1985 NHL Entry Draft . There he reached the side of Bernie Federko the best offensive statistics of his career and closed the 1985/86 season as the top scorer of the Blues with 44 goals from 78 games. Hunter was invited to the NHL All-Star Game during the season and then helped the Blues to move into the play-offs, where they advanced to the final of the Campbell Conference . In all three seasons with the Blues, the Canadian scored more than 60 points before he was given up in September 1988 together with Doug Gilmour to the Calgary Flames . There he won the Stanley Cup in his first season .

After numerous injuries, however, Mark Hunter could no longer build on the offensive performance from his time in St. Louis and was transferred to the Hartford Whalers after three seasons in Calgary . Two years later he moved to the Washington Capitals , where he came on only seven missions in the NHL. For the first time in his career, the winger spent much of the season in the American Hockey League , where he played for the Capitals' farm team, the Baltimore Skipjacks . He officially ended his career in 1994.

Career as a trainer and functionary

CanadaCanada  Mark Hunter
Coaching stations
1995-1996 Sarnia Sting
1996-1997 St. John's Maple Leafs
1997-2000 Sarnia Sting
2012 London Knights

After his retirement, Mark Hunter was hired by the Sarnia Sting from the Ontario Hockey League as head coach. After two seasons, in which he reached the play-offs with the team, he moved to the St. John's Maple Leafs in the AHL. There he led the team in his debut season 1996/97 to first place in the Canadian Division and in the second round of the play-offs. At the end of the season, however, he decided to return to Sarnia to be closer to his family. After three more seasons in the OHL, his contract was not extended and he withdrew from the coaching business.

In 2000, Mark Hunter and his brother Dale bought the London Knights franchise , who also play in the OHL. While his brother took over the coaching post, Mark Hunter was employed as general manager and held this post until October 2014. When Dale was named head coach of the Washington Capitals during the 2011/12 season , Mark took over as an interim coach with the Knights. After the team had already completed the regular season in first place in the league, they led Hunter in the play-offs to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup second after 2005. The following season his brother returned behind the dugout in London.

For the 2014/15 season, Mark Hunter was introduced as the Toronto Maple Leafs' new Director of Player Personnel , but also continues to serve as the owner and vice president of the London Knights. After the 2017/18 season, he parted ways with Leafs after receiving preference in the vacant position of General Manager Kyle Dubas .

Achievements and Awards

As a player

As a trainer

  • 1996 OHL Third All-Star Team

As general manager

NHL statistics

Seasons Games Gates Assists Points Penalty minutes
Regular season 12 628 213 171 384 1426
Play-offs 9 79 18th 20th 38 230

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mark Hunter on Hockey Draft Central
personal data
SURNAME Hunter, Mark
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hunter, Mark William (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player, coach and official
DATE OF BIRTH November 12, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Petrolia , Ontario