BINGHAMTON, NY – The American Hockey League announced today that Bracken Kearns is the 2017-18 winner of the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey.
Kearns, 36, has played over 13 seasons professionally for over 900 games. Undrafted, Kearns played four seasons at University of Calgary before kicking off his professional career in 2005 with the ECHL’s Toledo Storm. Kearns played five full years in the AHL with Cleveland, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Rockford, and San Antonio before making his National Hockey League debut with the Florida Panthers at the age of 30.
The native of West Vancouver, B.C. has 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists) in 67 games with the Devils this season and was selected to serve as the captain of the Eastern Conference at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic.
Kearns has 438 points (176 goals, 262 assists) in 732 games that has stops in Binghamton, Bridgeport, Worcester, San Antonio, Rockford, Norfolk, Milwaukee and Cleveland. He also has eight points in 35 NHL contests with Florida, San Jose and the N.Y. Islanders.
The Award
This award, which was first presented by the AHL in 1978, honors the late Fred T. Hunt, a long-time contributor to the league who won three Calder Cup championships as a player and three more as a general manager during a career spent primarily with the AHL’s Buffalo Bisons and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Previous winners of the award include Ross Yates (1983), Glenn Merkosky (1987, ’91), Bruce Boudreau (1988), Murray Eaves (’89, ’90), John Anderson (1992), Tim Tookey (1993), Ken Gernander (1996, 2004), Randy Cunneyworth (2000), Mike Keane (2007), Bryan Helmer (2011), Brandon Davidson (2013), Jake Dowell (2014), Tom Kostopoulos (2016) and Craig Cunningham (2017).
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 2017-18 regular season ends on Apr. 15, and then 16 clubs will continue to vie for the league’s coveted championship trophy when the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs get underway the following week.
