Dryden Hunt is back with the Calgary Flames.
On Thursday afternoon, the Flames announced that they’d recalled the 28-year-old winger after Anthony Mantha was placed on the injured reserve list.
Mantha is tied for second in team goal-scoring this season, with four, and has also put up seven points through 13 games.
In the first period of Tuesday’s overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens, however, Mantha took a hit along the boards and appeared to be in considerable pain as he skated to the bench. He was diagnosed with a lower-body injury and will be out of action for a little while, at least.
Hunt will take his place on the roster, although he’ll likely be skating on the fourth-line if and when he gets game action.
Hunt played in 28 games for the Flames last season, scoring three goals and adding five assists while largely playing fourth-line minutes. He started this year with the Calgary Wranglers, where he’s gotten off to a hot start, scoring twice and adding eight assists in 12 games.
There had been speculation about who the Flames might call up if Mantha was going to be out for a while, but they opted to keep young prospects like Sam Honzek, Adam Klapka and Jakob Pelletier in the AHL where they’re likely to play bigger minutes.
Instead, Hunt provides the Flames with an experienced hand who is good in his own end and is aggressive in retrieving pucks. He’s also got 230 games of NHL experience to his name.