Who The Devil Is Mike Grier?

Mike Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 5, 1975. He was drafted 219th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He played college hockey at Boston University alongside now-colleague and Devils bench boss, John Hynes. In 1995, Grier helped the Terriers to an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship after earning 55 points on the season with 29 goals and 26 assists. After college, Grier went on to have a 14-year NHL career that was made up of 1,060 games.

Tweet from @NJDevils: Celebrating #BlackHistoryMonth: Before Mike Grier was the #NJDevils assistant coach under former @TerrierHockey teammate John Hynes, he was the first black player born and trained in United States to play 1,000 @NHL games.
He played for six years with the Edmonton Oilers, four seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, three years with the San Jose Sharks and two seasons with the Washington Capitals. Over his career, he netted 162 goals, recorded 221 assists and earned a total of 383 points. He officially announced his retirement on December 1, 2011.

On July 23, 2018, it was announced that Grier would be an assistant coach for the Devils alongside head coach John Hynes.
Tweet from @NJDevils: OFFICIAL: Former NHLer Mike Grier will join the #NJDevils staff as an assistant coach! https://t.co/mfVoUqyjnn
Earlier this month, Grier talked with MSG Broadcaster Erika Wachter about the NHL's Hockey Is For Everyone Initiative and what it meant to have the American Legacy Mobile Tour at Prudential Center at the beginning of February.

The American Legacy Tour presented by the NHL is a mobile truck exhibit that celebrates 200 years of black achievement in hockey. The tour came to Prudential Center at the start of Black History Month, which the Devils are continuing to celebrate at their home game on February 21 when they host the Ottawa Senators for a 7PM puck drop. Throughout the night, the Devils will be honoring black hockey players that have broken barriers in the NHL and more specifically with the Devils. For Grier, he became the first black coach for the Devils when he signed his coaching contract during the 2018 off-season.
And although we can dig up hockey facts about this Devils coach's career all day, here are a few fun facts fans may not have known about him.
Grier started playing hockey at the age of four and played soccer, basketball, baseball, and track while growing up. He says if he hadn't been a hockey player, he would've been a football player. Grier's father, Bobby Grier, was the Associate Director of Pro Personnel for the Houston Texans and worked for the New England Patriots prior to the Texans, so football was a part of his life from a young age. It's still a part of his life, as his favorite team is the Miami Dolphins, who his brother, Chris Grier, is also the General Manager of.

In his downtime, you might be able to catch Grier watching his favorite TV show, the Chapelle Show, or watching his favorite movie, Step Brothers, who his favorite actor, Will Ferrell, is in. You might also find him listening to his favorite artist, Eminem, or playing NHL '93, which is his favorite video game.
Growing up, Grier rooted for the Edmonton Oilers and looked up to Cam Neeley as his favorite player. Off the ice, his favorite athlete was Michael Jordan. His favorite wrestler was The Rock and when it comes to superheroes, Wolverine is this coach's top choice.
We love the fact that when he's not at the rink, he's probably hanging out with his two pups, Easton and Willow. His favorite car is a Range Rover and when it comes to holidays, he's partial to celebrating Thanksgiving. And although his first job was as a paper boy, we love seeing him on the Devils bench.
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at @NJDevils. To purchase tickets to the Devils Celebration of Black History game on February 21, fans can visit
newjerseydevils.com/tickets
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