Trent Hunter (born June 5, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

and

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Originally drafted in the sixth round, 150th overall, of the

1998 NHL Entry Draft The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Brian Gionta, Mi ...

by the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title *Th ...

, Hunter was traded to the

in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in the

2000 NHL Entry Draft The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. Thi ...

. He set franchise records for the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) in all three scoring categories (30 goals, 35 assists and 65 points). He made his NHL debut in the

2002 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League began on April 17, 2002. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on June 13, 2002, four games to one, to win their tenth championship in their hi ...

, scoring one goal and one assist in four games. Hunter broke into the NHL full-time with the Islanders in 2003–04 and was tied for first on the team in goals (25, with

Mariusz Czerkawski Mariusz Krzysztof Czerkawski (pronounced ; born 13 April 1972) is a Poles, Polish former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens ...

) and tied for total points (51, with

Oleg Kvasha Oleg Vladimirovich Kvasha (russian: Олег Владимирович Кваша; born July 26, 1978) is a Russian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Florida Panthers, New York Islander ...

). He finished third in voting for the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

in 2004, losing to goaltender

Andrew Raycroft Andrew Joseph Ernest Raycroft (born May 4, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Originally drafted by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) 135th overall in 1998, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy with t ...

of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Hunter played in

Nyköpings Hockey Nyköpings Hockeyklubb (English: ''Nyköping Hockey Club'', often referred to as Nyköpings HK or Nyköpings Hockey) was an ice hockey club from Nyköping, Sweden, which last played in the Division 1, the third tier of ice hockey in Sweden. The ...

in the Swedish

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system (after the SHL). Since the 2009–10 season, the league consists of fourteen teams ...

, becoming an instant hit with the club's fans for his NHL skills and aggressive play. The most influential player in the squad, Hunter came close to leading the unfancied club to promotion, leading the side to a sensational 5–4 victory against multiple Swedish champions

Brynäs IF Brynäs IF is a Swedish ice hockey team from Gävle. The club currently plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden. The club has played in the top-tier league since 1960, longer than any other team. History ...

away from home in the playoffs. In the end, a defeat in the return leg ended Nyköping's hopes. Hunter then become an important player for the Islanders. He was consistently among the NHL leaders in hits and was one of the Islanders best penalty killers. On July 28, 2011, Hunter was traded to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

in exchange for winger

Brian Rolston Brian Lee Rolston (born February 21, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey player who most recently played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, and the ...

. Traded to the Devils for salary cap purposes, on August 1, 2011, Hunter was placed on waivers by the Devils along with Colin White. He was then bought out from the final two years of his contract on August 2 after clearing. On September 14, 2011 it was announced that Hunter would sign a professional tryout contract with the

to attend the pre-season camp for the 2011–12 campaign. He was then signed to a one-year contract with the Kings on September 30, 2011. After producing only 7 points in 38 games with the Kings, he was cleared from waivers and reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

, for the remainder of the season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

* 1999–2000 WHL West First All-Star Team

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Trent 1980 births Anaheim Ducks draft picks Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Ice hockey people from Alberta Living people Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players New York Islanders players Nyköpings Hockey players Prince George Cougars players Sportspeople from Red Deer, Alberta Springfield Falcons players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden