The NextGen team won its opener 4-1 on Sunday and is seeking to win the prestigious tournament, which is attended by NHL scouts. But its mission is also to highlight hockey's growing diversity and provide an opportunity for players of color to meet and bond with other minority players.
"Hockey is a sport that often with these kids, it was the same when I was growing up, you're the only Black kid or minority kid on your team and you have to go through and experience things that other players don't understand," said Grier, an assistant with the New Jersey Devils who was the only Black coach to work behind the bench in the NHL this season. "I just think it's nice for these kids to know that they're not alone and there are other kids going through the same things, that they have shared experiences."
Grier said one of his most cherished hockey experiences was being one of five Black players on Edmonton's roster in 2001, along with forwards
Anson Carter
and
Georges Laraque
, defenseman
Sean Brown
and goalie
Joaquin Gage
.
"It was a feeling of comfort having other guys like that in the room with me," said Grier, who played 1,060 NHL games with the Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks. "It's kind of an unspoken bond with those players, those guys. Whenever we see each other, we can always fall back in the routines and enjoy being around each other."
Grier said he hopes that his tournament players will forge the same bonds.
"Hopefully, they'll become good friends and keep in touch," he said. "You'll always have your support group, your family, to kind of lean when things don't go right. But sometimes it's just nice to have another player who actually is pretty much in your shoes and knows what you're going through to talk about these things."
NextGen's tournament roster includes
Jordan Harris
, a Northeastern University defenseman who was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round (No. 71) of the 2018 NHL Draft; Northeastern incoming freshman defenseman James Davenport, who played last season for Victoria of the British Columbia Hockey League; forward Ross Mitton, who played for Omaha of the USHL this season and will join Colgate in the fall; Christian Jimenez, a defenseman for Sioux City of the USHL and a 2021-22 Harvard commit; and Millette, who's committed to American International College for 2021-22.