Saturday, jimmy huntington He made his Barracuda debut, scoring a goal and assist in a 7-6 win over the Bakersfield Condors, his first regular-season appearance in nearly a year.
The Laval, Que., native had a breakthrough playoff run in the spring of 2024, scoring 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 20 games with the Hershey Bears to help the league's oldest franchise win its second straight Calder Cup and 13th title in franchise history.
During the regular season, Huntington set career highs in goals (16), points (33), plus-minus (+25), power-play goals (4), missed goals (1) and game-winning goals (5).
In the Calder Cup final against Coachella Valley, he had seven points (one goal, six assists) in six games, including two assists in a 5-4 overtime series win.
“To me, that's what the playoffs are about. When you play in the playoffs, you're going to have adversity, right? Things happen there that don't happen in the regular season, and you grow as a man and as a player. That's something you can't buy during the season,” Huntington said. “I think that's when my career took off. Even the year before, when I was in Milwaukee, we lost to Coachella in the conference finals.”
After five years of the best hockey of his career, Huntington signed a one-year NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2024.
He had four points (one goal, three assists) in four games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before his season ended abruptly with a knee injury, a devastating blow to a player on the rise.
“Last year was not the year I expected,” Huntington admitted. “Winning a championship with Hershey and getting your next chance to play in the NHL.”
Huntington went undrafted in 2018, but the 20-year-old signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning in March 2019 after a 90-point season in the QMJHL with the Rimouski Océanic.
It was the first of many attempts by the Sharks to lure the 6-foot, 201-pound forward. After junior high school, then-general manager Doug Wilson and his son Doug Wilson Jr. went to see him play. Even last year, San Jose tried to sign him again after his postseason success in Hershey.
“When I was at Rimouski, the whole Sharks front office, Doug Wilson and his son came to see me, and Tampa was there,” Huntington said. “Even last year, I almost signed here, but I decided to go to Pittsburgh. It's kind of ironic, sometimes there are signs of life. I'm just happy to be here now.”
His experience with the Chargers has not been a straight line. He bounced back and forth between the AHL affiliate in Syracuse and the ECHL club in Orlando. On February 1, 2022, he was traded to Nashville for forward Anthony Richard.
The following season, he signed a one-year AHL contract with Milwaukee and helped the Admirals reach the conference finals. Following that campaign, he signed another one-year AHL contract with Hershey. It wasn't until the summer of 2024 that he finally got another NHL contract.
“NHL teams want winners,” Huntington said. “It adds another layer to your resume that shows you were a part of a winning team. Just being in an environment like this, that's what the organization wants. They want to win. You can see that with Washington (Hershey's NHL affiliate), they're doing a good job right now.”
“He's a persistent player,” Barracuda general manager said Joe Weir. “He's always had talent. When he first turned pro, it was a little slow going because he couldn't just rely on his offense, so he had to learn other parts of the game.”
Now, Huntington feels right at home as a member of the Sharks, a franchise looking to make a comeback with an AHL team filled with young talent that could benefit from his experience.
“They’ve wanted me for a long time and now it feels like home,” Huntington said. “After only playing four games last year, I’m ready to go.”
“Being around Hershey, being around a really good Calder Cup championship team, it’s really rewarding,” Weir added.
Huntington will play a huge role if the Barracudas are to have the season they hope to have. If all goes well, the team will win a lot of games and he can get his first chance in the NHL.
