FORT LAUDERDALE - Hunter St. Martin has been preparing for this for his whole life.
After being taken in the sixth round (193rd overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft, the 19-year-old booked it to South Florida -- his first time in the state -- to attend his fist-ever NHL camp.
While he’s a newcomer to the Florida Panthers, his love of the ice is deep rooted.
With his dad being a former hockey standout in the WHL and his mom a refined Olympic figure skater, the Alberta native has his parents to thank for pushing him towards hockey.
“They are really hard workers,” St. Martin told FloridaPanthers.com of his parents. “They built everything for themselves, and it gave me a chance to build my own path.”
A second-generation Tiger, St. Martin followed in his father’s footsteps when he was drafted into the WHL by Medicine Hat, the same team his father, Blair, played for from 1994-1998.
With two seasons now under his belt with the Tigers, St. Martin feels he’s making strides.
“My first full year I learned a lot of the basics of being a junior player,” he said.
In his first taste of the WHL in 2022-23, St. Martin notched 22 points (8-14-22) in 61 games.
Then this past season, things really started to click.
Doubling his point total, he racked up 52 points (24-28-52) in 68 games in 2023-24.
“This last year I was provided with more of an opportunity,” said St. Martin, “I took that as a chance to flourish.”
Flourish, he did.
When asked about that year-over-year growth, the speedy scorer said you simply “control what you control” and “you work, you play your game, and you just trust your process.”
Trusting the process also helped St. Martin get to the Panthers.
After going undrafted in 2023, he’s now got a pathway to the pros in South Florida.
“It’s definitely surreal,” St. Martin said of being drafted by the Panthers. “Seeing this team win the Stanley Cup then you get your name picked by them, it’s incredible.”
In his first development camp, St. Martin is just trying to take it all in. That includes learning about both the physicality of the organization and the mindset it will take to be a Panther.
“They obviously know what it takes to win, and you learn all those values,” he said.
Over the course of the four-day camp at Baptist Health IcePlex, the budding prospect has been trying to absorb all he can when it comes to drills and building up some new skills.
“You are just learning step-by-step what it takes to be a pro,” he said.
As he makes those steps, there’s one current Panther he’s trying to model his game after.
“Eetu Luostarinen,” St. Martin said. “He’s a two-way guy, he’s fast and he works.”
For a player only just joining an NHL pipeline, getting to work is what it’s all about.
