Mike Grier (Holliston, Mass.), who played 15 years in the National Hockey League, including two stints with the Buffalo Sabres, and Eddie Olczyk (Chicago, Ill.), the current lead analyst for the NHL on NBC/NBC Sports Network who played 16 years in the NHL and is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, will serve as head coaches for the third annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game on Sept. 25 in Buffalo, New York, it was announced today by USA Hockey.
The event, which will feature 42 of the top American-born prospects eligible for the 2015 National Hockey League Entry Draft, will be staged at First Niagara Center, home of the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres.
Grier played in the NHL from 1996-2011, suiting up for the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks and, on two occasions, the Buffalo Sabres. He posted 162 goals and 383 points over 1,060 career games. Internationally, Grier represented Team USA at the 1995 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship and won a bronze medal with the U.S. at the 2004 IIHF Men’s World Championship. Since retiring, Grier has become a youth hockey coach. This past July he served as an on-ice instructor at USA Hockey’s Boys’ Select 17 Player Development Camp.
Olczyk skated for six teams over 16 NHL seasons, including the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins. He notched 342 goals and 794 points in 1,031 career games. In 1994, he helped the Rangers win the Stanley Cup. Olczyk represented the U.S. at nine international events, including the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. He also helped Team USA to a second-place finish in the 1991 Canada Cup. Olczyk is the current lead game analyst for NHL on NBC and NHL on NBC Sports Network. Additionally, he spent parts of two seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2003-05.
