WARNER'S STOCK QUICKLY RISING
Oct 24, 2016By Tom Witosky | Follow @toskyAHLWild
Hunter Warner arrived for the Minnesota Wild training camp last month with two simple goals: Play hard and have fun.
“I’ve always believed that good things happen to those who are positive and who work hard,” the rookie Iowa Wild defenseman said recently. “You can’t control everything, but you can control your effort.”
And sometimes great effort gets noticed unexpectedly. By the time Warner left Minnesota for Iowa earlier this month, his effort and his growth into one of the Wild’s legitimate blue-line prospects won him praise as the surprise player of the NHL training camp.
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“It was well deserved,” Derek Lalonde, Iowa Wild head coach, said. “I don’t know if Bruce (Boudreau) or Scott (Stewart) knew much about him, but it was clear he was getting better and better as camp went on. The fact that he was the last D-man to be sent down out of camp is a credit to him.”
Boudreau was effusive in praising Warner’s effort in a Minneapolis Star-Tribune story. “He’s the best feel-good story [of training camp],” Boudreau told the newspaper. “You’re always hoping, whether it’s summer camp or main camp, that someone comes out and makes you notice him.”
At 6-foot, 3-inches, 200 pounds, Warner isn’t easy to ignore. But the Minnesota native is the smallest of four brothers who grew up on a farm in Pine City, MN – a farm community of about 2,800 on the way to the Duluth.
“We called it a hobby farm,” Warner said. “We had horses, but then we started running all-terrain vehicles, four-wheelers and having paint ball wars on it. We even built a boxing ring in the barn.”
Warner’s father, Jeff, and mother, Jennifer, are now co-pastors of a non-denominational evangelical church in Eden Prairie. Jeff Warner was once known as J.W. Storm – a professional wrestler on the World Championship Wrestling (WCE) circuit.
“The thing I admire most about my Dad is that he grew up with nothing. He was malnourished,” Warner said. “He couldn’t afford cleats to play football. What I admire most is that he will give the shirt off his back to someone in need. I’ve seen him do it”
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The 6-foot, 3-inch, 220-pound Minnesota native’s training camp accomplishment followed his being named the most improved player for the Wild’s development camp in July. He credited his recent successes to two things – the advice he received over the years from his father, Jeff Warner, once a professional wrestler, and his brief three-game stint with Iowa Wild at the end of last season.
“One thing my Dad always taught me was those who think they can and those who think they can’t are both right,” the 21-year-old Warner said. “So I just thought why not me. So I just went at it.”
Warner also credited his parents with providing him an example of how to live his life and how to embrace his faith in God.
“My Dad grew up rough,” Warner said. “Every wrong choice that he could make, he made sure he made it unfortunately.”
But, Warner said that his father’s life changed when he met his mother. “She got him to go church and got him into his faith. It changed his life and he became a pastor,” he said.
His faith provides balance and a peace of mind, Warner said.
“My Mom is sweet and loving woman, my Dad grew up rough. Like my parents, my faith has given me great moderation and great balance in life whether it is about hockey or anything else,” he said.
Warner’s big break came late last year when the Wild front office decided to give him a chance.
Brent Flahr, Iowa’s general manager, said that the club signed Warner simply because of his raw talent. “He was really raw and we thought we’d give him a chance,” Flahr said. “But he certainly has brought up his game.”
The Wild signed Warner after he played two seasons with Prince Albert in the Western Hockey League and one season in the USHL, first with the Waterloo Black Hawks then the Fargo Force where he built a reputation as a tough defender. Warner said he chose to play junior hockey despite being offered a scholarship to play at Minnesota State.
“When I was drafted by a major junior team, I just decided my path for now was in hockey,” Warner said. “It’s been a pretty straight progression.”
Of his time last year in Des Moines, Warner said that the experience taught him he could play professional hockey and provided him with the biggest career highlight to date.
“I would say honestly it was getting my first professional point,” he said. “It was amazing. It was my second game in the American League last year and it was just such a special feeling.”
More importantly, Warner said, his brief stint in Des Moines gave him a chance to work with Wild associate coach David Cunniff. The two worked together extensively during the week he was with the Wild on Warner’s skating, positioning and decision-making.
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When Warner left Des Moines for the summer, he took a notebook full of Cunniff’s drills. He credited those drills with getting him ready for this season. He would do those drills daily on and off the ice.
“His skating was a little off, the way he handled the puck, or processed the game, a little off,” Cunniff remembered. “But when we gave him the tools and the advice on how to work on it, you could tell just how well he took off.”
Warner said that Cunniff has been the ideal coach for him.
“I’ve never had as good of a defensive coach,” Warner said. “He teaches you in a manner that you want to learn and then he motivates you to get better and better each day.”
Asked if he would be in Iowa this quickly without Cunniff’s help and his exposure to AHL hockey last year, Warner said he likely would be playing on a lower level.
“Without being here last season, I would be in a different spot right now,” Warner said. “I did the same drills Coach Cunniff showed me over and over all summer long. It changed my game. I think that is what really did it for me.”
Cunniff returned the compliment with strong praise of Warner’s commitment to getting better.
“He is a great kid and very, very coachable,” Cunniff said. ”You can see it from where he started last year to where he is right now. The other development guys have done a great job. The growth for him in one year is amazing.”