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| 1972 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Gilles Gratton
Selected in fifth round
No. 69 overall by Buffalo Sabres
Born July 28,
1952
 | Position:
Goaltender
Height: 5-11 Weight: 155
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Oshawa (OMJHL)
Birthplace:
LaSalle, Quebec (Canada)
Hometown: LaSalle, Quebec |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | W-L-T |
GAA | SO |
SV% | | 1969-70 |
Oshawa | OHA |
26 | -- |
4.99 | 0 |
n/a | | 1970-71 |
Oshawa | OHA |
47 | n/a |
5.00 | 0 |
n/a | | 1971-72 |
Oshawa | OHA |
50 | n/a |
3.55 | 3 |
n/a |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
OMJHL All-Star Second Team:
1971-72 (Oshawa) | | NHL CAREER |
Debut: November 5, 1975 (St. Louis at
Minnesota)
Numbers:
33 (St. Louis); 33 (N.Y. Rangers)
Stanley
Cup: Never won. Status: Retired 1977 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP |
W-L-T | GAA | SO | SV% |
| 1975-1977 |
St. Louis, NYR | 47 |
13-18-9 | 4.02 |
0 | n/a |
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NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous:
Missed first two weeks of 1975-76 season with "stomach ailment" that forced
him to leave St. Louis and go home to Montreal for treatment. At the time
there was some question as to whether he was even sick, and it was later
learned that he had abandoned the team because of disagreements with coach
Garry Young. He accused Young of discriminating against French-Canadian
players and running poor practices, but other players said Gratton was making
up all of these problems out of some irrational hatred for Young. There was
some question as to whether he even wanted to play hockey at all, because he
was known for telling teammates that he hated to play and
once told a reporter he'd be happy just to play "every sixth game." ... Returned to Blues
in early November 1975, but continued to have problems throughout his six-game
stint with team, removing himself from two games in which he was losing. The
situation came to a head in a road game against N.Y. Islanders on Nov. 29,
1975, when, just five minutes into the game, he was hit in the arm by a Bob Nystrom shot and skated off the ice, claiming he could not play because of the
pain. He then told Young that he wanted to leave the building and refused to
go back in the game. The Blues lost 8-2, and Young blamed the loss on Gratton
for bailing out on the team.
Two days later at practice in St. Louis, Gratton and Young got into a shouting
match, and Gratton left the team for good. The Blues finally agreed to let him
quit the team, placing him on the "voluntary retired" list and suspending him.
The Blues officially said he had "resigned" and that he had issued a formal
apology to the organization for his behavior. When he then tried to
return to the WHA with Toronto, St. Louis prevented him from playing in
any WHA games because he was still under contract to the Blues organization
and the team had not placed him on waivers. The Gratton incident contributed to the
Blues' decision to fire Young a few weeks later. At the end of the season, Gratton was officially released by the Blues, and he signed with N.Y. Rangers
on March 24, 1976. ... Was first goaltender in N.Y. Rangers history to wear a
birdcage-style mask. Also wore a mask with a lion's face painted on it because
his Zodiac sign was Leo. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams: Ottawa/Toronto (WHA); New
Haven (AHL)
WHA Summit Series: 1974
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
WHA Draft Pick: 1972
(by Alberta)
WHA Playoffs Shutouts Leader: 1974
(Toronto) (1 shutout)
Miscellaneous: Played piano and guitar during his playing days. ... Developed reputation as a flake while in WHA
because he spent a lot of his time away from the ice in transcendental
meditiation, once went streaking on ice in Toronto with only his mask and
skates on, often blamed bad games on astrology, claimed he had been
reincarnated and once blasted his teammates during a between-periods interview.
... Nearly jumped to NHL with Buffalo in 1974 when there was a rumor that Ken
Dryden would sign with Toronto (WHA) after law school and displace him as
starting goaltender. ... Instead of bringing a girlfriend, he used his extra
free plane ticket to bring his mother with him to Russia for the 1974 WHA
Summit Series. ... Returned to Russia for three weeks in 1976 to study Russian
hockey technique and gain insight from the coaches who worked with Vladislav
Tretiak.
Personal: Nicknamed "Grattony the Loony" and "The Count." ... Younger brother
of former NHL player Norm Gratton. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE: After Gratton's third season in the WHA, Buffalo traded his rights to St. Louis for "future considerations" (cash)
on July 3, 1975. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '72 | | Total Selected: |
152 | | Forwards: |
88 | | Defense: |
47 | | Goaltenders: |
17 | | Major Junior: |
121 | | College Players: |
25 |
| Canadian: |
139 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
2 | | USA Citizens: |
11 | | U.S.-Born: |
10 |
| European: |
0 |
| Reached NHL: |
67 |
| Won Stanley Cup: |
11 | | Hall of Fame: |
2 |
| All-Star Game: |
13 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
3 |
| Olympians: |
1 |
| Picks Traded: |
24 |
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