McGrattan has traded his hockey skates for figure skates to participate in the CBC show Battle of the Blades, competing against fellow hockey players who have been paired with figure skaters for the competition.
McGrattan is skating with Vanessa James - an Olympic pairs skater from France - who is also doing the show for the first time.
"Half of it for me was for the skating; the other half was for the interview side," McGrattan said. "I thought it was a really good way to promote mental health, addiction, players struggling with my story."
McGrattan, now a member of the hockey development staff in charge of player assistance, has done just that with several players both past and present by just that - telling his story.
Now, he's gone headfirst into this new challenge, and taken away a completely new appreciation for the discipline.
"I've been blown away by kind of everything they have, it's kind of opened my eyes up to a whole new world," McGrattan said. "She would blow the doors off of three quarters of the guys I played with over my career."
It's also something new for James, working with and teaching a hockey player the art of figure skating.
"He's doing so well, he's surpassed all of my expectations and I really trust him," she said. "It has everything to do with him and nothing with me. Making me feel comfortable and safe, he's working really hard and he's doing amazingly well."
Added McGrattan: "It's gone zero to a hundred in three weeks. It's like learning how to skate for three days and then learning routines and lifts and all that stuff."
