Vernon-Chilliwack Trade:

This is posted on the Vipers website:

Trade Alert – Vipers Add Hunter Donohoe

November 14, 2019

Vernon, BC:  The Vernon Vipers have acquired the Junior A playing rights to 19 year old defenceman Hunter Donohoe from the Chilliwack Chiefs in exchange for future considerations.

The South Surrey product has spent the last two seasons with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL and spent parts of this season with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

“Hunter is a veteran defenceman who adds size and stability to our blue line,” says Head Coach and GM of the Vipers Jason McKee.  “He’ll add leadership and depth to the defence core which is already a big strength of our hockey club.”

Hunter will join his new team this weekend in Langley when the Vipers take on the Rivermen.

Hunter Donohoe's Player Profile:

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/351631/hunter-donohoe

This is posted on the Chiefs website:

Chiefs Make Move

November 14, 2019

The Chiefs traded the CJHL playing rights of 2000 born defenceman Hunter Donohoe to the Vernon Vipers in exchange for future considerations. This season, Donohoe suited up in nine games for the Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL), collecting one assist and four minutes in penalties.

This was posted on the Western Hockey League website:

Thunderbirds acquire defenceman Hunter Donohoe from Rebels

August 27, 2019

by Western Hockey League

The Red Deer Rebels and Seattle Thunderbirds have struck a deal involving defenceman Hunter Donohoe and the rights to goaltender Louden Hogg and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.

Donohoe, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound rearguard from Surrey, B.C. will join the Thunderbirds squad in exchange for Hogg and the conditional pick.

“We are happy to bring in Hunter,” Bill La Forge, General Manager of the Thunderbirds said. “He is a player with WHL experience that will address our depth on the blue line.”

In 29 games in the 2018-19 WHL Regular Season with the Rebels, Donohoe recorded three assists and 21 penalty minutes. In his 79 career games with the Rebels, the 19-year-old collected eight points (3G-5A).

Hogg, a 16-year-old netminder from Cheyenne, Wyo. played in 29 regular-season games with Edina High last season and tallied a 2.09 goals-against average and .907 save percentage.

This was posted on the Rebels website:

Donohoe progressing nicely as a second-year WHL defenceman 

November 7, 2018

by Greg Meachem

Despite appearing in 52 games with the Red Deer Rebels last season, Hunter Donohoe is just now showing the attributes that have made him an effective Western Hockey League defenceman.

In this, his second season, the Surrey, B.C., native has looked far more calm and composed as part of a solid Rebels defensive corps. The fact that he’s impressively mobile for a six-foot-five blueliner hasn’t hurt.

The 18-year-old said Wednesday that he’s still adapting on the fly and tries to play within his limits.

“For me, I think at the start it was about learning, and I still am, but I think I’ve come into my game a little more. I kind of know how to play to my strengths a little more,” he said.

“Just moving the puck, joining the rush and continuing to learn how to defend properly in this league, because obviously it’s a little different coming from midget. It’s been good so far and it also helps that we’re playing well and gelling well as a group.”

Listed by the Rebels two years ago while he was playing major midget in his home province, the now 205-pound rearguard admitted that it’s taken some time for him to believe that he’s a legitimate major junior player. 

“Experience is part of it,” he said of his growth this season, “but I think it’s just the group. I just feel comfortable out there, I feel like I belong to be playing now. I know what I am as a player and I can continue with that.”

Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter has been happy with the manner in which Donohoe has progressed this season, but also stressed that the second-year blueliner has to get away from the habit of being his own worst critic.

“The biggest thing with him is he’s his own worst enemy because he’s so hard on himself all the time,” said Sutter.

“He has to grow out of that because it hurts his confidence when he gets like that. We’ve been working on it with him, to get him to understand that when he makes a mistake it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

“It’s something he just needs to get through and grow through.”

Because of the Rebels’ experienced depth and the presence of two younger and emerging players — Chase Leslie and Ryan Gottfried — on their back end, Donohoe isn’t guaranteed to be in the lineup every night, although he has taken a regular shift in 13 games this fall.

“My biggest thing with him is just a consistency thing game to game and he’s getting better at that,” said Sutter.

“Right now, between him and Gotts and Les, none of them are going to play ahead of our top five. So you have three guys fighting to be the sixth and seventh defencemen. A guy like Hunter might sit because we want to play the other guys.

“It’s not going to make him happy, but reality is reality. We have a 16-year-old kid (Leslie) who’s banged up a bit right now but we’ll get him back, and we have a 17-year-old defenceman (Gottfried) who’s going to be a real solid player for us, and they have to get ice time.

“But Hunter is coming. It’s a process with him.”

The Rebels open a three-games-in-three nights- road trip Friday versus the Brandon Wheat Kings as the top team in the Central Division, the owners of an impressive 11-4-1-0 record.

Donohoe suggested that a strong work ethic and the ability to stick to a game plan have been the club’s keys to success this season.

“We take pride in working hard, moving our feet and just competing every night,” he said. “Wanting the puck, chipping it out when we have to, just keeping it simple and just trying to outwork the other teams . . . when we do that we give ourselves a chance to win every night.”

Team success can’t happen without individual success and Donohoe’s contributions could potentially gain him the interest of one or more NHL scouts.

“For sure, that’s always a goal, but you can’t be thinking about that .You can’t put added pressure on yourself,” he said. “That’s a goal in the back of my mind but I just have to keep playing how I’ve been playing.”

Clearly, added pressure isn’t something that Donohoe needs, Sutter noted, considering he still has to work on his mental game.

“Instead of parking it and moving on, if something happens during a game it affects him the next few shifts,” said Sutter.

“We have to get him past that. We’ve been working on that with him and he’s been making positive steps.”

This was posted on the Eagles website:

Eagles Receive Commitment From Surrey’s Hunter Donohoe

June 8, 2016 

The Surrey Eagles are pleased to announce that 16-year-old Surrey native Hunter Donohoe has committed to the team for the 2016-17 season.

At 6-foot-3, 175 pounds, he is a big-bodied defenceman, and will join an extremely experienced defence core as one of the youngest players on the team. Donohoe comes to the Eagles from the local Semiahmoo minor hockey program. He also was an AP for Valley West Hawks, where current Eagle Jeff Stewart played.

This commitment is a dream come true for the young d-man, who has spent the majority his life in the Surrey area.

“I grew up in Ocean Park watching [the Eagles] and I always wanted to play for them,” Donohoe said in an interview with SurreyEagles.ca. “It’s a huge opportunity for me, as a 16-year-old, to come in. I’m so excited to get the season going.”

It was an easy decision for the Eagles to add a top, young, local prospect early in his career, but the move also makes sense from the player’s perspective. Donohoe’s goal is to earn a NCAA division I scholarship, so the BCHL is where he wants to be.

He’s also following in the footsteps of his older brother Taylor Donohoe, another physical defenceman, who played in the league from 1999 to 2003. Taylor earned a scholarship to Wayne State University, where he completed four years.

The team has had their eye on the younger Donohoe for quite some time, but he really began to shine at this year’s spring evaluation camp. That’s when assistant coach Brad Tobin knew it was time to bring him into the organization.

“His size is a big factor that stands out,” Tobin said, describing Donohoe. “Being so young, he’s going to fill out into his body. His gap control and his one-on-ones when players came into the zone against him were excellent at spring camp. He wasn’t used to playing against junior ‘A’ and ‘B’ calibre guys, but he showed really well, and we’ve liked him since then.”

It’s never easy for a young player to come into one of the most challenging junior ‘A’ leagues in North America, but Donohoe feels that he is well-prepared for the experience. His size and puck-moving ability certainly gives him a chance to make an impact in his first season.

“I’m expected to play against some bigger guys,” mentioned Donohoe. “I practiced with the team a bit last year, so I have an idea of the pace. It’s a lot faster. You just have to work hard, and be ready for it.”

His role in the first season may be small at the beginning, because of his age, but there really is no limit on how quickly he can progress up the lineup, according to assistant coach Tobin.

“Coming from midget hockey, it’s a big step for him. He needs to get accustomed to the league. We like the fact that he comes from Semiahmoo, because that means he’s played quite a number of games on the Olympic sheet at South Surrey Arena. That will really help him out. I think he’s going to slowly grow into a solid BCHL player.”

This offseason is crucial for Donohoe. He plans to focus on what he can control: Filling out his frame, and developing his foot speed on the ice.

“The team wants me to work hard over the summer, to prepare for the speed. They don’t want to put me into any situations that I shouldn’t be in, but they want me to prepare so I can play with some confidence.”

“I can’t wait to play in the BCHL.”