RALEIGH, N.C. — In retrospect, Minnesota Wild defenseman Daemon Hunt doesn’t necessarily think the last 12 months have been all that strange. But a closer look at his career path shows the arc of a boomerang, sent away but finding its way back to where it started.

On Thursday night at Carolina, Hunt was back in the Wild lineup for his 14th career game in the organization, but not before spending roughly 10 months in Cleveland as property of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Around this time last season, Hunt, 23, was part of the package of picks and players sent to Columbus by Wild general manager Bill Guerin to get defenseman David Jiricek. Then, in September, when the Blue Jackets placed Hunt on waivers with the intention of sending him back to their Cleveland AHL team — where Hunt played 48

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