3 minute read
Athletes for Christ............................................................Pages
from His Grace Magazine
by His Grace
Stu Grimson
Stu gave his life to Jesus the day he played pro hockey
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Stu Grimson was born on May 20, 1965 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Stu is a retired NHL hockey player. Stu was 6'5" left winger; he was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1983 NHL entry draft. Stu didn't sign on with the Detroit Red Wings, as he decided to continue playing for the University of Manitoba of the CIAU for a couple of years. A couple of years later the 6'5" enforcer was then drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 7th round, 143th over all in the 1985 draft. Stu then played a couple of seasons in the minor league, he would get his chance to play in the NHL in 1988 with the Calgary Flames. In 1990, he was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks. Stu would play a couple of years with a strong gritty Blackhawk team with players such as Mike Peluso, Chris Chelios and Dave Manson. Stu was tough and had a nose for fighting, which gave him the nickname of "Grim Reaper."
During the 1993 NHL expansion draft, the Chicago Blackhawks decided not to protect him. As a result, he was picked up by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Stu would continue to play the role of their enforcer until he would once again be on the move. The Mighty Ducks had traded him to the Detroit Red Wings. After a couple of years with the Red Wings, Stu was placed on waivers and claimed by the Hartford Whalers. Then he played with the Carolina Hurricanes as Hartford moved their team to Raleigh, North Carolina. During the summer of 1998, Stu was heading back to the west coast as Carolina traded him to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the second time in his career; he was traded along with Kevin Haller. Stu would play a couple of years with Anaheim before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 2000-2001 season. He finished his hockey career with the Nashville Predators in 2002. Stu's career had him play with eight NHL teams; he played 729 regular season games and he managed to rack up a grand total of 2,113 penalty minutes during his 15 year career in the NHL.
Stu is a strong Christian who doesn't try to hide his faith of Christ. The year Stu entered the NHL in 1988 with the Calgary Flames, he gave his life to Jesus Christ.
Stu is on the Board of Directors of Hockey Ministries International. He has preached many sermons from the pulpit and has enjoyed many hockey camps as an outreach events for the kids. Stu, an ambassador for Christ, started
Stu Grimson
a chapel service on every team he played for. Leading Christian fellowship, Stu said once in an interview that "Jesus was no wimp." Despite his terrifying reputation that he played on the ice, Stu won the respect of his fellow players as an intelligent and fluent man off the ice. The Grim Reaper is definitely on fire for Jesus Christ.
After Stu retired from hockey, he finished his undergraduate degree and went to law school. He was In House Counsel for the National Hockey League Players Association from 2006 to 2008. He worked for the Nashville law firm of Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Brothers, PLLC from 2008 to 2012. He also worked as a Color Analyst for the Nashville Predators on Fox Sports South from 2016 to 2017 season.
During the summer of 2018, Stu married Jennifer Ives Grimson; she is an entrepreneur and investor. They live in Nashville, Tennessee.
Stu has four children; Erin, Hannah, Kristjan & Jayne.
