WATCH: Daemon Hunt takes massive elbow to the face in Wild vs Avs preseason game

By Srihari Anand

Modified Sep 24, 2023 23:00 GMT

Minnesota Wild defenseman Daemon Hunt suffered a scary collision with Colorado Avalanche's Tanner Keno around the 12th-minute mark of the second quarter during the preseason opener between Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche.

Daemon Hunt was skating behind the net with his vision toward center ice when Tanner Kero came from the front and his elbow made direct contact with Hunt's head.

Hunt went down immediately after promping the Wild physician's entry onto the ice to check on the young defenceman. He then got back up on his own and skated off the ice with team physician and teammate Lettieri by his side.

No official statement has been made by the Minnesota Wild on Daemon Hunt's current condition.

Joel Kiviranta had opened the scoring for the Avs in the first period with an assist from Fredrik Olofsson. Samuel Walker made it 1-1 for the Wild with a goal on the power-play with assists from Riley Heidt and Daemon Hunt.

Samuel Walker scored his and the Wild's second goal of the night at 5:35 into the third period with assists from Hunter Haight and Riley Heidt. The Avs came back with Henry Bowlby's goal to make it 2-2.

Former UFA and recently signed 29-year-old forward Jujhar Khaira made his presence known in tonight's game. He scored the Wild's third goal during the powerplay giving the lead back to Minnesota with less than five minutes left on the clock.

Vinni Lettieri scored Minnesota's fourth goal of the game at 18:57 into the third quarter. Colorado Avalanche scored their third and the final goal of the game in the last seconds making the final scoreline 4-3.

The Minnesota Wild capped off a good team display scoring four goals and staying tight in their net, giving away only two in return.

Daemon Hunt's career stats

The Brandon, Manitoba-native was Minnesota Wild's 65th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Daemon Hunt began his WHL career with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2017-2018 season. Across three season playing with the Warriors, Hunt had 37 points in 94 games till the end of the 2019-20 season.

Hunt played six games with Minnesota's AHL-affiliate Iowa Wild in the 2020-21 season. He scored one goal amassing one point in his first AHL season. But he retured to the WHL for the 2021-22 season and scored an impressive 39 points from 17 goals and 22 assists in 46 games.

Hunt got the call back from the AHl's Iowa Wild for the 2022-23 season where he played in 59 games and had 11 points from two goals and nine assists.