Griffins left wing Chris Bruton is a battler who is willing to fight with everything he has to win a championship.

Story and photo by Mark Newman

Making a career in hockey can be tough. When fighting, figuratively speaking, for ice time is a certainty and fighting toe-to-toe with your opponents becomes your calling card, life isn't easy.

Chris Bruton loves it.

As a boy growing up in western Canada, Bruton embraced the sport of hockey from an early age. As he got older, he realized that he needed to add fisticuffs to his skillset, much to the chagrin of his mother.

"When I started playing pro hockey, I knew I had to find a role to make a living, and fighting kind of stuck with me," Bruton said. "My mom came to one of my first pro games in Abbotsford and during my first shift, I squared off. She got up and walked away. That was it. She hasn't watched a game since."

Bruton has always been a little fearless and has an adventurous side that came with growing up as the middle child in an active family of three boys born to Ed, a corporate attorney, and Catherine, a flight attendant for Air Canada.

"They've been there every step of the way," said Bruton, who speaks of his parents in glowing terms. "They understood my love of the game and they never pressured us in anything. They completely supported us, whether it was the 6 a.m. practices or driving eight hours to watch me play in Spokane in juniors."

Bruton played four years for the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Hockey League, including 2007-08 when he captained the team to the Memorial Cup and infamously dropped the cup during the post-game presentation when the trophy broke from its base. "When I look back now, I can laugh about it," he said. "It's something special to be remembered forever."

Indeed, his final year in junior hockey is something he'll never forget.

"That's what all the blood, sweat and tears – all the hard work – is all about," Bruton said. "There's no other job where you can get that kind of gratification. When it all comes together, it's the greatest feeling in the world. It was a special moment."

Bruton had his best offensive numbers, totaling 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points in 67 games, but remained ignored in the NHL Entry Draft. Disheartened, he enrolled at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

"I was at the pinnacle of my career to that point, playing my best hockey, and to have to take a step back like that, it was kind of tough," he said. "But my parents were big on getting an education and I respect them very much. I knew their advice was worthy.

"Even though I wasn't where I felt like I needed to be, I gutted it out and earned my degree in three years. Now I'm very grateful that I have it."

After school, Bruton got his first taste of pro hockey with the Alaska Aces in the ECHL, where he quickly established himself as a battler. Twenty-seven games into the 2011-12 season, he was called up to the AHL by the Peoria Rivermen.

"I had two fights in one game and right after the game, Peoria signed me for the rest of the year," Bruton said. "I put two and two together and realized it was a part of my game that I had to keep going."

Bruton played the entire 2012-13 season in Peoria, racking up 134 penalty minutes in 69 games, before the New York Islanders signed him to his first NHL contract.

"Getting an NHL contract was a dream and something that I had been working toward forever," Bruton said. "I went to camp with the Islanders and even got into three NHL exhibition games."

When you've waited your whole life to play in the NHL, an exhibition game is almost as good as the real thing, so Bruton savored his opportunity, which included making his debut in front of family and friends in his hometown of Calgary.

Eventually, he was assigned to the Islanders' farm team in Bridgeport, where he opened last season as captain of the Sound Tigers. Four games into the season, he blocked a shot and ended up severely injuring his hand.

"I just kept playing, didn't tell anyone," Bruton said. "Eventually, they found out that my fifth metacarpal was completely shattered, which meant I had to get pins put in. It was a mess."

Bruton ended up returning to action too soon. "I could barely move my hand, but I wanted to make up for things," he said. "I came back way too early and started fighting when I wasn't fully confident of my hand. I ended up getting a concussion, which cost me more of the season."

He ultimately appeared in just 41 games and was only partially effective in about half of those.

"I had a tough year both with injuries and mentally. I was just so disappointed because it was supposed to be my breakout year," Bruton said. "My dad suggested that I get away, so I went to Australia for a month at the end of last season."

Bruton spent a week in Sydney, then a week in Melbourne, before heading to Byron Bay, Brisbane and Noosa. "I rented a car and did all these surfing villages," he said. "I loved it. It was awesome, and I came back refreshed."

He felt recharged after a psychologically draining season.

"I felt hungry again," he said. "I felt like I could get back to the level where I had been. I worked really hard all summer between a full-time job and working out. I was supposed to leave for Utica on a Saturday and on the Friday before, I got the call to go to Grand Rapids."

Bruton was signed to a professional tryout in early October, then signed a standard player's contract a month later.

"The reason we signed him is because he's a high character guy who cares about winning first and he's proven that every day," said Griffins coach Jeff Blashill. "It's hard to quantify the leadership that a guy like Bruts brings."

Of course, being a depth player on a young, talented team like the Griffins means that Bruton has had to sit out some games as a healthy scratch, a fact of life that he has come to accept.

"I've probably been scratched the most and played the least, but I can honestly say that Blash does an unbelievable job," Bruton said. "He's been honest and fair, and has an open door policy. He creates an atmosphere where you are motivated to play."

He admits that it's never easy to sit in the stands.

"If you win or lose, you want to be sweating next to the guys, not just sitting in a suit in the stands," he said. "I'm still extremely competitive, so I want to play every game, contribute and be a piece of the puzzle. Sitting out can be tough to handle. I may sit out for two or three weeks without playing a game.

"When you come back, it's a matter of playing your role. You need to know what you're going to do. For me, it's getting pucks deep in the zone, being physical and making smart plays. It's being a trustworthy player who knows his role.

"Being a great teammate means you're good at handling all types of situations. If you do sit out a game, it's important that you keep a great attitude. You work just as hard, if not harder, to get back into the lineup."

Bruton loves everything about Grand Rapids. "It's probably one of the best places to be playing," he said. "I love the city, the organization is fantastic, and the guys are probably the best group that I've been around.

"We've got a competitive group, guys who want to win, guys who are real gamers. I came here to stick things out so I can be a part of a championship team. We have such a talented group with great depth in defense and goaltending, that I really think we have a chance."

Having won the Memorial Cup in junior hockey, Bruton would like nothing better than to add a Calder Cup as a pro. A fitness enthusiast and triathlete who has hiked Mount Nelson in Alberta's Jasper National Park with his family during the summer, Bruton looks forward to the opportunity to scale a hockey pinnacle again.

"Once you win a Cup, you realize it's the feeling that you've been searching for. That's why I'm here," he said. "I might only get to play five more games this year and be scratched the rest of the way, but I just want to be on a team that has the chance to win a championship. I really feel like this is the organization to do it."