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NAHL Minot Minotauros

Welcome Back, Hammer

August 15, 2024 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release


Hammer has become a vital word around the rink for the Minot Minotauros' players and staff. They're not referring to the common household tool, but instead, their second-year equipment manager Jack Dunnell. Dunnell received his nickname "hammer" a couple of days into training camp last season, his first with the Minotauros.

"I think it was like day two or day three of training camp last year and so I didn't know any of the players or anything," Dunnell said. "The players didn't know me and they just randomly called me hammer one day as I was bringing their skates into the locker room."

The alias is a familiar one to Dunnell who said he was called Jack "the hammer" Dunnell while playing junior hockey for the Thief River Falls Norskies of the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

"I asked them why [the Minot players choose that nickname], and they never gave me a reason why they just thought 'oh, that's a good nickname', but then I told them about the story of when I played and I used to get called that, and I think that's maybe why it stuck," Dunnell said.

Dunnell grew up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, to a family of mostly wrestlers and football players. Dunnell decided to pass on the gridiron and the mat, instead following his older brother Ben's lead, strapping on a pair of skates. That is where his love for hockey began.

"Just watching my brother play, that kind of drew me to the rink," Dunnell said.

Dunnell started skating at two and was playing hockey at three, he said. Dunnell also said that his first real memory of playing hockey came when he was five as a man amongst giants, relatively.

"I was in Kindergarten and they needed more players to move up in certain ages, and they asked me to move up and I ended up moving up four age groups," Dunnell said. " So then I got stuck playing squirts for four years and Pee Wee's for five years just to catch up with my age group."

Playing well above his age range set Dunnell up for success as he went on to play a couple of seasons in the SIJHL, the latter season coming with the Fort Frances Lakers. Dunnell moved on to play collegiate hockey at Dakota College of Bottineau and that is where his on-ice career came to a close.

Two years removed from the game he enjoyed, Dunnell started searching for any job in hockey he could find, craving to be back around the sport. Dunnell said he was also motivated by being tired of having a full-time job and "being a real adult". Dunnell's search led him to a job posting from the Minotauros and soon after applying, he became the team's equipment manager.

Dunnell played an important role through his first year in Minot aiding in the Minotauros' best season to date winning a franchise record 44 games. Dunnell's help came both at home and on the road, something that is uncommon in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), but makes a big impact for the players.

"[The players] say it's huge. I don't think it's that much of a big thing, but when they come off and they just tell me their left edge is off or something, I can quickly run to the locker room, grab their extra steel, put it in, and they don't even take a shift off," said Dunnell of traveling on the road. "So for player wise, it is a huge thing."

Dunnell will be on every road trip this regular season after only going on the road for the trips to Bismarck and Aberdeen last regular season. Part of the reason for Dunnell's increased travel schedule is his plan to get his commercial driver's license (CDL). Acquiring a CDL license will allow Dunnell to be the team's backup bus driver, which is a necessity for long road trips.

Dunnell said he is looking forward to the new season and seeing what those who are returning and those who are just coming in will put together as an encore to last season's playoff run.

"Personally, I think we have a good group coming back of returners, and they just went through what we went through last year making it to the semifinals, losing," Dunnell said. "So they know what it takes to get there. Now they kind of know what it takes to, or what it's going to take to win. So I'm excited to see what training camp holds, like see our new players come in, see how they are, and then really excited to see what the returners kind of lead them into and see if we can go back to Blaine, do it again."

As for Dunnell, he will be there putting in the hard work and long hours behind the scenes sharpening skates, running the clock in practice, and doing his job to help Minot land on top.

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