Luke Kunin

Luke Kunin (born December 4, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey center for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He previously played in the NHL for the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.

Kunin was born on December 4, 1997, in Chesterfield, Missouri, to Mark and Sheri Kunin.

He began playing minor ice hockey for a youth affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, and was coached by former professional hockey players like Keith Tkachuk, Jeff Brown, Al MacInnis, and Jamie Rivers.

He spent one year attending the Whitfield School and playing for the Warriors hockey team before USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Kunin played in the NTDP for two seasons, and in his second year with the team, he scored 27 goals and 42 points in 61 games.

Kunin, Matthew Tkachuk, and Clayton Keller all played together in the 2010 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with their St. Louis minor hockey team.

Kunin finished high school in only three years so that he could continue his hockey career at the age of 17.

When he was in sixth grade, Kunin was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and in addition to finding ways to manage his condition on the ice, he found an inspiration in professional hockey player and fellow diabetic B. J. Crombeen of the Blues.

Kunin also leaned on his older brother Nick, whose own hockey career was cut short by a series of concussions, for support as he became accustomed to managing his condition.

On May 24, 2013, Kunin committed to play college ice hockey for the Wisconsin Badgers, starting in the 2015–16 season.

As he had finished high school early, Kunin entered the program as the youngest skater on the team, but he impressed coach Mike Eaves with his maturity, skating skill, and shooting abilities.

Although Wisconsin finished last in the Big Ten Conference that year with an 8–19–8 record, Kunin led the team with 18 goals and 33 points.

He said afterwards that he believed he developed his skills significantly that season, particularly his 200-foot game, by playing regularly against older students at the collegiate level.

The Wild selected him in the first round, 15th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Born in Chesterfield, Missouri, Kunin had a number of NHL players for coaches during his minor ice hockey career, including Keith Tkachuk, whose son Matthew he played alongside as a child.

Kunin spent one year at the Whitfield School before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, with whom he played in the World U-17 Hockey Challenge and the IIHF World U18 Championship.

He finished high school early to begin playing college ice hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers.

There, Kunin became the first sophomore to captain the Badgers in over 40 years, while also captaining the United States team at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

After two years with Wisconsin, Kunin signed a contract with the Wild.

At the end of the year, he was the only member of the Badgers named to the 2016 All-Big Ten Freshmen Team.

After the season, the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL) selected Kunin in the first round, 15th overall, of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and he decided that he would spend one more year with the Badgers before transitioning to professional hockey.

Leading into the 2016–17 college hockey season, Kunin was named captain of the Badgers, becoming the first sophomore to earn the title since Mike Eaves during the 1975–76 season.

Knowing that Kunin planned on leaving Wisconsin after the season, Badgers head coach Tony Granato spent the year preparing Kunin for the higher level of play that the NHL would require, turning him into a respectable two-way player.

He received two Big Ten Second Star of the Week awards that season: first on November 1 after scoring five points in a weekend series against the St. Lawrence Saints and Clarkson Golden Knights, respectively, and later on December 13 for scoring two goals in a 7–4 win over the Michigan Wolverines.

The Badgers came within one game of reaching the NCAA postseason, losing to Penn State in double overtime of the Big Ten Conference championship game.

Kunin once again led all Badgers in scoring with 22 goals and 38 points, netting him an All-Big Ten Second Team placement, while Wisconsin won 12 more games that season than the last.

The contract would be enacted in full for the, and he would play with the Iowa Wild, Minnesota's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for the remainder of their 2016–17 season on an amateur tryout contract.

He played in 12 games for Iowa to close out their season, putting up five goals and three assists in the process.

Kunin was one of the last players cut from the Wild roster before the, his place in the lineup effectively taken by free agent signing Matt Cullen.

When a number of injuries befell the Wild roster, however, Kunin made his NHL debut on short notice, skating in less than 14 minutes of the home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets before he was sent back down to save space on the team's salary cap.

During another brief recall on October 27, Kunin became the first player in franchise history to make his debut NHL goal short-handed.

Zack Mitchell also scored his first NHL goal, the game-winner, during the same match, after telling Kunin before the game, "Let's both get our first, but I'll let you go first."

Despite losing the Big Ten tournament, Kunin was still named to the 2017 Big Ten All-Tournament Team at forward, the only Badger selected.

The American Hockey Coaches Association also named Kunin a Division I Second Team All-American for the West Region.

On March 23, 2017, Kunin agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Wild.

He spent the jumping between Minnesota and the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL), in part due to NHL salary cap difficulties, but was supposed to finish out the year in Minnesota if not for an anterior cruciate ligament injury in March 2018.

Kunin recovered by the start of the and spent most of the year in the NHL, only returning to Iowa to help them during the postseason.

After spending time on a Minnesota line with Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek, Kunin was traded to the Predators prior to the.

After a slow start to the year, he finished on a scoring streak, including a double-overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.