John Gruden
John Daniel Gruden (born June 4, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He currently serves as head coach for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Prior to Toronto, he served as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League during the 2022–23 season. He also served as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2018 to 2022. He previously served as the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs and inaugural head coach of the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
| John Gruden | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gruden with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2002 | |||
| Born |
June 4, 1970 Virginia, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Boston Bruins Ottawa Senators Eisbären Berlin Washington Capitals | ||
| Current AHL coach | Toronto Marlies | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL Draft |
168th overall, 1990 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1994–2004 | ||
| Coaching career | 2015–present | ||
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Playing career
Gruden played high school hockey in Hastings, Minnesota in the late 1980s. Drafted 168th overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, Gruden played for the Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, playing a total of 92 regular season games, scoring one goal and eight assists for nine points and collecting 46 penalty minutes. He also had a spell in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany for the Eisbären Berlin.
Coaching career
Gruden has worked as an assistant coach for the Detroit Little Caesars AAA hockey club, coaching for their Squirt 2000 squad. He coached for a short stint for the storied Brother Rice JV prep squad (1–16). He also spends time doing work on behalf of the Red Wings Alumni Association. Gruden coached the Stoney Creek High School Cougars hockey team in Rochester, Michigan along with fellow NHL alumnus Greg Johnson.
More recently, Gruden served as an assistant coach for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, helping lead the United States to a gold medal at the 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships.[1]
On March 26, 2015, it was announced that Gruden would serve as the inaugural head coach for the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League during the 2015–16 season.[1] In a highly publicized incident, he was fired a month into the season. Reports claim the firing was due to refusing to increase the playing time of defenseman Håkon Nilsen, the team owner's son, however team president Costa Papista denied the reports.[2][3] Following a successful player walkout, Gruden was reinstated as the Firebirds head coach and given a three-year contract extension.[4][5] On February 17, 2016, Gruden was again fired by the Firebirds.[6] On June 3, 2016, Gruden was named head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs.[7] Following the 2017–18 regular season, he led the Bulldogs as the OHL playoff champions.
On July 18, 2018, the New York Islanders hired Gruden as an assistant coach.[8] On June 9, 2022, Gruden was relieved from his duties.[9]
On July 20, 2022, the Boston Bruins hired Gruden as an assistant coach. Following the 2022–23 season, helping the Bruins to the most successful regular season in league history,
On July 4, 2023, the Toronto Marlies hired Gruden as head coach.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1989–90 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 47 | 7 | 39 | 46 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 39 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 37 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 41 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 38 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 38 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 39 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 78 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 76 | 13 | 42 | 55 | 74 | 23 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 16 | ||
| 1998–99 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 59 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 52 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1999–00 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 50 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 34 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2001–02 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 57 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 48 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 38 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 92 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | United States | WC | 13th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| Defenseman of the Year | 1990 | |
| College | ||
| All-CCHA First Team | 1994 | |
| AHCA West First-Team All-American | 1994 | |
| CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman | 1994 | |
| IHL | ||
| Second All-Star Team | 1998 | |
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2002 | [10] |
| First All-Star Team | 2002 | |
References
- "Flint Firebirds name hockey staff". Ontario Hockey League. March 26, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
- Joyce, Gare (November 9, 2015). "How Flint Firebirds firestorm came about". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- Sipple, George (November 9, 2015). "Flint Firebirds re-hire coaches after players protest". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- Seravalli, Frank (November 9, 2015). "Flint Firebirds re-hire coaches after player protest". TSN.ca. TSN. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- Woodyard, Eric (November 9, 2015). "Report: Flint Firebirds players walk out after coach is fired". MLive. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- Sipple, George (February 17, 2016). "Flint Firebirds fire coaches for second time this season". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- "Bulldogs name John Gruden new head coach". Hamilton Bulldogs. 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
- Radley, Scott (July 18, 2018). "Hamilton Bulldogs head coach becomes Islanders assistant coach". The Hamilton Spectator.
- "Gruden and Hiller Relieved of Assistant Coach Duties". NHL.com. June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- "Canadian All-Stars 13, Planet USA All-Stars 11". American Hockey League. 2002-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database