BAND OF BROTHERS
Hunter siblings meld music, hockey
When the Hunter Brothers were growing up — back when they were simply five brothers with a lowercase “b” and not a Juno-nominated country music sensation — there was a deal between the boys and their parents: if they kept up with piano practice, they could go out and play hockey.
“As little kids growing up, Dad had built us an artificial ice rink no farther than 20 feet from our house,” Luke Hunter said. “There were days where two of us would be playing the piano and practising before school in the morning and the other two or three would be out playing on the ice — and the next day we’d flip-flop.”
The Hunter Brothers have been nominated for the first Juno Awards of their relatively young career — breakthrough group of the year and country album of the year for their second studio album, State of Mind — at the 2020 Juno Awards in Saskatoon.
The brothers also will strap on skates for the annual Juno Cup, the hockey game between top Canadian musicians and a variety of pro hockey players. One of the big differences for the musicians’ roster this year is that every one of the Hunter Brothers has significant hockey-playing experience.
“There aren’t many people these days that have got five brothers in one family as it is,” Dusty Hunter said. “For all five to be able to get on the ice together at one time is always fun.”
Brock and Dusty Hunter played multiple years of junior hockey before making their way back to the family farm; Ty Hunter played recreational and junior hockey before a broken femur pushed him away from the sport; Luke and JJ Hunter both played in the WHL. JJ reached the highest level as a player in the AHL affiliates of the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers.
Because of the age difference between the brothers, it wasn’t until they were all back working on the farm that they were able to skate together in the same lineup on a team in the senior hockey league in Shaunavon. That didn’t stop hockey from being a major part of their lives — and one Dusty Hunter said has had a strong influence on their music careers.
Those days of coming home and playing after the pro days were done were some of the most memorable. JJ HUNTER
“We’ve often talked about the overlapping themes there are with hockey and music that I never really anticipated,” he said. “At a young age you’re taught about teamwork, collectively working towards common goals — which is absolutely no different in the music scene, especially when you’re working in a band situation.”
A lot of music and hockey memories have been made in Saskatchewan and in Saskatoon for the Hunter Brothers. Luke Hunter played plenty of games against the Saskatoon Blades while he was a member of the Swift Current Broncos, although those games were at Sasktel Centre and not the new Merlis Belsher Place rink, where the Juno Cup will be held.
“It’s been one of the things us boys have talked about just in general, how it’s pretty cool how we’ve been able to go and play in different arenas ... we had played hockey in,” Luke Hunter said. “Spent a lot of time playing against the guys in Saskatoon. It’s going to be neat going back there again, doing it for music purposes.”
It’s a unique situation for the brothers, who have the opportunity to combine two of their biggest passions during one Canada’s biggest annual parties. Music might be the thing that’s brought them there as nominees for the Juno Awards, but hockey is part of what’s shaped them — and, to an extent, has kept them grounded together in their Saskatchewan roots.
“Anyone that’s part of the Saskatchewan culture knows senior hockey is an integral part of ... a lot of communities,” JJ Hunter said. “I think those days of coming home and playing after the pro days were done were some of the most memorable because we got to play together.”
The brothers still make their homes in Shaunavon, and not even a Juno nomination could change the small-town, community feel they grew up with. Dusty Hunter told a story of his wife and kids heading home after a snowfall to find their driveway shovelled by the community, just a few days earlier.
Friends helping friends, family helping family: it’s been at the core of who the Hunter Brothers are, whether that’s as teammates in hockey or brothers in a band. It’s one of those life lessons, just like the lesson of finishing piano practice before putting on the skates.
“It was just more of the general mindset. Dad would say, ‘Life can be tough, and we don’t need to beat up on each other. Let’s help each other out as much as we can,’ ” JJ Hunter said.
“I think that was part of our upbringing, and an integral part of whether it was working on the farm or out on the hockey rink ... or playing music.”