Getting to Know: Matt Grzelcyk

Matt Grzelcyk is Boston-born and bred. He grew up in Charlestown, a neighborhood in the city, with his father John working as part of TD Garden’s Bull Gang – the crew who transitions the arena from ice to court and vice versa – for decades.

After attending college at Boston University, playing for Penguins assistant coach David Quinn, he got drafted by his hometown Bruins in 2012 – with the event taking place in Pittsburgh. Grzelcyk remained with the organization until signing a one-year deal with the Penguins in free agency this summer.

While of course, leaving the only city and NHL team he’s known is a big adjustment, Grzelcyk has already been feeling at home in his new surroundings. “It kind of reminds me of Boston a little bit. It’s a blue-collar city, but very loyal fan base, everyone's got each other's back,” he said.

“It's been nice stepping into more of a veteran locker room. I kind of had that with the Bruins as well, and they know how the league works. They know other situations that you go through off the ice and how to alleviate some of that pressure, so you're able to come to the rink, focus, ready to get your work in.”

Fellow Bostonian Mike Sullivan said they see the defenseman, who’s been paired with Kris Letang during Training Camp presented by UPMC, as someone who could play in their top-four in some capacity.

“For a guy that may not be the biggest guy in the ice, he's a fierce competitor,” Sullivan said of the 30-year-old blueliner. “I think his greatest attribute is his puck-moving ability, just getting back to pucks, execution on the breakout, retrievals – whether it be with his partner or just punching a puck north to our forward so we can get it in our forwards’ hands, get out of our end zone, and start to establish a game that we hope to play. So, I really believe that Matt could help us in that regard.”

Grzelcyk took the time after a recent training camp practice to shed some more light on his background and interests. He’s a pleasure to chat with – good-natured, open, and engaging –and I could’ve asked a dozen more questions, but didn’t want to monopolize his time too much. Maybe we’ll do another edition in the future, but for now, here’s our conversation.

I know we talked a bit about your draft memories back when you first signed, but I wanted to ask what else you remembered from that experience, especially your impressions of the city.

I wasn’t sure if I was even going to get picked, so I honestly didn’t want to go at all. I just didn’t want to be here and not get drafted. My parents kind of convinced me, and I had played with a lot of guys who were going to go in the first round – that’s kind of like once-in-a-lifetime experience to be able to witness that. It was kind of nice knowing you were not going to go in the first round, so I just got to sit and enjoy PPG. I remember it was beautiful. The second day was a lot more nerve-wracking; not knowing if you were going to go in the seventh round or second round. It happened really fast, too. I had zero inclination on when I was going to get picked. I thought I was going to go way later, but then it just happened. I feel like for thirty minutes, I actually blacked out; I don’t remember anything [laughs]. I remember walking down the stairs to meet everyone and then all the interviews after. Then after, I remember walking on one of the bridges towards the baseball stadium, and there was a lot of Boston people that we met up with there. We didn’t go to the Pirates game, but we could essentially see it all from the bridge. It was just so beautiful. Obviously, this place has a lot of great memories for me, so that definitely played a decision on where I wanted to sign.

I couldn’t really tell what suit you were wearing in your draft photo, I think it was gray pinstriped? I think it was Macy’s, probably, like, three sizes too big [laughs]. How has your style evolved since then? I lean into [style] a lot. Since I was a kid, for whatever reason, I’ve always been in touch with fashion. Not as much anymore as I’ve gotten a little bit older, I’m a lot more relaxed. But when I was a kid, I had the worst OCD ever. I remember I had to color-match my shirt and my shoes. I used to be really into shoes, but not as much anymore. I could get into fashion, for sure. Someone asked me recently what I would want to do when I was done playing, and I could see myself doing something along those lines, because that’s something I’ve always had some sort of passion for. I wouldn’t be wearing anything too crazy, though. I’m more understated. I had Pasta (David Pastrnak) the last couple of years, I think he has probably the best style. It’s not only what you wear, it’s how you wear it. So, we always talk a lot and share things with each other and stuff. That’s something that we kind of bonded over.