A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Hunter Shinkaruk brings more skill but is another hopeful

By Omar L

GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 28: Hunter Shinkaruk #49 of the Calgary Flames reacts after a goal by teammate TJ Brodie against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period at Gila River Arena on March 28, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. Shinkaruk had an assist on the goal. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 28: Hunter Shinkaruk #49 of the Calgary Flames reacts after a goal by teammate TJ Brodie against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period at Gila River Arena on March 28, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. Shinkaruk had an assist on the goal. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 24 : (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /

To the Pros

Despite losing more time to develop, he continued to work during the offseason once he was healthy enough which led to another impressive showing at Vancouver’s training camp.  Shinkaruk made it all the way to the final cuts but was eventually assigned to play for the Utica Comets making his professional debut.

It wasn’t the season that many had expected from him. Utica was a top team in the AHL finishing first in the North Division with 219 goals for. Shinkaruk had a decent season for a rookie with 16 goals and 15 assists in a third-line role.

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The following year saw the Comets lose a decent amount of its scorers, but Shinkaruk stepped up well for the team. He was on the first line and put up 10 goals and 13 points in his first 12 AHL games earning himself a call-up to the Canucks. On the one hand, it was an underwhelming debut against the Montreal Canadiens (irony). But Shinkaruk was held to the fourth line only seeing 9:35 of ice time most playing with Adam Cracknell (more irony) and Derek Dorsett.

Vancouver sent him back down, and he was a man on a mission adding another 11 goals and 15 assists to his season. However, his days with the Canucks were over after they traded him to play for his hometown team in Calgary in exchange for Markus Granlund. Shinkaurk was assigned to Stockton but was called up to play in March when injuries were running wild within the Flames locker room.

He played on a line with Sean Monahan and Derek Grant at first but eventually had Johnny Gaudreau on the right side. Shinkaruk got his first NHL point off of a T.J. Brodie goal against Arizona and scored his first goal the next game in Anaheim. By the end of the 2015-16 season, he had 3 points in 8 NHL games and 51 points in 62 AHL games.

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