Former Calgary Flames forward Brian McGrattan is returning to the team as a member of the player development staff in the role of player assistance.
According to the Flames, McGrattan will work with the team’s prospects and the team to provide support and guidance both with their off-ice and on-ice development.
“It’s a whole new territory for me and the team,” McGrattan said. “I’m just really grateful that they’ve given me this opportunity.”
McGrattan had been working off-ice with Stockton Heat member and Flames prospect Émile Poirier and spoke at a development camp in June.
McGrattan played 317 games in the NHL during the course of his 10 seasons.
He joined the Flames for the first time as a free agent in 2009 and rejoined the club again in a trade with Nashville in the 2012-13 campaign.
McGrattan played 137 games with the Flames, including the 2013-14 season in which he set career highs in games played (76), goals (4), assists (4) and points (8) while accumulating 100 penalty minutes.
“I’ve experienced all the ups and downs a player can go through in this game,” McGrattan said. “I’ve been up in the NHL for a while, then I’ve been sent down. Then I was up in the NHL for a while, and then I was sent down. I’ve been cut, sent here, sent there – I mean, I’ve dealt with every kind of emotional effect this game can bring on you.”
McGrattan said his new role is one of only two in the NHL.
The 36-year old lives in Calgary year-round with his wife Michelle and their two-year old son.
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