Naurato: Did you say grinder? I think you meant competitor

Welcome to MiHockey's latest blog - "TPH All-Access" - with Brandon Naurato
Welcome to MiHockey’s latest blog – “TPH All-Access” – with Brandon Naurato

By Brandon Naurato –

It is Saturday afternoon and surprise, surprise, I’m at the rink again. NHL, college, and junior scouts are lined up across the top two rows of the rink with clipboards in their hands looking for future prospects. They are looking for players to come in and make an impact in their organization. Trust me, they want to know every little detail on the players they are watching…on and off the ice. After identifying the physical qualities that they are looking for, questions regarding the little intangibles are asked. These questions all center around the same character traits that I discuss frequently. These traits can exist in youth players all the way up to players in the National Hockey League…

1. Does he compete?

2. How would you rate his ‘Hockey IQ?’

3. What type of person is he?

How will your coaches, mentors, and people who know about you answer these questions? How will they portray you?

When I get asked, “What type of player is he?” my response is usually, “what type of player is he now, or what type of player will he be in three years?” If you’re a 50-goal scorer at the midget level, the first thing I’m looking at is how you’re scoring your goals. Do you sit at the far blue line and get breakaways the whole game? Because we know that isn’t going to work at the next level. Why are you having success right now and will that success continue? Follow me as I take you through the way you should hope we answer scout’s questions.

If you’ve grown up as a Detroit Red Wings fan, as I have, we’ve been spoiled with four Stanley Cups between 1997 and 2008.  When the Red Wings won back-to-back Cups in ‘97 and ‘98, one of the biggest storylines to come out of the success was the fourth line for the Wings. People most easily recognize them as The Grind Line. In my opinion, the word “grinder” should be completely taken out of the hockey dictionary, or at the very least, we need to change the definition.  Did you know that Darren McCarty had 55 goals and 127 points in 65 games with the Belleville Bulls during his last year of juniors? Or that Kirk Maltby had 50 goals and 91 points in 64 games in his last season with the Owen Sound Attack? These guys are not “grinders” according to the commonplace definition you probably have in your mind.  They are competitors. The common definition of a grinder is someone who can’t make plays, someone who is only on the ice to finish checks and dump the puck into the zone and out of it. Grinders are perceived to be players with a low impact on the overall outcome of the game. Not in my opinion.

If we plan on using the word “grinder” in the future when it comes to identifying a player, then it should be used as a positive. “This guy absolutely grinds out there.”  Every single player in the National Hockey League is a “grinder” if you ask me.  To me, a grinder is someone that competes all over the ice, finishes checks, blocks shots, and gives a second effort on every battle situation. The simplest statement in response to the definition of a grinder is that all players should be doing this.  So why aren’t they?

Brandon Naurato is the director of the Total Package Hockey Center of Excellence in Canton, Mich. Click the image for more information about this year-round hockey school.
Brandon Naurato is the director of the Total Package Hockey Center of Excellence in Canton, Mich. Click the image for more information about this year-round hockey school.

It is not an attribute that all players possess for the simple fact that it is hard to do.

It is easy to take shortcuts and it takes a special person with a special mentality to do the little things that make elite players “elite.” Steve Yzerman is an unbelievable example. He was scoring 100 points a year early in his career with the Red Wings until Scotty Bowman challenged him to change his game. We all know what Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings did after that. Being a “grinder” doesn’t mean that you give up all of your offensive abilities. It means that you play the game the right way, which becomes contagious throughout the entire team. Yzerman set the bar for elite players that wanted the ultimate trophy of raising the Stanley Cup over their heads. When the rest of the Detroit Red Wings team watched the most skilled player on their team blocking shots, finishing hits, and making plays, it became habit for the rest of the guys.

I’m writing this article because changes need to be made at the youth level. USA Hockey is doing an unbelievable job at trying to support the same points I’m making here throughout their development path with young player. But we need more change. We need to get away from teaching structure at a certain age. Working on set breakouts and an offensive zone forecheck does not develop the kids’ skill, and is only designed to do one thing…win the next game.  What about creating an all-around player that competes, has a high hockey IQ, and is a good person?

It is crucial to take advantage of valuable time on the ice to introduce kids to the fundamental mechanics of shooting, passing and skating.  They need to be familiar with habits and concepts offensively and defensively. Offensively, they should hear phrases like “fill the lane,” “support the puck,” and “make a good first pass.”  Defensively, they should be introduced to phrases such as “stick on puck,” “backcheck through the middle,” and “take away time and space.”  All of these habits and concepts can be taught through strategically-designed drills which get the players’ repetitions and unconsciously teach them to be creative, make plays, and learn from their mistakes. Remember the 10,000 Hour Rule I told you about in a previous article? Habits form after 10,000 repetitions of practicing a skill.  If we help these players understand the habits and concepts that go into the game, they will be able to adjust to any type of breakout or forecheck that we send their way when they are old enough.

So the next time someone labels you a “grinder,” wear that label like a badge of honor.  Whether you are a business owner, an employee, or a hockey player this may be one of greatest compliments you can receive. It is your willingness to succeed by doing everything in your power to reach the end goal. You know that you’re making a difference and no one is going to keep you from doing so because you’re passionate about what you do and you take pride in doing what others won’t.  Why? Because it’s hard, and you’re a competitor. But you’re strong and that’s what makes you special.

At the end of the day, when these swarms of scouts ask me what type of player you are… you should be hoping that I see you as a competitor, a grinder.  You should be hoping that the perception of you is that you finish your checks, you work hard every shift, you win your battles… that someone taught you at a young age that the little things in the game matter the most, and get you to the next level. Those are the easy questions for me to answer. You either do or you don’t, and it’s evident to everyone who watches you play.  So yeah, maybe you are “grinder”. In my book, that means you are a competitor, and have one of the most important intangibles that there is working for you.