Dunne working his way up the ladder

Lucas Dunne has come a long way in a relatively short span of time.

The 17-year-old Fort Erie native played house league hockey until major peewee and admits he only cracked the roster of the travel team that season because his father, former Niagara Falls Canucks goaltender Adam Dunne, was the coach. 

“He was the sole reason I made the team,” Dunne said.

Dunne took that foot in the door as an opportunity to better himself and worked his tail off.

“I just became a work horse and learned to play the role of a grinder and through that I kind of progressed my way up,” he said.

A couple of years later Dunne was suiting up as an associated player for the Fort Erie Meteors for head coach Rob Hubbert.

“He’s the one that gave me my break in junior,” Dunne recalled. “He coached junior C together with my dad (in Chippawa) so he really got to know me well as a kid and he gave me my opportunity to play junior B for Fort Erie.”

Hubbert loved Dunne’s work ethic.

“I saw something in him,” said Hubbert, who insists he is retired from coaching and now spends his time at the rink as the colour commentator on Niagara IceDogs radio broadcasts. “He just wants to play the game and he’s got sandpaper, that’s his game.

“He’ll do anything to win. If I were still coaching, he’d be part of my team.”

While with the Meteors, Dunne hooked up with Carson Johnstone, the U18 Elite head coach and hockey program director with the Fort Erie International Academy.

“Carson is the one who took me to the next level playing at FEIU,” Dunne said. “The program and the hockey there is second to none.  “That is what brought me to the level of player I am now.”

Johnstone, son of long-time Golden Horseshoe coach Chris Johnstone, said Dunne’s commitment to becoming a better player set him apart.

“Lucas came to us an energetic player, and we watched him turn a lot of energy and hard work into more control and effective hockey where he used his great energy in the right spots,” Johnstone said. “His work ethic is what drives him, and his positivity as a teammate is what will make him so valuable to whatever team he plays on.  

“Not many players worked harder towards their development than Lucas Dunne, and guys like him are a pleasure to coach. Attitude is everything at every level in hockey. No matter where you play, you show up with the same attitude every day and give your best, that’s what you get from Dunner.”

Dunne’s latest chapter in his climb up the hockey ladder has landed him with the Potomac Patriots of the United States Premier Hockey League, Elite Division. 

“I was looking on YouTube of USPHL highlights and I saw this team with cool jerseys and sent them an e-mail,” Dunne chuckled.

Before he knew it Dunne was on a plane to Virginia for a tryout.

“I played two strong games and now I’m part of the team,” said Dunne, who has two goals, four points and 19 minutes in penalties in six games with the Patriots. 

Dunne, who figures the level of play is between junior C and junior B in Canada, is getting to use his skill set.

“It’s a very skilled league, that’s why I don’t know how I’m succeeding so well,” he said jokingly. “I am enjoying myself.  Life is like it should be without the COVID protocols and everything.”

Dunne wants to use his time in the USPHL as a springboard to play Tier 2 junior A in Canada or move up to the USPHL Premier League.

Potomac head coach Josh Gratton, a Brantford native who played in the National Hockey League with Phoenix and Philadelphia, loves what Dunne brings to the table.

“I like the way he competes and the energy he brings every night,” Gratton said. “He’s been a pleasant surprise. We weren’t expecting the offensive ability he’s shown.

“He’s really fit in with our team and he’s by far the most physical player I’ve seen in this league. He reminds me of myself when I played junior. He’s a bit raw but I think he’s going to be a good junior player in the future.”

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