Road to the NHL by Philip Croucher

Author:Philip Croucher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MacIntyrePurcell Publishing, Inc
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

A NATURAL GOAL SCORER

Born in Fredericton in 1945, Grant grew up Barkers Point, a community on the outskirts of the New Brunswick capital. The oldest of eight, Grant was an all-season athlete, playing hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer. It was a great time he says.

“Playing on the ponds for hockey, and in the fields for baseball. That’s what we did night and day, 12 months of the year,” he remembers. “One thing just led to another after that.” Grant’s introduction to organized hockey came through school and church leagues. Finally, when he turned bantam age, the 12-year-old joined the Fredericton minor hockey system and quickly showed that he was no ordinary player. He scored at will, and his skill set was so superior that Grant quickly found himself playing with a senior team for select games.

“I never had problems scoring goals. That’s probably what my forte was, and that’s probably what got me in the NHL,” he says. “I just played and it was a gift I had. I enjoyed scoring goals. I don’t think I would have played if I couldn’t score goals. I certainly wouldn’t want to be a checker, that’s pretty boring. And I wasn’t a fighter.” Eventually, Grant moved on to midget. It was during this time that NHL scouts started to take notice. “I know my parents got some calls. Montreal had a scout in the area and so we got a call from them.” Grant says he didn’t even know what junior hockey was at the time. He soon found out. Two NHL teams—the Boston Bruins and the Canadiens—were interested in Grant and wanted him to play for their junior clubs. It was a big decision for Grant, who realized he couldn’t stay in New Brunswick if he was going to develop as a player.

Grant was swayed in Montreal’s favour after two members of the Canadiens, Dickey Moore and Phil Goyette, came to Fredericton for a banquet during the off-season. Grant spoke with both. “I was so impressed with those two guys; that made me choose Montreal rather than Boston,” he says. The Canadiens had two junior teams - one in Montreal, and another in Peterborough, Ontario.

Grant signed a C card with the Canadiens, thereby giving Montreal his junior rights, and the team sent the 16-year-old to try out for the Ontario Hockey Association’s Peterborough Petes. Leaving home to play junior wasn’t common for Maritime kids in those days, but Grant was excited at the prospect. There was hockey, and also finances. “My mom was a stayat-home mom. My dad was a working man with a big family, so I thought this was a way to help them,” he says. “Also, it was a personal challenge. I just wanted to see how far I could take it.”

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