John Gruden

John Daniel Gruden (born June 4, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and assistant coach of the New York Islanders. 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).

For the American football coach, see Jon Gruden.
John Gruden
Born (1970-06-04) June 4, 1970
Virginia, Minnesota, USA
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Ottawa Senators
Eisbären Berlin
Washington Capitals
National team  United States
NHL Draft 168th overall, 1990
Boston Bruins
Playing career 1994–2004

Playing career

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 Eisbären Berlin. He played high school hockey in Hastings, Minnesota in the late 1980s.

Coaching career

He has worked as an assistant coach for the Detroit Little Caesars AAA hockey club, coaching for their Squirt 2000 squad. Coached a short stint for the storied Brother Rice JV Prep Squad (1-16), training the fists of forward Patrick VanDusen. 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.

Most 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]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1989-90Waterloo Black HawksUSHL477394635—————
1990–91Ferris State UniversityCCHA394111529—————
1991–92Ferris State UniversityCCHA379142324—————
1992–93Ferris State UniversityCCHA4116143058—————
1993–94Ferris State UniversityCCHA3811253652—————
1993–94Boston BruinsNHL70112—————
1994–95Providence BruinsAHL10110—————
1994–95Boston BruinsNHL3806622—————
1995–96Providence BruinsAHL395192429—————
1995–96Boston BruinsNHL14000430110
1996–97Providence BruinsAHL7818274552—————
1997–98Detroit VipersIHL76134255742318916
1998–99Ottawa SenatorsNHL130118—————
1998–99Detroit VipersIHL5910283852100116
1999–00Ottawa SenatorsNHL90004—————
1999–00Grand Rapids GriffinsIHL505172224121458
2000–01Grand Rapids GriffinsIHL3426818101458
2001–02Grand Rapids GriffinsAHL57314174851012
2002–03Eisbären BerlinDEL38625313492684
2003–04Washington CapitalsNHL111016—————
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 [9]
First All-Star Team 2002

References
  1. "Flint Firebirds name hockey staff". Ontario Hockey League. March 26, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  2. Joyce, Gare (November 9, 2015). "How Flint Firebirds firestorm came about". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  3. Sipple, George (November 9, 2015). "Flint Firebirds re-hire coaches after players protest". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  4. Seravalli, Frank (November 9, 2015). "Flint Firebirds re-hire coaches after player protest". TSN.ca. TSN. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  5. Woodyard, Eric (November 9, 2015). "Report: Flint Firebirds players walk out after coach is fired". MLive. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  6. Sipple, George (February 17, 2016). "Flint Firebirds fire coaches for second time this season". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  7. "Bulldogs name John Gruden new head coach". Hamilton Bulldogs. 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  8. Radley, Scott (July 18, 2018). "Hamilton Bulldogs head coach becomes Islanders assistant coach". The Hamilton Spectator.
  9. "Canadian All-Stars 13, Planet USA All-Stars 11". American Hockey League. 2002-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
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