Amateur
Hull was selected by the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the first round, 14th overall, in the 1985 OHL midget priority selection draft from the Cambridge Winter Hawks of the Mid-Western Junior Hockey League. He made his Petes debut in the following 1985–86 season where in 61 games as a rookie, he scored 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points. During the Christmas period, Hull joined Team Ontario to play in the Esso Cup, an under-17 tournament from across Canada. Peterborough finished first in the league during the regular season and advanced to the Leyden Division finals against the Belleville Bulls, a series which they lost. In 16 playoff games, Hull added one goal and six points. In his second season with the Petes in 1986–87, he was considered one of the team's top scoring threats. His season was limited by injuries to his groin and ankle. He scored 18 goals and 52 points in 49 games. The Petes made it the to the Leyden Division final for the second consecutive season, but lost to the Oshawa Generals. In 12 playoff games, he recorded four goals and 13 points. He returned for a third season in 1987–88 and tallied 50 goals and 94 points in 60 games. The Petes finished first in the Leyden Division in the regular season and went all the way to the OHL championship final where they were defeated by the Windsor Compuware Spitfires. In 12 playoff games he added ten goals and 18 points.
Professional
Hartford Whalers
Ahead of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s 1987 entry draft, Hull was rated as the ninth best prospect according to the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He was selected in the first round, 18th overall, by the Hartford Whalers. He signed his first contract with the Whalers on April 1, 1988. During Hartford's 1988 training camp, Hull failed to impress early on but after being given a second chance by general manager (GM) Emile Francis and head coach Larry Pleau, improved enough to make the team for the 1988–89 season as an extra forward. He sat out the season opener, but made his NHL debut on October 8, going scoreless in a 6–2 loss to the Boston Bruins. Playing on a line with Ray Ferraro, Hull recorded his first NHL goal on October 12, the game winner on Bob Froese in a 4–3 victory over the New York Rangers. He also tallied his first point, an assist on Ferraro's first period goal in the same game. In November, he also saw time on the first line with Ron Francis and Kevin Dineen and third line with Dean Evason. He tallied three points in a 6–4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on January 19, 1989, scoring once and assisting on goals by Ferraro and Dave Tippett. In 60 games in his rookie season, he scored 16 goals and 34 points. Hartford finished fourth in the Adams Division but qualified for the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs and faced the Canadiens in the first round. Hull made his NHL playoff debut on April 5 in game one of the series but was injured and missed the remainder of the playoffs.
At his second training camp in 1989, the Whalers had overstocked themselves on NHL-quality right wingers after acquiring Pat Verbeek and new GM Ed Johnston wanted new coach Rick Ley to experiment with Hull on the left wing. However, he suffered a groin pull that kept him out for most of camp and the beginning of the 1989–90 season. He returned from the injury on October 11 in a game against the Washington Capitals and was placed on the top line alongside Francis and Verbeek, but was re-injured in the first period. He then suffered a charley horse and only returned on October 18 after missing five of the first six games of the season. On October 26, he recorded a three-point game, scoring twice and assisting on another by Paul MacDermid in a 7–3 win over the New Jersey Devils. In early November Hull was injured again, suffering a bruised left shoulder. He returned on November 10 after missing two games, playing on the left wing of Ferraro and Dineen. His play suffered and on November 27, he was assigned to Hartford's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Whalers. He was recalled on December 21 and appeared in one game before being sent back to the AHL. In 21 games with Binghamton, he scored seven goals and 17 points. He was recalled again on January 31, 1990, but did not make an appearance until February 10. He missed some time at the beginning of March with a bruised shoulder again. In 38 games with Hartford, he tallied seven goals and 17 points. The Whalers finished fourth in the Adams Division, but seventh in the NHL overall, and faced the first place Bruins in the first round of the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs. Hull was scratched for the first couple of playoff games, but was inserted into the lineup starting in game three of the series. He marked his first NHL playoff point in game four of the series on April 10, assisting on Yvon Corriveau's second period goal in a 6–5 loss to the Bruins. Ultimately, the Whalers were eliminated by the Bruins in seven games and Hull recorded the one point in the five games he appeared in.
New York Rangers
Hull, who had been rumoured to be dealt during the offseason, was traded to the New York Rangers on July 9 in exchange for centre Carey Wilson and a third-round draft pick in the 1991 NHL entry draft. Rangers' GM Neil Smith acknowledged that Hull was not the most physical of forwards, but that he had a good shot and was a fast skater. Hull signed a contract with his new team on September 4 and Hull made the Rangers' opening day roster for the 1990–91 season, but as an extra forward. He made his debut on October 6 in a 5–4 loss to his former team, the Whalers, but did not make it out of the second period after suffering a hand injury. He returned to the lineup on October 27 in a game against the Quebec Nordiques and tallied his first point with the team, assisting on Mark Janssens third period goal in a 4–1 win. He scored his first goal for the team in a 6–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on November 7. He suffered an injury to his foot in November that caused him to miss time. He suffered a third injury in March 1991, a bruised hip, that caused him to miss time. He finished the season with five goals and 13 points in 47 games. The Rangers qualified for the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs, but Hull was a healthy scratch for the first round series loss to the Washington Capitals.
In the 1991 offseason, the league saw changes as the San Jose Sharks joined the NHL. In the resulting 1991 NHL expansion draft, Hull was among the players left exposed by the Rangers. However, teammates Kelly Kisio and Brian Mullen were acquired by the Sharks and Hull remained with the Rangers. He began the 1991–92 season with New York and appeared in three games going scoreless before he was assigned to the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers, on October 13. He spent the remainder of the season in Binghamton and scored 34 goals and 65 points in 39 games. The AHL Rangers qualified for the 1992 Calder Cup playoffs and made it to the second round where they were knocked out by the Rochester Americans. Hull suffered a broken finger during the playoffs and the injury prevented New York from recalling him after Binghamton's elimination. In 11 playoff games, he recorded five goals and seven points.
Ottawa Senators
For the second consecutive season, the NHL expanded, adding the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning franchises. Hull was again among the players made available for selection by the Rangers in the 1992 NHL expansion draft. Each existing could only lose two players and the Rangers struck a secret deal with the Senators that would see the expansion team take goaltender Mark Laforest to protect half their roster in exchange for two young players they would later receive in another transaction, despite the league outlawing such deals. The Senators did take Laforest from the Rangers, but the Rangers reneged on the agreement, demanding another draft pick from Ottawa to complete the deal as promised. After more negotiations, the Rangers only agreed to send one player back to the Ottawa Senators. On July 27, Hull was traded to Ottawa for future considerations. Going into the team's opening night of the 1992–93 season, Hull practised on a line with Sylvain Turgeon and Neil Brady. In the team's first ever game on October 8, Hull assisted on the team's first ever goal by Brady on the power play. He added a second assist that night on Turgeon's power play goal as Ottawa won 5–3 over the Canadiens in the franchise's first ever victory. He scored his first goal with the team on October 12 in a 6–3 loss to the Bruins. By November, Brady had been switched out with Jamie Baker and the line was creating the majority of Ottawa's offence. In December he missed three games with a groin injury, returning on December 17. He suffered an ankle sprain on January 19, 1993, returning to the lineup on February 9. He finished the season with 13 goals and 34 points in 69 games as Ottawa finished out of the playoffs.
Florida Panthers
The league expanded again, adding the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Florida Panthers franchises. In the 1993 NHL expansion draft, Hull was among the players Ottawa protected. However, he was a free agent from the Senators in the 1993 offseason, Hull declined the Senators offer and signed a two-way contract with the expansion Panthers in August 1993. Hull made his Panthers debut in a 5–3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on October 7. Placed on a line with Brian Skrudland and Mike Hough, he missed some time in October after injuring both of his ankles. He did not record his first point for the team until October 30, assisting on a goal by Dave Lowry in a 2–1 victory over the Lightning. He marked his first goal for the team on November 2 in a 4–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. On March 4, 1994, Hull separated his shoulder in a loss to his former team, the Whalers. He returned to the lineup after missing six games on March 30 in a 2–1 loss to the Blues. He finished the 1993–94 season with 13 goals and 26 points in 69 games. His second season with Florida in 1994–95 was abbreviated on account of the lockout that postponed the start of the regular season until January 1995. When play resumed, Hull was back on a line with Skrudland and Hough. In 46 games, he scored 11 goals and 19 points as the Panthers missed the playoffs again.
A free agent at season's end, Hull received a qualifying offer from the Panthers in order for the team to retain his signing rights. Hull agreed to a new three-year contract with the team on July 19, 1995. Ahead of the 1995–96 season, head coach Roger Neilson was fired after not making the playoffs and Doug MacLean was hired as his replacement. MacLean intended to introduce youth to the lineup and split up the Hough-Skrudland-Hull line that had been so effective for the Panthers in their first two seasons, replacing Hough with Bill Lindsay. On October 24, he recorded a three-point game, scoring once and assisting on two goals by Skrudland in a 6–1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was leading the team in scoring to start the season when on October 28, he suffered a cracked rib in a game against his former team, the Ottawa Senators. He returned to the lineup on November 7 in a 4–2 victory over the Flyers. The Panthers, who had struggled to make the playoffs the previous two seasons, were atop the standings in December, with Hull among the team's leaders.
In addition to Hartford, Hull also played for the Rangers, Senators, Panthers, Lightning, and the Flyers between 1988 and 2004. He played 831 regular season games in total, scoring 124 goals and 137 assists for 261 points and collecting 156 penalty minutes. He also played 69 playoff games, scoring 9 points and 14 penalty minutes.
