Brother of Dolphins’ GM to lead NHL’s Sharks
The San Jose Sharks’ three-month search for a general manager ended with a barrier-breaking hire as the team made longtime NHL forward Mike Grier the first Black GM in league history.
“It means a lot to me,” Grier said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. “It’s not something I take lightly. I realize there’s a responsibility that comes with the territory. But I’m up for it. How I carry myself and how this organization carries himself, I think we’ll do well and hopefully we’ll leave a footprint and open some doors for people to follow.”
Grier comes from a family of successful sports executives. His brother, Chris Grier, is general manager of the Miami Dolphins, and his father, Bobby, served as a longtime coach and front office executive for the New England Patriots and Houston Texans.
Grier fills the spot that opened when Doug Wilson stepped away for health reasons on April 7.
Team President Jonathan Becher said Grier emerged from a pool of dozens of candidates because of his experience as a player, scout, coach and executive over the past few decades and his commitment to building a winning culture in San
Jose.
But he acknowledged the history-making nature of the hire as well.
“I hope you do serve as an inspiration to lots of people and that I hope you’re the first and certainly not the last,” Becher told Grier.
Grier spent three of his 14 seasons in the NHL with the Sharks from 200609. He retired in 2011 after playing 1,060 career games, and has spent time as a scout in Chicago, an assistant coach in New Jersey and most recently the hockey operations advisor for the New York Rangers, where he was given many of the responsibilities of an assistant general manager.
More hockey: The North American agent for Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Ivan Fedotov says he is at a remote military base in northern Russia. Fedotov vanished last week ahead of a planned move to the U.S. The disappearance of one of the NHL’s top prospects prompted concern for his wellbeing and worry over whether Russians will be willing or able to join teams who draft them this weekend. Russian men can be conscripted between the ages of 18 and 27. Fedotov is 25 and considered one of the top goalies in the world not already playing in the NHL. … Appeals by Russia and its ally Belarus against bans from the world ice hockey championship following the invasion of Ukraine were rejected by the international governing body.
ETC. Golf:
Tiger Woods said he considers the British Open at St. Andrews to be a historic occasion.
That adds to the perspective of Woods playing the final major this year. “I’m lucky enough to be part of the past champions that have won there, and want to play there again, and I don’t know when they are ever going to go back while I’m still able to play at a high level,” Woods said at the J.P. McManus Pro-Am in Ireland. “I want to be able to give it at least one more run at a high level.” Woods, 46 and still walking gingerly at times from his right leg and ankle being pieced back together following his February 2021 car crash, played in the Masters and PGA Championship but skipped the U.S. Open.
College football recruiting: Georgia defensive lineman T.J. Searcy committed to Florida to continue the Gators’ recent recruiting surge while bolstering their defensive front. The 6-5 ½, 243-pound Searcy becomes the highest-rated member of the first-year coach Billy Napier’s 2023 class. The Thomaston Upson-Lee standout is the nation’s No. 153 overall prospect and 20th-ranked defensive lineman, according to the 247Sports composite. Searcy recorded 111 tackles.