| John Gruden | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Gruden in 2002 | |||
| Born | (1970-06-04)June 4, 1970 (age 54) Virginia, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins Ottawa Senators Eisbären Berlin Washington Capitals | ||
| CurrentAHL coach | Toronto Marlies | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | 168th overall,1990 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1994–2004 | ||
| Coaching career | 2005–present | ||
John Daniel Gruden (born June 4, 1970) is an American professionalice hockey coach and former player. He is head coach for theToronto Marlies of theAmerican Hockey League. Prior to Toronto, he served as an assistant coach for theBoston Bruins of theNational Hockey League during the 2022–23 season. He also served as an assistant coach for theNew York Islanders of theNational Hockey League (NHL) from 2018 to 2022. He previously served as the head coach of theHamilton Bulldogs and inauguralhead coach of theFlint Firebirds of theOntario Hockey League (OHL).
Gruden played high school hockey in Hastings, Minnesota in the late 1980s. Drafted 168th overall in the1990 NHL Entry Draft by theBoston Bruins, Gruden played for the Bruins,Ottawa Senators andWashington Capitals, playing a total of 92 regular season games, scoring one goal and eight assists for nine points and collecting 46 penalty minutes. He also had a spell in theDeutsche Eishockey Liga inGermany for theEisbären Berlin.
Gruden has worked as an assistant coach for the Detroit Little Caesars AAA hockey club, coaching for their Squirt 2000 squad. He coached for a short stint for the storied Brother Rice JV prep squad (1–16). He also spends time doing work on behalf of the Red Wings Alumni Association. Gruden coached theStoney Creek High School Cougars hockey team inRochester, Michigan along with fellow NHL alumnusGreg Johnson.
More recently, Gruden served as an assistant coach for theUSA Hockey National Team Development Program, helping lead the United States to a gold medal at the2014 IIHF World U18 Championships.[1]
On March 26, 2015, it was announced that Gruden would serve as the inaugural head coach for theFlint Firebirds of theOntario Hockey League during the2015–16 season.[1] In a highly publicized incident, he was fired a month into the season. Reports claim the firing was due to refusing to increase the playing time of defenseman Håkon Nilsen, the team owner's son, however team president Costa Papista denied the reports.[2][3] Following a successful player walkout, Gruden was reinstated as the Firebirds head coach and given a three-year contract extension.[4][5] On February 17, 2016, Gruden was again fired by the Firebirds.[6] On June 3, 2016, Gruden was named head coach of theHamilton Bulldogs.[7] Following the2017–18 regular season, he led the Bulldogs as theOHL playoff champions.
On July 18, 2018, theNew York Islanders hired Gruden as an assistant coach.[8] On June 9, 2022, Gruden was relieved from his duties.[9]
On July 20, 2022, theBoston Bruins hired Gruden as an assistant coach. Following the2022–23 season, helping the Bruins to the most successful regular season in league history,
On July 4, 2023, theToronto Marlies hired Gruden as head coach.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1989–90 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 47 | 7 | 39 | 46 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 39 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 37 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 41 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Ferris State University | CCHA | 38 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 38 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 39 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 78 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 76 | 13 | 42 | 55 | 74 | 23 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 16 | ||
| 1998–99 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Detroit Vipers | IHL | 59 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 52 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1999–00 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 50 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 34 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2001–02 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 57 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 48 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 38 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 92 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | United States | WC | 13th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| Defenseman of the Year | 1990 | |
| College | ||
| All-CCHAFirst Team | 1994 | |
| AHCAWest First-Team All-American | 1994 | |
| CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman | 1994 | |
| IHL | ||
| Second All-Star Team | 1998 | |
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2002 | [10] |
| First All-Star Team | 2002 | |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman 1993–94 | Succeeded by |