[MissTeeks]

Big Ern is a good guy:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...ance-big-read/

On Dec. 4, 2008, McGrattan locked himself inside the bedroom of his Phoenix home and called the Coyotes’ trainer to say he wouldn’t be making practice because he was sick. Coming off a five-day bender fuelled by cocaine and whatever booze he could get his hands on, McGrattan called his mom, Cathy, next. “I’m not sure if I wanted to die — I didn’t care,” he says, now. The realization scared the daylights out of him. He told Cathy: “I need to get some help.”

Thanks to that decision, McGrattan is not only a husband and a dad, but the 37-year-old has also carved out a second career in hockey as a member of the Calgary Flames’ front office in a role that’s unique in the NHL — nobody else in the league does what he does. After a 10-year career protecting his teammates on the ice with his fists, McGrattan is now using his vast life experience to protect and help players as Calgary’s Director of Player Assistance. He’s not a therapist or a doctor — he prefers the terms “big brother” or “friend” — but he’s here to confidentially talk to Flames and prospects about anything and everything, the goal being to ensure that none of them hits rock bottom like he did.

As he sits here at home surrounded by his family and dogs, McGrattan considers whether the other 30 teams in the NHL are doing enough to support players struggling with personal issues. Michelle looks up from her early afternoon espresso and answers first: “No.” McGrattan nods in agreement. “I don’t think so,” he says. What’s missing in every market — aside from Calgary, the team sitting atop the Western Conference, which he’ll tell you is no coincidence — is an employee in that lifestyle role he occupies. “I’m not the kind of guy to preach,” McGrattan says, “but hopefully it becomes a trend.”

Treliving has plenty of experience with McGrattan: He was assistant GM in Phoenix when the team acquired the enforcer. The executive actually believed McGrattan back in those days when he lied and said he didn’t have a problem with drugs and alcohol, when he said he didn’t need help after the team’s management offered it. “We joked the first time we talked about this, ‘Who’s the first person you hire to protect your home?’ You hire the thief that’s already been here,” Treliving says. “He knows all the tricks of the trade.” Not that McGrattan’s here to rat out players: The point, and the hope, is to prevent potential problem situations, to encourage players to talk to him before it’s too late. As Treliving describes it: “Let’s not wait until the house is on fire before we call the fire department. Is there a way that we can get in front of this? Are there resources that we can give our players, people to talk to? In Brian’s case, seeing signs that maybe somebody’s heading down the wrong path, that we can prevent something before it becomes an issue — that’s really our mindset. How do we look after our people?”

It’s McGrattan’s hope that the NHL moves toward the NFL model, with every team adding personnel in a lifestyle role. For now, he says of Calgary, “we’re kind of leaders.” Not only do the Flames boast the lone Director of Player Assistance, but they also have a mental performance coach on staff, in Dr. Matt Brown.

A look at the standings might convince other teams to follow suit, McGrattan figures. “It’s no mistake that our team is in first place right now,” he says, “because of the way guys are treated here.”