HERSHEY, Pa. — The past few seasons have been a dream come true for the Hershey Bears and their fans after back-to-back Calder Cup championships. -
It's been a different story for others around the AHL.
"He goes, 'I was upset that I can't be on the ice with you when you guys won. But, I was also happy that you did win," recalled Hershey Head Coach Todd Nelson from his offseason phone call with Brad Hunt.
Hunt's mentality was similar to that of many players, but he's one of the few that was able to change that this year.
"When you get older, winning becomes so much more important when you haven't already won. I'm just so happy to be here," said Hunt.
"He's probably the happiest guy in the world every day," claimed Nelson. "That's the guy he is. And when you get to know him, you'll understand what I'm talking about."
As you may have picked up on, it's not just Hershey that was a draw for the veteran defenseman.
"He's standing over there so I don't want to talk too nice about him, but he's my coach and he's a jerk," joked Hunt of Nelson. "No, he's such a great guy and I loved playing for him when I was in Oklahoma City and that's someone that I've always stayed in contact with, throughout the years."
"They gave me a call and they said, 'You know, we're trying to sign Brad. Do you still have his number if you want to give him a call," said Nelson of his conversation with Hershey's management. "So I called them up and we had a good conversation and I said 'I'd really like to have you play for me this year and that Hershey is a great spot and he said, 'Well that sounds great.'"
As a fresh face joining an experienced roster, Hunt has adapted quickly to south-central Pennsylvania, and how welcoming Hershey has been, both on and off the ice, has played a huge role.
"We got here really early to town because my son's in kindergarten, so we've been here for a while now," claimed Hunt. "The way the people are here, I mean our neighbors are already people like we've known for five years. You walk around the team and like I tell guys all the time, I feel like I've been here for five. As soon as you walk in the door you see the history that has been here."
And it's a history that Hunt hopes to add to this season.