The amount of miles that defenseman Nick Grose has traveled to play hockey stands at 1,736.9.
From the the northern tips of Virginia, to the brisk surroundings of the Canadian province Ontario and its cities, ultimately to land in New York and then Athens, his journey has halted in southeast Ohio. Grose has a new hockey home.
Grose’s journey started in his hometown of Fairfax, Virginia. Just shy of 20 miles away from the nation’s capital, it's where Grose first discovered the game. Growing up in the shadows of the Washington Capitals, from a young age, hockey was all Grose could think about.
As most aspiring athletes have done, Grose played in various little leagues up until high school where organized sports are mostly sponsored by the school. He played in 20 games throughout his career at Potomac High and finished with 10 goals and 42 assists for a total of 52 points.
Being close to home had its perks but Grose realized that if his hockey career was going to take off, it wasn’t going to be in his own backyard. The bags were packed, the goodbyes were said and the new chapter began; the Canadian chapter.
A dual citizen due in part to his Canadian father, the move for Grose was not as difficult a transition as it could’ve been.
“I had gone up there before for hockey camps and stuff when I was little, but I had gotten the opportunity to play and I had to take it,” Grose said.
Grose’s first team when he arrived in Canada came in the North Bay Trappers. A city in the province of Ontario, roughly 688 miles away from what Grose would call home, North Bay became his new home. In his 41 games played with the Trappers, Grose only amassed three goals with no assists.
While unfortunate, it didn’t stop Grose or mess up his psyche. The following season the Trappers organization was bought out and moved to Mattawa.
It's what Grose needed. It's what changed the performance from a year ago. In a way, yes, that’s what happened. In his one season as a Blackhawk, Grose totaled four goals, but earned 33 assists. Grose took on a leadership role and was announced as an alternate captain.
With everything having gone his way, Grose decided he could do better and another move ensued. This time, it was in the direction of 20 miles southwest to the town of Powassan, home of the Voodoos.
Bigger things waited for Grose in Powassan, announced as an alternate captain once more, the defenseman scored 12 goals and assisted on 35 others. In his time at Powassan, Grose established who he was as a player. Which meant it was time for something new, and something new lied south of the Canadian border. It was time for Grose to return back to the States.
As is the norm for most of the 19-20-year-old demographic, Grose went to college. Home to the Pioneers, Grose landed himself at Utica College. A D III hockey team, that went 18-9-0 in Grose’s one season, Grose was less than impressive for the Pioneers as he only appeared in six games with one assist to show.
The journeyman decided that Utica wasn’t for him, instead a little nugget hidden in southeast Ohio was for him.
“I decided to come here because I wanted to come to a big school with an authentic college experience, all while playing good hockey.”
So after almost 2,000 miles accumulated, the self-described “heads-up” defenseman once again has a new home, and for Grose, it’s a home he wants to keep.
