Hunter St. Martin

September 2024 – St. Martin has quickly become one of the more talked about names in the Panthers prospect pool after leading the Panthers in goals during their prospect tournament. He was originally passed upon in his draft year but as a D+1 player, St. Martin broke out and played alongside elite talents like 2024 4th overall pick Cayden Lindstrom (CBJ), 2024 2nd rounder Andrew Basha (CGY), and projected 2026 top pick Gavin McKenna. While St. Martin can slot in alongside this high-end talent, he can also fit seamlessly with bottom-six players which bodes well for his NHL certainty as players who can play top-six or bottom-six minutes tend to have better odds of making the NHL. The main issue for St. Martin is his consistency as he can show flashes of dominance and then that disappears for periods. St. Martin is a low-risk high-reward bet from the Panthers. If he can string things together this year in Medicine Hat, he could be near the top of the WHL’s scoring leaderboard. He is a project pick but if the Panthers development staff can work with St. Martin to unlock his full potential, he could become a player for them who scores in their middle-six. James Connelly