HARTFORD, Conn – Large green letters on a bed sheet at the XL Center on Sunday read: Tommy 10 Terrific.
Terrific, indeed.
For most of the season, Tommy Grant, who wears No. 10, has been part of the Connecticut Whale’s “energy line” with another second-year pro, center Kelsey Tessier, and rookie wing Scott Tanski. Whenever the Whale needed a lift, coach Ken Gernander didn’t hesitate to send out the gritty, inexperienced trio, as they’re all mature beyond their years.
Tessier and Grant sit in adjacent stalls in the XL Center locker room and often chat about how to improve their games. Grant is usually the inquisitor, but Tessier is happy to be a sounding board.
“What I’ve found out about Grant is that he’s a guy who listens,” said Tessier, named the Whale’s Unsung Hero by the media in his rookie season. “You can say stuff to Grant, and he takes it. He’s not the kind of guy who’s going to tell you to back off or says, ‘I know what I’m doing.’ He keeps everything to himself and wants to know what everyone thinks.
“It’s one of those things where he says, ‘Hey, Tess, I want you to be here when I do this,’ and I’m like, ‘Awesome, I’ll be there.’ When one says something to the other in different situations, now we know. If we never had that situation happen, then we talk on the bench and make sure that this is what we want to do. My junior coach always said communication eliminates duplication. Talking just makes it so much easier for everyone. If you accept what the other person thinks and what I think, then it just makes our bond that much stronger on the ice. And then he goes out there and uses everything with his skill. He’s been playing awesome for us.”
Grant said Tessier’s words of wisdom have been pretty basic.
“We just talk about little things like where we want pucks and different kind of passes that we want to make,” Grant said. “It’s maybe little things that coaches might not necessarily talk about but things that just help each other.”
Whatever Tessier has been saying has certainly helped enhance Grant’s offense the past month. And when Tanski was replaced by All-Star rookie Jonathan Audy-Marchessault for a game against the Portland Pirates on Sunday, Grant put together his first four-point game in six years with two goals and two assists, and he and Tessier were each plus-3. The four points were two shy of the franchise record for a regular-season game, and Audy-Marchessault’s second goal of the game and 22nd of the season off a rebound of Grant’s shot with 2:05 left in regulation got the Whale to overtime after they blew a two-goal lead in the third period.
Cam Talbot, making his first start in 11 games since Feb. 19, then stopped six shots in overtime and the four he faced in the shootout as the Whale pulled out a 5-4 win that gave them a four-point lead in the Northeast Division over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers heading into Friday night’s rematch with the Pirates at the XL Center.
“Grant had a great game (Sunday), and I just think my linemates were terrific with Marchessault shooting the puck all the time and scoring,” Tessier said. “We have to give him the puck and give Grant the credit because his feet were moving. When Grant’s feet are moving, he’s deadly out there. I like playing with him because we click well, and I know where he is on the ice and he knows where I want (the puck).”
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Grant had three assists in seven games with the Whale at the end of the 2010-11 season after completing his four-year career at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. Two of the assists came in his debut while on an amateur tryout contract, and Grant and the Ranger organization agreed to terms on an NHL free-agent contract three days later.
Grant had eight goals, 10 assists and 35 penalty minutes in 61 games with the Wolf Pack/Whale last season, but his best day since his junior days on Sunday gave him 10 goals and 12 assists and a plus-4 rating in 62 games this season despite playing mostly on the “energy line” and killing penalties.
But that has changed lately as the 25-year-old Grant, with help from his locker-room neighbor Tessier, improved his all-around game, got to play on one of the two main power-play units and has four of his 10 goals and four of his 12 assists in the last seven games.
“I think it has a lot to do with confidence and just going to the net more and trying to get in better scoring areas,” Grant said. “Before I was just trying to chip pucks in and hit everything that moved. Now it’s kind of trying to make a little mixture, and obviously playing with Tess and Marchie, they’re skilled players that can make plays in high traffic areas. When you’re playing with skilled players, you’ve got to find a way to get shots and make things happen.
“Early in the year, I was struggling not only offensively but defensively as well. I tried to worry about being good in my own zone so I could get more ice time and get more trust out of the coaches, and that has kind of led to getting more chances offensively. I’m coming down lower in the zone and when we’re breaking the puck up has allowed me a little more time and space and to use my speed more effectively. If I go through a bad period, it usually stems from being bad in my own zone or not coming back. If I’m coming back nice and low, then I get more time and more space to make plays. And you can see more of the ice, so I’m just trying to work on that as much as I can. I’m trying to help out more and (still) be good covering my point man, and I think that’s gone a long way as well.”
Grant and Tessier have looked to increase their offense since All-Star wing Mats Zuccarello was recalled by the Rangers on March 12, opening more ice time in all situations. Zuccarello followed veteran John Mitchell and rookie wing Carl Hagelin, who have helped the Rangers to the lead in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference since they were called up on Nov. 18.
“There’s no way to fill those guys’ voids, especially Zucc being the last to go up as a forward,” Grant said. “That guy does so much offensively, and I think it’s going to take more than one or two guys to fill that void. All of us – Tanski, (Jordan) Owens, Ryan (Bourque), myself – are going to get a better chance to prove ourselves, and we have to kind of answer the bell.
“And if they’re going to put me on the power play like they have the last couple of games, that’s an offensive situation where if you’re not going to contribute offensively then you’re going to be off that. So I’m just trying to take advantage of the situation, and whether guys come back or more guys go up, everybody has to kind of step up their games, especially with playoffs coming. And every team in our league is fighting either for a higher seed or a playoff spot, so every game is going to be tough. Guys are going to get a good chance here and just have got to kind of rise to the occasion.”
Tessier was a major offensive threat in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, excelling with Audy-Marchessault and Bourque with the Quebec Remparts before being traded to Moncton and helping the Wildcats win the league title and a spot in the 2010 Memorial Cup with 14 goals and 16 points in 21 games. His 30 points were second most and 14 goals third best in the playoffs.
“When big players are gone is when guys like Grant and I and others who were here last year have to step up our game,” said Tessier, who has 10 goals and 17 assists and is plus-5 while playing in all but one of the Whale’s 64 games. “That’s when we have to prove we can play in this league. We played a lot of minutes (Sunday), so when coach puts us on the ice, we have to perform and make sure we’re the second line out there. We’ve got to play like a second line and put the puck deep with a little bit of our mixture.
“And we’re on the power play now, so you have to change your role a bit but not much. You’ve still got to keep it simple, work hard and be a tenacious line. But at the same time, we can create a little more offense. Just be more poised and make sure, ‘We can do this.’ Give a little confidence, pat each other’s back and say, ‘Hey, let’s go, boys.’ ”
Gernander has let Grant “go” more the past few weeks and was quick to explain why.
“Tommy gets all the credit,” Gernander said. “There was a large stretch there where he and Tess and Tanner were a good energy line and, more than anything, worked hard. From that they generated a little bit of success, and the more responsibility that Tommy has been given, the better he has become.
“Guys who are given more opportunity are guys who have earned it. You talk to him at points here and there, but a lot of it is the athlete. He earned more and more ice time, and as he got more and more ice time, he seemed to blossom. He’s just kind of worked his way into the role and is playing very well right now.”
Story by Bruce Berlet of the Connecticut Whale
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