It's a rare opportunity for a Junior A team to hire a coach who's had the opportunity to play and learn under one of the greatest coaches of our time - Ken Hitchcock - and one of, if not the greatest hockey player of all time - Wayne Gretzky.
Josh Gratton, the new President of Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the Northern Manitoba Blizzard, can claim all that and more.
Gratton, a 43-year-old native of Brantford, Ont., brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience to the Blizzard franchise. He played more than 700 professional games, playing with some of the great minds in hockey. This includes NHL stints with the Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes, and two Calder Cup championships with two separate AHL teams.
"I was fortunate to have great coaches from the start of my career – including John Stevens, assistant coach with the Vegas Golden Knights, who’s won a bunch of Stanley Cups and we won a Calder Cup together,” said Gratton, who also went on to talk about his above-mentioned coaches. “I got to learn from the best of the best.”