CANUCKS: Speedy college free agent Griffen Molino catches attention
UNHERALDED PROSPECT: Rookie’s blazing strides proving useful on the Canucks’ roster
Griffen Molino knows he is no longer at college because when he wakes up in his hotel room, he finds no study sheet shoved under the door by his coach in the middle of the night.
“He would slip a sheet of paper under our door at 5 a.m. and in our morning meeting he’d call guys out and ask them about some tiny detail on the sheet — one thing we may or may not have talked about,” Molino said of his coach at Western Michigan University. “He wanted to make sure you read the sheet. “What comes to mind is detail. He comes from that old Hockey Canada mindset that things are supposed to be done a certain way. He runs a pretty tight ship. But I can say he develops his players for a pretty seamless transition (to professional hockey).”
Molino’s college coach was Andy Murray, the legendary instructor-stickler who pulled NHL stints with the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings before returning to his university roots in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 2011.
Three games into Molino’s NHL career with the Vancouver Canucks — barely a week since he signed as a college free agent — some of those Murray details are evident in his play.
As a 23-year-old who was never drafted, started university only two years ago and didn’t even play Junior-A hockey until he was 18, Molino is the kind of “prospect” who is easy to dismiss as an extra body for organizational depth. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, he’s an easy target, though not a big one.
There was prospect fatigue around the Canucks when they outbid other NHL organizations to sign Molino after his 33-point season (in 40 games) for Murray at Western Michigan.
Wonder-boy Brock Boeser arrived in Vancouver a week earlier from the University of North Dakota. Two weeks before that, the Canucks signed Swiss league free agent Drew Shore and fast-tracked him to their NHL team, too.
Before that, Nikolay Goldobin was acquired from the San Jose Sharks and induced ecstasy in Canuck Nation when he scored on a breakaway in his debut. Vancouver has used 34 different skaters this season, tied for the NHL lead in auditions. Molino? Whatever. But the thing is, despite being deployed on the fourth line and spending a lot of shifts in the Canucks’ zone, Molino has done something in each game to stand out. He flies up and down the ice.
In Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, the winger burst past defenceman David Schlemko and drew a penalty as he cut to the net. In his two games before that, Molino turned on the burners to break up dangerous scoring chances with his backcheck.
“A couple of times he’s made our videos because of how hard he has backchecked,” Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said Wednesday after running a brief practice ahead of Thursday’s draft-lottery showdown against the Arizona Coyotes. “He made a big play to the net (Tuesday).
“There’s different ways you can stand out. Guys recognize when you work hard and do those things. It doesn’t matter what line you’re on, you still have that opportunity. He’s making the most of his opportunity.
“He pays attention to the details of the game and he plays both ends of the rinks. He’s been a good factor for us. He has come in and played regular on an NHL team. That’s a good thing to do.”
Between last season and this one, Molino figures at least 15 NHL teams contacted him about signing as a free agent.
He said he based his decision last month on where he would get an opportunity to start his pro career in the NHL.
“I had to figure out where I wanted to start my career, which was a big decision for me,” he said. “And a substantial part of that was getting in and getting my feet wet this year and playing games and seeing how things were done up here. I thought that would be really beneficial to me as a player.
“I was a total late bloomer. Where most guys would start at 16 or 17, jump into junior, then get drafted, I graduated high school in my hometown when I was 18, then played a year of Junior-A near Ottawa. I moved back to the States and played (two years) ... in the USHL (United States Hockey League).
“Then I went to Western for two years. So not a real normal path, not your conventional path. But every step of the way I got better and it provided me with knowledge and experience. So it was good.”
Molino said when he was 18 — what would have been his NHL draft year — his dream was just to get a Division 1 scholarship to play college hockey. Three years later, he chose Western Michigan because it was a two-hour drive from where he grew up in Trenton, Mich., outside Detroit. Getting coached/groomed/ quizzed by Murray was a bonus for Molino.
“But it’s nice that I don’t have to worry about stepping on that paper on my way out the door,” he said.
“He (Griffen Molino) pays attention to the details of the game and he plays both ends of the rinks.” — Willie Desjardins