Brian McGrattan joins Flames in player development role

It’s a blast from the past today: the Calgary Flames have announced that they have added former Flame and folk hero Brian McGrattan in a player development role.

As a hockey player, McGrattan became a fan favourite for providing some memorable moments during some very unmemorable seasons. The Flames were his last NHL stop, playing a fourth line role from the 2012-13 to the 2014-15 season.

However, it’s his off-ice work that has been making a major impact recently. McGrattan has shown his strengths as a mentor, having helped both Micheal Ferland and Emile Poirier overcome alcohol issues after having fought his own battle with addiction. He’s been given some of the credit for turning around Ferland’s career and has started leading Poirier down a similar path, so it makes sense why the Flames would give McGrattan a job to continue doing this sort of work.

The press release doesn’t go into depth about the exact details of McGrattan’s new role, but he’ll be on hand to provide “support and guidance” for Flames players (both prospects and NHL), in regards to both on and off ice aspects of the game.