Originally from Iowa, Dylan Gunnare hit his stride once he moved to Gilbert and played AAA hockey the past two years for the Arizona Bobcats.

Throw in a 2020 AHSHA state championship with Hamilton High School, and Gunnare accomplished a great deal in a relatively small amount of time in the desert.

For the 2021-22 season, Gunnare has made the jump to junior hockey, skating this year with the USPHL’s Minnesota Mullets.

“Coach (Chris) Walby reached out to me towards the end of my season last year,” Gunnare said. “He had a ton of info on the program and league and lots of great things to say that made me want to be a Mullet.

“Coach seemed like a great guy and really cares about the boys and treats us well. The league is growing and moves kids on to college all the time, and that makes me want to keep working hard and be super motivated to be able to get those commitments that Coach and the league has gotten for kids in the past.”

Gunnare said that his beginnings in hockey were not very typical.

“I started playing hockey at an older age than most,” explained Gunnare. “I always loved going to games and watching and my best friend played and finally, I got signed up. I played for the Bobcats’ 18U AAA team and Coach (Brent) Gough and Coach (Rob) Kerns really made a big impact on me, both on the ice and off the ice, and helped me get to where I am today.”

With the Mullets, Gunnare is teammates again with fellow Bobcats graduates Tyler Ortega and Brent Scott.

“It’s awesome to get to play with some guys I played with for the last two years,” Gunnare said. “We all know each other great and get to keep playing together and knowing each other.”

Already immersed in the current season, Gunnare has an eye on where he wants to be in the future.

“I would like to continue my hockey and education into college and play NCAA Division III college in the next two years and see where it goes from there,” he said.

— Matt Mackinder

(September 17, 2021)