{"id":914706,"date":"2026-09-30T00:50:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T00:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/914706\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T00:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T00:50:18","slug":"gotta-fight-for-a-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/914706\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Gotta Fight For A Role’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now, as he prepares for his second professional season, Gridin is approaching things differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had a spot before training camp started, but I still had to prove it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I guess I did, so it\u2019s great to be on the opening roster.\u201d<\/p>\n

The difference, he says, isn’t necessarily something that can be measured on a scoresheet.<\/p>\n

It’s understanding the game.<\/p>\n

After spending time with the Wranglers and getting his first extended taste of NHL hockey, Gridin believes he has developed a better sense of the time and space available to him on the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the game more now,\u201d he explained. \u201cI have more time than I thought with the puck. I can make better plays because of that and feel better about my game and feel more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Gridin, the work never ends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I gotta fight for a role,\u201d he stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Keeping a spot on the roster has been a common sentiment echoed by Head Coach Ryan Huska.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever you are, you still have to fight for a spot,\u201d Gridin nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That mentality will follow him into the opening of the regular season Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome (CLICK FOR TICKETS<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Despite being the youngest player on Calgary’s opening-night roster, Gridin doesn’t see his age as something that should define his role within the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He sees himself as someone who is expected to contribute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that I’ve gotta produce every night, pretty much,\u201d the winger said.\u00a0\u201cI’m one of the offensive drivers of this team, but I don’t feel like I’m the youngest, and I don’t feel like that in the room either.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a comfort level that comes with that.<\/p>\n

Gridin has already established relationships within the Fdressing room, including with linemates Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He has also built connections with veterans including Ryan Strome\u00a0and Mikael Backlund.<\/p>\n

The familiarity has helped make the transition into his second season a little more natural.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously Frosty and Matty, because they’re my linemates,\u201d Gridin said. \u201cBut I see everyone. I have a great relationship with everyone, Stromer, Beezer, even Backs.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while his offensive ability is what first catches the eye, Gridin knows the next stage of his development will require more than points.<\/p>\n

The message from the coaching staff has been consistent: offence will come, but it starts with being reliable without the puck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say the same thing, goals will come if I play well without the puck to start with,\u201d Gridin said. \u201cI gotta push myself to play well without the puck and not only focus on offence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now, as he prepares for his second professional season, Gridin is approaching things differently. \u201cI knew I had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":914707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-914706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=914706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/914707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}