Hunter Drew (born October 21, 1998) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

) for the

Bridgeport Islanders The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 2001 ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL). He was selected by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

, 178th overall, in the 2018 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Drew played major junior hockey with the

Charlottetown Islanders The Charlottetown Islanders are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are members of the Maritimes Division, and play their home games at the ...

in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

(QMJHL) from 2016–2019, scoring 92 points in 167 games. He was selected by the

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) in the sixth round, 178th overall, in the 2018 NHL entry draft. As a defenceman, Drew posted 50 points through 61 regular season games during his final season with the Islanders in 2018–19, earning a one-year contract with the Ducks

(AHL) affiliate, the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks. The team plays its home games at Pechanga Arena. History On Jan ...

, on August 14, 2019. In his first professional season in 2019–20, Drew split the season between the Gulls and secondary affiliate, the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. He posted two goals and seven points in 29 regular season games with the Gulls before the season was halted due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks on March 31, 2020. With the ongoing pandemic delaying the commencement of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, Drew opted to continue his development in Europe by signing on loan with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

n club,

HC '05 Banská Bystrica HC, hc or H/C may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Medicine * Health Canada * Hemicrania continua * Hyperelastosis cutis or hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia Chemistry * Hemocyanin, a metalloprotein abbreviated Hc * ...

, on September 14, 2020. He collected 9 goals and 16 points through 20 games before returning to North America for the Ducks training camp and re-assignment to the San Diego Gulls. With the introduction of a

taxi squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scout ...

stretching the Gulls roster, Drew split the shortened season on the blueline and spot filling as a forward. In showing potential as a forward, Drew switched full-time to the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

entering his third professional season in 2021–22. The positional switch came with instant success, as he responded in showing an offensive touch with the Gulls in finishing second amongst team forwards in scoring with 17 goals and 38 points in 64 regular season games. He was rewarded with his first recall to the Anaheim Ducks at the tail end of the season and made his NHL debut against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

, and recorded his first NHL fight against Jonah Gadjovich in a 5-2 victory on April 26, 2022. Drew went scoreless with the Ducks over their final two regular season games. During the 2022–23 season, having played exclusively with the Gulls in posting just 11 points through 44 regular season games, Drew was traded by the Ducks to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

in exchange for

Josiah Slavin Josiah Slavin (born December 31, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected ...

on February 23, 2023. Drew played out the remainder of his contract with the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

, going scoreless in 16 appearances. As a free agent from the Blackhawks, Drew opted to continue his career in the AHL, agreeing to a one-year contract with the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

, who are the primary affiliate of the

Utah Mammoth The Utah Mammoth are a professional ice hockey team based in Salt Lake City. The Mammoth compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

, on July 18, 2023. Drew played with the Roadrunners for two seasons before continuing his journeyman career in signing a one-year deal with the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL on July 1, 2025.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, Hunter 1998 births Living people 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Anaheim Ducks draft picks Anaheim Ducks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey forwards Charlottetown Islanders players HC '05 Banská Bystrica players Ice hockey people from Kingston, Ontario Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Tucson Roadrunners players Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players