By: Annie Nadin
When asked about his 2025-26 campaign, Dryden Hunt summed it up in a sentence.
“Maybe just good linemates when I’m playing.”
It’s a modest explanation, one which undersells what has quietly become the most productive season of his AHL career.
The Wranglers forward, an assistant captain and AHL veteran, has reached a career high with 56 points (17 goals, 39 assists) in 48 games, one of the lowest game totals he’s posted in a season.
The momentum has rolled on into the latter stages of the season with Hunt additionally registering his 300th AHL career point card on Apr. 4 against the Laval Rocket.
Despite the limited appearances, Hunt has made each one count.
“Like you said, not a lot of games played, but when I have played, it’s been with pretty good linemates and we’ve kind of gelled right away or over time,” Hunt says.
“It’s been a lot of fun.”
That chemistry has been a constant, even as line combinations have shifted in the season.
“As of late, I’ve been playing lots with Morty (Sam Morton) and Frky (Martin Frk), and everybody knows what Frky can do. He can shoot the puck, so trying to get him the puck as much as I can, and then playing with Morty’s been fun. He’s a hard worker. He gets to the net and you always know where he’s going to be.”
It hasn’t stopped there.
“Strommer (William Stromgren) and Kirky (Justin Kirkland) are all fun guys to play with,” Hunt added. “So it seems like whoever I’ve been playing with has been meshing and it’s been working.”
The results have followed.
Now one of the more experienced players in the room, Hunt points to familiarity and growing into your role as a driver of success.
“I don’t think it’s something I’ve changed too much, as you get older you learn different things and it’s been helping.”
That experience has also shaped his role as a leader.
With a veteran presence and an “A” on his jersey, Hunt has embraced the responsibility in a group he says makes it easy to do so.
“As you get older, you get more comfortable with yourself, how you carry yourself from the rink, trying to be a good pro, and a good guy.”
“We have such a great group here. There’s lots of leaders and it makes it pretty easy on the older guys.”
Even with the personal milestone, Hunt isn’t focused on chasing numbers.
“I don’t think anybody ever looks at just wanting to get more points, you look at an overall picture, you know, it’s disappointing the year we’ve had. But you look at the bright side of things, you’ve had guys produce.”
Hunt’s approach remains rooted in consistency, and keeping things simple.
In regards to his point production, Hunt shares his veteran wisdom.
“I think it’s just not to think about it too much, you just want to go out there and know your role in the team… I want to be a guy who drives offence and creates plays when I’m out there, so I just try to keep to that.”
