Dominic James, UMD Men's Hockey Team Captain: A Profile

Dominic James (#17) on the ice during UMD’s face off with UMN on Oct. 19th. Photo by Grant Jones

When it comes to being a successful hockey player, no athlete could do it without the support and determination of their coach.

“For him to seek out that passion in me, he really knows my strengths and wants me to continue doing that. He tells me everyday to just be myself and reminds me that it is why I’m at, where I’m at,” said Dominic James, captain of the UMD Bulldogs men's hockey team. 

The 22-year-old athlete began playing hockey at 4 years old in his hometown of Plymouth, Michigan. In his early years, James found himself playing for teams like the Oakland Junior Grizzlies and the Little Caesars.  His senior year, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where he played for the Lincoln Stars in the United States Hockey League for two years. After taking a gap year, James came to UMD in 2021 and began playing for the Bulldogs. Returning from a shoulder injury from his junior season, James is eager to be back out on the ice for his senior season while stepping into the role of team captain.

“It helps having guys like Noah Cates, Tanner Laderoute, Luke Loheit that I was able to learn from,” James said. “Last year I was able to wear an ‘A’, but getting hurt I wasn’t completely present. So I think being able to come back and wear the ‘C’, for me it really means a lot and is a big reason why I came back.” 

With more than 10 new players on the team this season, the men are gearing up for a fresh and exciting year.

“It’s just so awesome to see how excited they are everyday to just be in Duluth. It gives me a little jump everyday with the young energy,” James said.

With new energy out on the ice, there has to be a balance between growing as a team and having fun.

“We’re a young team in the best league of college hockey. So I think for us it’s just gonna be being consistent and taking from our practices and putting it into a game,” James said. 

Being team captain comes with lots of responsibilities and pressure. Having the ability to keep your team motivated while growing and setting goals for yourselves is a whole new job to learn.

“We have such good players and guys with so much passion. In those situations, just kind of letting them know that the world is not falling down on them and give them the ability to come back on Saturday after we lost on Friday and have a good game,” James said.

 A lot of pressure can be found on the ice, with eyes on you every second. “I think just throughout my four years, I’ve kind of gotten used to it. And I think more times than not, all the pressure is coming from myself. So being able to realize when it's real pressure, when it's made up or maybe coming from yourself a little too much. Just staying out of my own way is the best thing for me,” James said. 

Once off the ice, James can take time for himself and focus on his academics, now with less pressure. “After practice you know, I get my treatment, I stretch and take care of my body.”

Even with all the time and effort that goes into hockey, James still makes time for his academics.

With such an impressive career so far with only more to come, there are always goals to chase after. For James, it was being named forward of the week by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Something the athlete has finally accomplished.

“I’ve been chasing it my whole career. Quinn Olson, he was on my team freshman, sophomore, junior year and we would always talk about that. So it felt really good. No matter who you’re playing, it feels good for sure,” James said.