Josh Gratton: The heart, soul, and fists of the Philadelphia (Glens Falls) Phantoms

This was part of a project on Connect with two other great ladies where we brought our work together to blog about a specific topic. The theme of this one was our favorite non-NHL player. This was the player I picked:

It was pretty obvious where I was going to get my favorite non-NHL player from. It’s hard enough to follow all 30 NHL teams, so adding another league to that to follow is very hard. The only other league that I pay attention to is the AHL. We see a lot of NHL players come from the AHL so it definitely is a great league. And obviously I’m going to follow the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms (They actually are no longer the Philadelphia Phantoms. They have moved to Glens Falls New York which unfortunately is 4 hours away. It‘s still a big shock and doesn‘t seem real), the most. I’ve said many times and I’ll say it again. The Phantoms Calder Cup team of 2005 had a huge impact on the Flyers and the NHL in general. Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, RJ Umbeger, Ben Eager, Patrick Sharp, Joni Pitkanen, Dennis Seidenberg, Freddy Meyer, Randy Jones, Antero Niittymaki, Todd Fedoruk, Riley Cote, and Jon Sim all came from that great team. My favorite AHLer also played on that team. His name is Josh Gratton (cousin of Chris Gratton). He’s not going to have any 20 or 30 goal seasons but he plays with heart and that means a lot to Philly fans.

Josh Gratton is your typical Philadelphia Flyers/Phantoms player. He plays rough and in your face hockey. He is known for being a fighter but I think there actually is more to him than that. Anytime the team needs to wake up and get things going, Josh can be sent out on the ice. He isn’t just a goon with no skills. He can actually play. If you look up his stats, then you might think I’m making that up since his goal totals are always single digit numbers. But scoring goals does not mean everything. All he has to do is get something going and his job is done. He might just have to get a shot on goal, throw his body around, or start a fight. His teammates know his role and because of that, they respect him and appreciate what he brings to the team effort.

Fighting has been popular with Flyers fans since we all grew up either witnessing the Broad Street Bullies or hearing stories up them if you weren’t born when they were around like I wasn’t. Being tough and physical is always something that was a big characteristic of the Flyers and that brushed off on the Phantoms. They actually have a guy that was strictly a fighter inducted into their Hall of Fame. That is how important fighting is to Philadelphia hockey. If you are curious as to who that fighter in the HOF is, his name is Frank “The Animal” Bialowas and he is the most popular Phantom to lace up the skates.

So with the Phantoms and Flyers history, it is obvious that Gratton is the perfect fit. Gratton is a fan favorite himself. You can see the bond he has with the fans. In the Phantoms final game in Philadelphia, Gratton got the game started with some fisticuffs. He won the fight and proceeded by waving his arms up and down to get the sold out crowd going crazy and it worked. Everyone loved it. I was going crazy myself at that game. It reminded me of Dan Carcillo but much better. I’m actually convinced that the two of them are separated at birth. They both are the same type of player, they both wear number 13, they both have long hair, they both have a smile with missing front teeth, and they are both former Coyotes. I find myself confusing the two of them. I won’t lie. I’d definitely rather have Gratton on the Flyers than Carcillo because I don’t think he ever has selfish intentions like Carcillo tends to have.

Gratton has come a long way. He has never even been drafted but yet he has played in 86 NHL games despite scoring just 3 NHL goals. Teams respect him as a role player which is why he always seems to have a shot at making the Flyers team. Last season Gratton played in 19 games for the Flyers and Flyers fans loved every single one. He racked up the fighting majors and scored a goal. His line played very well and was part of the reason why the Flyers were such a great team in December. Every single one of their lines were clicking. Unfortunately, Gratton was injured in a fight and by the time he was healed, there was no salary room for him to return to the Flyers. But thankfully for fans of the Phantoms, they got to see some real Phantoms hockey thanks to Gratton as their countdown of their Final games in Philadelphia went on.

Everyone always says that hockey enforcers are the nicest guys off the ice. I am 100% in agreement with that statement. I have never heard of or met a single fighter that wasn’t completely down to earth and genuinely kind hearted. Gratton definitely is down to earth. I remember meeting him 4 years ago and I still have a picture of the two of us together. He looks even happier than I was. He seemed so grateful to sign my jersey as well. That’s how Josh always is. He is always willing to stop and take a picture or sign an autograph. He doesn’t seem like a professional hockey player at all. He just seems like a kid at heart. His personality reminds me a lot of Ovechkin’s bubbly and fun personality. Josh’s great manor and kindness won him the man of the year award when he was with the Coyotes.

Josh Gratton has another chance at making the Flyers final roster this upcoming season and I really hope he does. He plays his heart out every shift even if he plays 5 minutes a night. He absolutely loves the Philadelphia fans and is always loved by his teammates no matter who they are. He is a fantastic fighter and a terrific energy player. For those reasons Josh Gratton is my favorite non-NHL player. And if he happens to not miss the playoffs then I will cheer for and wish him the best on the Glens Falls Phantoms team.

Flyers Rookie of the Year (April 10th)

The Philadelphia Flyers have had many great rookies this year. Most of them are not known league wide but all of the Flyers faithful appreciates every single one of them. The season started with the Flyers top draft pick from the ‘08 draft, Luca Sbisa making a name for himself. At just 18 years old he looked like he had been in the NHL for at least a year already. He made some of the most remarkable defensive plays. He is the future of the Flyers back end and despite being sent back to his team in the WHL, he could be making a huge impact in the orange and black in the very near future. He will now get the chance to help the Flyers AHL affiliate, Philadelphia Phantoms, clinch a playoff spot because he has just been assigned to them. Other than Sbisa there have been some great players such as Darroll Powe, Andreas Nodl, Jared Ross, and Josh Gratton, but none have made an impression quite like that of rookie sensation Claude Giroux.

When I first came on here in July there wasn’t much hockey news to talk about so when I met new Flyers fans I would say the same thing every time : “I can’t wait to see Gagne return and Giroux to debut this season.” The first thing happened and it was amazing but surprisingly Giroux did not make the team. I was shocked because I had assumed that he would be a Flyer from the start of the season. Every Flyers fan was talking about him. I even included him in my preview of the Flyers season but he did get a chance to start the season in the AHL. He was definitely impressive. Thankfully in December Giroux got his chance to breakout in the NHL. He had made an impression in the two games he played in the orange and black last season so Flyers fans were definitely excited.

With Briere injured the Flyers needed a good centerman to create some offense. Giroux was that guy. He is not a natural centerman but has played excellent at center. He is so versatile which is obviously something great for the team. That is something the Flyers lost when they traded Umberger but they have it again with Giroux. You can put him in any of the three forward positions and he will thrive. You would think that he was a natural centerman.

When Upshall was traded, Flyers fans were definitely irate. A lot of “fans” were calling for Briere to be traded and blaming him for the loss of Upshall. I obviously didn’t agree with them and understood how important Briere is to this team. I also realized something. Since the Upshall trade was a salary thing, I wouldn’t blame Briere for the trade. I would blame Giroux. I mean that in a good way. Giroux was just too good to send down. He was playing like a veteran and the Flyers would have been dumb to send him down to the Phantoms. So they kept Giroux and it has clearly paid off. He is here to stay and is part of the Flyers young core of offensive weapons.

Watching Giroux play is honestly breathtaking. It’s like something I’ve never really been privileged to see for the Flyers before. The Flyers have always had some great players and superstars, but in my short tenure as a fan I have never gotten the chance to see an extremely flashy player. Giroux brings that to the table. When he is on the ice, it’s hard to keep your eye on the rest of the action. You just want to follow him around because you know there is going to be something he is going to awe you with. There is a reason that in his first NHL game last season he was put in the shootout. He is a finesse player with, in the in words of Steve Coates, 150,000 moves. It’s remarkable. He reminds me a lot of Bobby Ryan. He is brave enough to pull some moves that a lot of players would mess up and regret doing. He can get away with them.

Giroux is flashy up front, but he is also very sound defensively. The Flyers trust Giroux so much already that he is played in any situation. He can play 5 on 5, shorthanded, or on the PP. Either way, he is bound to do something good. Young and inexperienced forwards can be great offensively but when it’s time to play some defense they struggle which is why it’s so hard to break into the NHL. You can score and produce some offense but if you can’t play defense then none of that matters. There is a reason that Jeff Carter always says that he tries to play defensive hockey first and then the goals come. Thankfully, despite being just twenty-one years old, Giroux knows what he’s doing and makes heads-up plays all over the ice.

When you are a rookie or a young player there are always bound to be comparisons between you and current and past players. Giroux is not an exception to that. All it took was one beautiful pass from behind the goal line to Simon Gagne in March against the New Jersey Devils for the comparison to be made. Simon Gagne was the one to make it. I had always thought what he was thinking but kept it to myself because I knew people would think I was crazy. Simon said that playing with Giroux felt like he was playing with Peter Forsberg again. I completely agreed. Forsberg was(is?) one of the best passers to ever play in the NHL. He had the ability to read where his teammates were at all times on the ice. He didn’t even have to look. He just has such great hockey sense. And the game would seem to slow down when he had the puck. He was such a calming influence and never forced plays. That being said, Forsberg was one of the best players to ever step foot on the ice. I was so thankful to get to see him in a Flyers uniform. So comparing Giroux to him might seem a little if not very far-fetched. What Simon Gagne and me are suggesting is that he could be like Forsberg someday. He is only going to get better and if he keeps doing the things he’s doing and making the passes he’s making, he could turn some heads league wide and be recognized for his passing abilities. I have faith in that. So remember who he is when you see him making the highlight reels for passes in the upcoming seasons.

As I said many times already, Giroux represents the Flyers future. It’s amazing that the same guy that was drafted in the ‘06 draft when Bob Clarke came up to the podium and forgot his name is doing this type of damage. I truly am thankful that I get to see him work his magic every game night. When I see number 28 hop over the bench, I get an automatic smile on my face. My dad and me are always talking about something he does in every game and we always laugh and shake our heads at his sick moves. Those moments seem extra special because since he is a rookie he is another piece of the Flyers that my generation of fans will get the privilege to see from the very beginning and watch him grow and mature as a player and a person. Ever since the 2005 Phantoms won the Calder Cup, I have been able to do that with may players. I can say that I saw the game when Jeff Carter scored his first NHL goal or when Mike Richards scored a 3 on 5 goal in his rookie season. Now I can say that I remember the night Giroux made his NHL debut and was picked for the shootout, or the night Simon Gagne compared him to Peter Forsberg, or the night he scored his first NHL goal. Those moments are all bittersweet and I take them all in because I know that they are something special. And I know that Claude Giroux is something special. I am proud to say that he will be making heads turn while wearing the orange and black for many many years to come.