In his first year of draft eligibility, Luken Huff, aka “Hawke”, stood 6-3 and 190 lbs as a 17 year-old. His name was not called in 2024, or 2025 for that matter, but after a breakout campaign in the USHL, the Kraken traded up to pick him at 148th overall in his D+2 season.

In an interview with NHL.com, Huff himself attributed his renaissance to focussing on the finer details of the defensive game and minimizing mistakes. Those are no doubt a key focus for a player of his position and archetype if he is to make the NHL. Huff will take reps in development camp before heading to the University of St Thomas in the NCAA this fall. We will be able to get some insight as to whether his D+2 pop was due to a step forward in his skills, or benefiting from his age, experience and size advantage over his USHL peers. It will be a few years before we will see Huff in professional hockey, but his age over the draft class and his physical maturity could shorten that timeline.

Though not as much a missile on skates as previous pick Kearns, Huff’s game is of the physical shutdown mold. Less body checks, more blocks, stops and takeaways- he was in the 90th percentile for takeaways this past season. That archetype of defenseman is gold for NHL clubs, but depending on league settings, it can be a fade in fantasy. If your league is more focused on offensive categories, Huff may be of less interest than in a league that rewards defensive statistics like blocks and takeaways.