Scott Gruhl is a former professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player.

Career

Left winger

Winger (ice hockey)

Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...

 Scott Gruhl was an offensive player who spent parts of three years in the NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 during the 80s. Although his NHL impact was minimal, he was a top goal scorer in college and one of the most productive IHL scorers of all-time.

Born in Port Colborne

Port Colborne, Ontario

Port Colborne is a city on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario, Canada...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 Gruhl spent two years at Northeastern University

Northeastern University, Boston

Northeastern University , is a private, secular, coeducational research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Northeastern has eight colleges and offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments...

, then scored 94 points for the OHA's

Ontario Hockey Association

The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...

 Sudbury Wolves

Sudbury Wolves

The Sudbury Wolves are the name of the ice hockey team from Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury has had a hockey team known as the "Wolves" nearly every year since World War I. The Sudbury Wolves, the senior men's AAA team, have twice been chosen to be Canada's representatives at the Ice Hockey World...

 in 1978–79. A few months later he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

 and played a handful of games for them.

Beginning in 1979–80, Gruhl was a dominant scorer in the IHL. He scored 56 goals for the Saginaw Gears

Saginaw Gears (IHL)

The Saginaw Gears were a minor-league ice hockey franchise that played in the defunct International Hockey League . The Gears existed from 1972 to 1983...

 that season, his first of seven years with at least 40 goals.

In 1984–85, Gruhl was presented the James Gatschene Memorial Trophy

James Gatschene Memorial Trophy

The James Gatschene Memorial Trophy was awarded annually to the International Hockey League player selected as most valuable through his display of outstanding playing ability and sportsmanlike conduct over the course of the regular season, as chosen by the league coaches.The trophy was first...

 as the league's MVP after scoring 62 goals for the Muskegon Mohawks

Muskegon Mohawks

The Muskegon Mohawks were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League from 1965 to 1984. Muskegon were Turner Cup champions in 1968....

. He followed up with 59 goals the next season with Muskegon Lumberjacks

Muskegon Lumberjacks

The Muskegon Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League team based in Muskegon, Michigan.-Facts:-Season-by-Season record:Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses/Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in...

. Overall, Gruhl was named to the IHL first all-star team once and second all-star squad three times and played on four Turner Cup

Turner Cup

The Turner Cup is the championship trophy of the International Hockey League. The Cup is named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professional with the Detroit Red Wings organization, and played one season with the Indianapolis Capitals in the American Hockey League...

 champions. He also dressed for six games with the Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

 in 1987–88 after signing as a free agent. The tricky forward played a couple of years in the ECHL before retiring in 1996. Gruhl left the game as the top goal scorer in the IHL history in terms of combined regular season and playoff totals.

Gruhl's career is profiled with a chapter in the book Journeymen: 24 Bittersweet Tales of Short Major League Sports Careers by Kurt Dusterberg.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1976–77	Northeastern University Northeastern University, Boston Northeastern University , is a private, secular, coeducational research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Northeastern has eight colleges and offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments...	NCAA		17	6	4	10	0
1977–78	Northeastern University	NCAA		28	21	38	59	46
1978–79	Sudbury Wolves Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are the name of the ice hockey team from Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury has had a hockey team known as the "Wolves" nearly every year since World War I. The Sudbury Wolves, the senior men's AAA team, have twice been chosen to be Canada's representatives at the Ice Hockey World...	OHA Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...		68	35	49	84	78
1979–80	Saginaw Gears Saginaw Gears (IHL) The Saginaw Gears were a minor-league ice hockey franchise that played in the defunct International Hockey League . The Gears existed from 1972 to 1983...	IHL		75	53	40	93	100		7	2	6	8	16
1979–80	Binghamton Dusters Binghamton Dusters The Binghamton Dusters were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena...	AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...		4	1	0	1	6
1980–81	Saginaw Gears	IHL		77	56	34	90	87		13	11	8	19	12
1980–81	Houston Apollos Houston Apollos The Houston Apollos were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Houston, Texas. They played in the Central Hockey League from 1965 to 1969, and then from 1979 to 1981....	CHL Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....		4	0	0	0	0
1981–82	New Haven Nighthawks New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks are a former ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the Minnesota North Stars , New York Islanders , New York Rangers , and Los Angeles Kings...	AHL		73	28	41	69	107		4	0	4	4	2
1981–82	Los Angeles Kings Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...	NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...		7	2	1	3	2
1982–83	New Haven Nighthawks	AHL		68	25	38	63	114		12	3	3	6	22
1982–83	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		7	0	2	2	4
1983–84	Muskegon Mohawks Muskegon Mohawks The Muskegon Mohawks were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League from 1965 to 1984. Muskegon were Turner Cup champions in 1968....	IHL		56	40	56	96	49
1984–85	Muskegon Lumberjacks Muskegon Lumberjacks The Muskegon Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League team based in Muskegon, Michigan.-Facts:-Season-by-Season record:Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses/Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in...	IHL		82	62	64	126	102		17	7	16	23	25
1985–86	Muskegon Lumberjacks	IHL		82	59	50	109	178		14	7	13	20	22
1986–87	Muskegon Lumberjacks	IHL		67	34	39	73	157		15	5	7	13	54
1987–88	Muskegon Lumberjacks	IHL		55	28	47	75	115		6	5	1	6	12
1987–88	Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...	NHL		6	1	0	1	0
1988–89	Muskegon Lumberjacks	IHL		79	37	55	92	163		14	8	11	19	37
1989–90	Muskegon Lumberjacks	IHL		80	41	51	92	206		15	8	6	14	26
1990–91	Fort Wayne Komets Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey franchise currently a member of the Central Hockey League in the Northern Conference. The team was previously a member of the International Hockey League before it merged into the CHL in 2010...	IHL		59	23	47	70	109		19	4	6	10	39
1991–92	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		78	44	61	105	196		6	2	2	4	48
1992–93	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		73	34	47	81	290		12	4	11	15	14
1993–94	Milwaukee Admirals Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA at the Bradley Center.-History:...	IHL		28	6	9	15	102
1993–94	Kalamazoo Wings	IHL		30	15	12	27	85		5	1	4	5	26
1994–95	Richmond Renegades Richmond Renegades (ECHL) The Richmond Renegades were an ECHL ice hockey team in Richmond, Virginia that played in the East Coast Hockey League from 1990 until 2003. The Renegades played at the Richmond Coliseum, which they marketed in later years as the Freezer....	ECHL		49	31	40	71	288		17	9	9	18	68
1995–96	Richmond Renegades	ECHL		60	46	39	85	236		7	3	5	8	18
1995–96	Baltimore Bandits Baltimore Bandits The Baltimore Bandits were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. They played in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Baltimore Arena...	AHL		1	0	0	0	0
1995–96	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL								2	0	1	1	0
3 years	Totals	NHL		20	3	3	6	6

Awards

• IHL Second All-Star Team (1980, 1986, 1992)
• IHL First All-Star Team (1984, 1985)
• James Gatschene Memorial Trophy (MVP - IHL) (1985)

External links