Daemon Hunt: A look at who the Blue Jackets received in the David Jiricek trade

On By Littum

The Columbus Blue Jackets traded David Jiricek to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, ending weeks of speculation that intensified a week ago when Jiricek was traded to the Cleveland Monsters.

In return, the Blue Jackets (who also gave the Wild a fifth-round pick in 2025) picked up four draft picks: a first-rounder in 2025 (top-five protected), third- and fourth-round picks in 2026, and a second-rounder in 2027.

But they also picked up an intriguing prospect from Minnesota to replace Jiricek: Daemon Hunt.

Here’s a dive into what the Blue Jackets are getting in Hunt:

The past:

Hunt was a third-round selection of the Wild in the 2020 NHL Draft, selected 65th overall. He is a 22-year-old native of Brandon, Maintoba, Canada and weighs 6’1″, 200lbs.

After serving as an alternate for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL during the 2019–20 season, Hunt was promoted to team captain for both the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons. In those two seasons (69 games), Hunt scored 25 goals and had 32 assists for 57 points.

In his final season (2021-22) with Moose Jaw, he was teammates with Denton Mateychuk, the Blue Jackets’ current top defensive prospect. Mateychuk was named the Warriors captain when Hunt left for the Wild organization.

The first season with the Wild (2022-23) was spent with Iowa Wild, AHL affiliate of Minnesota. He had just two goals and nine assists in 59 games, but the Wildcats brass liked his development as a defenseman, and his 2023-24 training camp with Minnesota was just as impressive. He didn’t make the starting roster, but would play in 12 games in the NHL last season.

Five of those games were early in the season and under Dean Evason, the Blue Jackets head coach who was on the Minnesota Wild bench at the time. In each of his five games with Evason, Hunt saw a modest increase in minutes from the previous game.

Evason was fired in November.

Hunt played in a total of 12 games last season, had one point (one assist) and averaged 11:14 of ice time per game. match. Most of his action was with Iowa, where he had three goals and 26 assists (29 points) in 51 games.

The present:

Like Jiricek, Hunt is a young defenseman who wants to be an everyday NHL player and feels he is ready.

But while the thought of not being with the NHL club seemed to irk Jiricek, the newest Blue Jacket has a much different view. Here is Athletics Michael Russo on a recent conversation he had with Hunt:

Mindset is everything, isn’t it?

Hunt may also have an understanding that the biggest reason he’s not on the roster in Minnesota right now may be for contractual reasons. The Wild currently have seven defensemen on one-way NHL contracts. In order for Hunt to crack the lineup, one (or more) of those players will have to get hurt, traded, or fall off the map entirely. It’s a bit of a log to say the least.

So Hunt (with the exception of one game with Minnesota) continued to play at Iowa until Saturday’s trade. In nine games this season, he has four assists and a -1 plus/minus.

The future:

Blue Jackets President of Hockey Ops and General Manager Don Waddell described Hunt as a “very good young defenseman and we are excited to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family.”

He will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2025–26 season.

The ceiling on Hunt is probably not as high as it is with Jiricek – but when there is also a first, second, third and fourth round draft pick, it was not the expectation.

But the key word is there ceiling. Yes, it’s entirely possible that Jiricek continues to be a great blueliner with the Minnesota Wild. But it’s also possible (and not too far-fetched) that his skating and lack of speed catch up with him, and he never seems to be the player the last Blue Jackets regime thought he could be when they took him two years ago.

The current regime certainly didn’t seem to see it that way either.

However, it could be different with Hunt, who has strengths that match the style of play Evason demands from his defender. In short, it’s the blueliners who will jump into the play and use their speed to their advantage — but the ones who can do it while still having a high IQ on the ice and knowing when the right time to do it.

That’s Hunt in a nutshell. His strong two-way game, his physical game and his good speed are different strengths than Jiricek’s, but they could all prove to be more valuable to the organization.

Reuniting with Mateychuk, who was his linemate at times on the Warriors’ blue line three years ago, is also likely to bring a boost to both players.

And that’s where Hunt will start — the team has already announced that their new acquisition will report to Cleveland. He will likely stay there as the Blue Jackets organization figures out how he can fit in with the club, and it appears that his Blue Jacket debut will likely come later this season, especially if Columbus is able to to be sellers in the club. trade deadline and move a player like Ivan Provorov.

From there, Hunt will have the chance to become an everyday NHL player.

It is no guarantee.

But neither was – nor is – Jiricek.

Get to know Daemon Hunt: