Q+A: London Knights GM Mark Hunter on net battle, Easton Cowan’s future

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The greatest era in London Knights history will reach 25 years at the end of this coming season.

Mark and Dale Hunter bought the Ontario Hockey League club in 2000 (along with partner Basil McRae) and the brothers have overseen five league titles, four Memorial Cup finals and two Cup championships during that incredible span. No one else in junior hockey has come close to their level of success and consistency during the past two decades. Dale Hunter enters the 2024-25 campaign with 951 career coaching wins and could hit 1,000 by next spring if the Knights live up to their usual lofty standards.

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GM Mark Hunter, the team architect, spoke to The Free Press about a number of topics in a wide-ranging interview ahead of the team’s training camp, which starts Thursday. It will end with the Green-Gold game, which is open to the public, Saturday, 4-6 p.m. at Budweiser Gardens.

Q: Your name was mentioned in a handful of NHL GM vacancies this summer. What can you tell us about your involvement in that process?

A: It is what it is. People talk and there are a lot of rumours, more than anything. It’s all good. (If I ever do go), it’ll have to be the right situation. I’m OK here. I’m happy here. I enjoy trying to put a team together and evaluating talent. I enjoy the development side and all the stuff that comes with dealing with young hockey players.”

Q: The Knights lost a heartbreaker with 21 seconds left in one of the great Memorial Cup finals last spring in Saginaw. Does that fuel the club heading into the new season?

A: “There’s always unfinished business. In our view, you have to win both things. The OHL title, to me, is a special thing to win and, of course, it’s a special thing to win the Memorial Cup. We didn’t fall short in one of those (sweeping Oshawa in the league final) and we lost the Cup. We look at it as, we have some unfinished business, but we all know how hard it is to win four playoff series and to get back there again. We’ve got work to do before we get to the Memorial Cup, if we ever do get there this year.”

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Q: Where will reigning OHL MVP Easton Cowan end up this season?

A: He’s going to dictate that with how he plays. He knows that. He’s a very committed kid. That’s one thing about Easton. I’ve talked to him and he said ‘I’m going to do my damnedest to make that Maple Leafs team, of course, but it’s OK if I come back (to London).’ He’s got the right frame of mind and I think it’s important for every hockey player. For our team, you just don’t know. It depends on the injuries Toronto has and how this and that fall in place. It’s a whole new dynamic on the (salary) cap. There’s a lot of things in play here and one thing I know is, it’s out of my hands. It’s like the rain, when you’re a farmer. If it rains too much or not enough, that’s out of your hands. Of course, Easton makes a difference. He’s an excellent player and he plays hard at both ends of the ice.”

Q: There are two import spots and four possibilities at the moment. Where does that stand heading into camp?

A: “You just don’t know. We think Kasper Halttunen is coming back (from the Sharks for a second OHL season), but it’s out of our hands. So, we better have another plan for somebody else as a European in that spot. We have (fellow Finn and New York Islanders prospect) Jesse Nurmi here now. The young Russian (17-year-old centre Gleb Semenov), we’re trying to get a visa for him. We signed him and it’s all good. Ruslan Gazizov is another guy in the mix. He’s coming to our camp (as an over-age winger with the potential to play a fourth season in London).

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Q: How do you feel about your goaltending?

A: “We have three goalies here right now. We’re just going to watch everyone and how they play to the level of their ability will dictate how it shakes out. We’ll judge every day. That’s what we do in the business. I think (over-age returnee) Owen (Willmore) has things to prove. He wants to be a No. 1 goalie in our league and he’s out to show he can do it. It starts Thursday. We have (Alexei) Medvedev, who had a solid year in Junior B with St. Thomas. It’s time to start showing stuff, too. He’s 17 years old now and he grew during the summer. He’s almost six-foot-three now and that helps. We signed Finn Wilson, who is 18 and had good numbers last year. We’ll see where it goes. We lost (graduated) Michael Simpson, who was a young man who brought it every day. He was very consistent and maybe should have won goalie of the year. I don’t know. I don’t pick them awards. I thought he was pretty damn close. (Oshawa’s Jacob) Oster came in last year here during the regular season and we couldn’t put a pea by him in London. But then, we beat him in the final.”

Q: You were the most penalized and suspended team in junior hockey last year. Will that physical style continue this year?

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A: “We’ll see. We have some young guys like Ryder Boulton, who is a tough individual who plays the game hard. I think (Kings prospect Jared) Woolley will step up. He’s grown into his body as a six-foot-five defenceman. We picked up (six-foot-four, 215-pound Londoner Liam) Spencer from the Steelheads and he will be a presence out there. Blake Arrowsmith will bring it, too, and (Oilers first-rounder) Sam O’Reilly can do it. I feel comfortable with what we have, but don’t get me wrong, we have big shoes to fill. Max (McCue) was excellent for us. Sawyer Boulton was excellent for us. That’s why they got pro contracts.”

Q: Can the defence be as dominant this year without Isaiah George (Islanders) and Jackson Edward (Bruins)?

A: “It’s an interesting question. You need to have a couple of our young guys pop up. It’s there for them. You’ve got (Henry) Brzustewicz, Woolley, (Noah) Jenken and (PJ) Fagan, and of course, (Alec) Leonard coming back in here, too. There’s a numbers crunch at over-ager (with Leonard, forward Landon Sim, Willmore and possibly Gazizov and Jets pick Jacob Julien) with three spots available. Everybody knows the over-ager spot is one that’s hard to keep.”

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Q: There were four Knights (Denver Barkey, Cowan, Oliver Bonk, Sam Dickinson) at the Canadian summer world junior gathering, plus Halttunen is a shoo-in for Finland again. What does that say about the current group of players?

A: “It’s special to us and our team. It shows the importance of winning and how people view you when you’re successful. Our players got noticed and rightly so. They’re very good players.”

Q: Does coaching ever get old for your brother Dale? This is his 23rd season starting behind the London bench.

A: “Never. You know Dale. He enjoys being out there, games, practices, being around the kids. He has the right temperament around the boys, too, so they seem to gravitate toward him in understanding his wants and needs are to get better as individuals and as a team.”

rpyette@postmedia.com

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