Florida Panthers Prospect Profile – Hunter St. Martin

The Florida Panthers have moved quite a few of their prospects over the past few years to lend fuel to their playoff success. Clearly, the moves have paid off for the defending Stanley Cup champs, but that doesn’t mean the proverbial coffers are empty when it comes to prospects. One prospect, in particular, stands out among the others despite being among the latest picked in his respective Entry Draft.

The Man of the Hour

The prospect I am talking about is none other than the 193rd overall selection in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft: Hunter St. Martin. Arguably the shiniest hidden gem in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the extremely offensively talented left winger has taken a massive step forward in his first Western Hockey League (WHL) season after being drafted.

Starting with the 2022-23 WHL regular season, we can see a clear progression as well as gain a better understanding of just what type of player St. Martin is evolving into. During that season, he notched just eight goals and 14 assists for a total of 22 points in 61 games played. He also netted a single goal in four playoff games.

In the 2023-24 WHL regular season, St. Martin took a massive step forward and put up 24 goals and 28 assists for a combined 52 points in 68 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers. In five playoff games, he notched a single goal and four assists coupled with six penalty minutes in the same timeframe.

Thus far (at the time of writing) in the 2024-25 WHL regular season, St. Martin has taken yet another giant step forward and has registered 36 goals and 17 assists for a combined 53 points in 57 games played. While he likely flew under most hockey pundits’ radars, Elite Prospects spoke highly of him in their annual 2023 NHL Draft Guide:

St. Martin combines a near-perfect stride with a give-and-go style. He knocks tricky passes straight into his hip pocket, immediately makes the next pass, then relocates for the return feed. First-touch handling skill allows him to beat aggressive defenders, even off the backhand. With the skill comes St. Martin’s motor. He always gives himself a chance by sprinting on the backcheck, driving the net off-puck, and closing out to the point with speed. – Elite Prospects 2023 NHL Draft Guide

According to Elite Prospects’ calculations, St. Martin is projected to finish the regular season with 41 goals and 20 assists for a combined 61 points in 65 games played. At the time of writing, he currently sits at 9th place on the WHL’s goal-scoring leaderboard, ahead of fellow NHL draftees Berkley Catton (Seattle Kraken, 2024, 8th overall), Gracyn Sawchyn (Panthers, 2023, 63rd overall), and Ryder Ritchie (Minnesota Wild, 2024, 45th overall).

Looking Forward

St. Martin signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Panthers back on Oct. 25, 2024. With the composition of the Cats’ roster, it would admittedly take quite a bit for him to crack the NHL roster next season, but we could easily see him give the coaches a run for their money at the very least. I could also see his name being very high on the list of call-ups in the event of an injury or two starting next season.

To temper expectations a bit, I think it’s important to point out that St. Martin is currently playing with the highly-touted 2026 NHL Draft-eligible Gavin McKenna. St. Martin’s accomplishments thus far shouldn’t be dismissed by any means, but they are admittedly a bit inflated because of this linemate in particular.