Good News: Former NHLer And Current AHL Enforcer Brian McGrattan Is "Not Dead"

By now I’m sure that everyone has seen the video of San Diego Gulls’ enforcer Brian McGrattan getting knocked out cold by San Antonio Rampage’s Daniel Maggio. Regardless of your stance on fighting in hockey, this was a pretty tough one to watch. You never want to see a guy go down like that, especially when his head smacks the ice that violently. Shit could have gone much much worse in this scenario and we could have had a terrible situation on our hands, but luckily it looks like McGrattan’s skull is made out of bricks and he’s good to go.

Love it. “Upper body injury”, “lower body injury”, and “not dead”. The only ways to disclose injuries in hockey. But it’s that last little piece from McGrattan that is so perfect. “Been around a long time and know the risks”. This is a guy who has been in and out of the NHL for over 10 years now. This is a guy who has made plenty of money playing a sport that he loves because he’s willing to bleed for his team. He realizes that for players of his caliber, the only way you can make it is with your fists and he’s willing to take a few brutal knockout shots in the process. And as an older guy now playing in the AHL, he probably knows that his skull getting punched in is going to help other kids reach their dream as well. The AHL is filled with guys who are literally fighting to make it to the next level. I mean I doubt McGrattan goes into a game thinking that he wants to get knocked out so some punk prospect can impress his NHL club, but I also doubt that he doesn’t realize he’s a big name to get on some of these kids tickets.

Now it’s no secret that enforcers are slowly (though more rapidly lately) getting phased out of the game whether you like it or not. The game is just getting too fast and guys are getting too talented for them to keep up. And if you’re a bag of shit like Mike Milbury, then you’re very much pleased by this. But you can’t say guys like Brian McGrattan and guys like John Scott don’t serve a purpose in this sport. Sure, you may want to write somewhere in their contracts that they’re never allowed to touch the puck, but the game is better with players like them in it. Hockey players and hockey fans love to brag about how tough the game is. They love to brag about playing through injuries and how Chris Kelly Greg Campbell finished a shift with a broken leg when that would have ended LeBron’s career. Well if you want to talk about hockey tough, look no further than a guy getting knocked out cold last night and immediately coming out today saying that it doesn’t change a single thing.

Last thing. Not to get too sappy or some shit like that, but McGrattan gave a quote to Puck Daddy earlier today that was pretty fucking sweet whether you think about it in terms of hockey or just in life in general. “But when I lose like that, that doesn’t change anything for me. That’s not going to change the way I approach going to the rink, change how I’m going to play. It’s not going to change anything. I’m always ready for something like that to happen. That’s why maybe I’ve won so much … You’re going to lose. You’re going to lose bad some times.”  Most enforcers are obviously blockheads and their brains have been punched into applesauce. But let them talk freely for a minute or two and they can string together some pretty eloquent stuff.