RALEIGH, N.C. — Michael Bunting, 28, spent six years and 323 total game in the American Hockey League, trying to build a case for him to be in the National Hockey League. His hard work and dedication paid off in 2021 when he signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs to be a left wing scorer. 

Rewind to his childhood, and Bunting, now 28, was raised in the Scarborough suburb of Toronto, Ontario. His mother, Lynda, raised Michael and his older brother as primarily a single mother, as she worked to support her family.

Bunting never had the top-of-the-line equipment to play the sports he loved, whether it was hockey, baseball, softball, badminton, tennis or volleyball. That didn't stop him from succeeding though, and he was named a Scarborough athlete of the year for three years. 

Bunting played hockey through 12th grade in Canada, but it wasn't until a high school teacher, Shane Bowler, saw something in Bunting in his senior year of high school that allowed his future to change completely. Between Bowler and the management of the Don Mills Flyers, a AAA hockey team, enough money was raised to help Bunting afford the equipment needed to play an advanced level of hockey, the costs to travel to far-away tournaments and daily expenses. 

After one year playing for the Flyers, his talent became the talk of the town, and he eventually was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), which had passed him over two years in a row. His career took off. 

In this exclusive Spectrum News 1 interview, Bunting explains how the tough journey made him the Carolina Hurricanes star that he is today.