Rocco Grimaldi is someone who could be described as spirited, in every way. 

Unsurprisingly, what first drew him to hockey was the excitement of the game. At the age of 5, he already knew he wanted to play hockey because it was more exciting than the other sports kids his age played, such as baseball. He was also likely influenced by his mother, who worked for the Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club. 

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

His favorite NHL player growing up was one of the most energetic of all time: “The Russian Rocket” Pavel Bure, a Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers legend known for his blazing speed. 

But of course, growing up in Anaheim, his hockey dreams were a long shot. 

As Grimaldi grew, that shot only became longer because, well, he didn’t grow much. Grimaldi’s height rounded out at 5 feet 6 inches tall —  undersized for an NHL player. 

However, Grimaldi continued to pursue his dreams. Being a devout Christian, Grimaldi has always believed God has a plan for his life.  While he hoped it would be as a hockey player, Grimaldi would be content following other potential career paths as well, if he felt like he was helping other people. 

He took potential disadvantages, such as his size and hometown, in stride and saw them as a fun challenge that further energized him. 

His energy and fearlessness propelled him to a great amateur hockey career. He excelled in particular in the United States Hockey National Team Development Program. In 2010-11, he led the U18 team in scoring with a whopping 73 points in only 58 games — the kind of numbers only put up by a future NHL star. 

But when the 2011 NHL draft rolled around, teams weren’t exactly lining up to take Grimaldi. Concerns lingered about his size. It’s also been reported that teams were concerned about his outspokenness regarding his faith. Grimaldi looked up to former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow at the time for how Tebow always sought to encourage others by way of his faith — and like NFL teams with Tebow — NHL franchises were scared off by his candid talk about religion. 

Despite being projected to be a first-round selection, Grimaldi ultimately slipped to the second round, where the Florida Panthers chose him. He attended the University of North Dakota for three years before signing a three-year contract with the Panthers in 2014. 

Unfortunately, Grimaldi never carved out a consistent role with Florida, and he ultimately was traded to the Colorado Avalanche for goaltender Reto Berra in 2016.

But again, Grimaldi spent most of his time in the Colorado organization in the American Hockey League and never really broke through on the NHL roster. After two years there, he ultimately decided to leave the Avalanche and sign with the Nashville Predators. 

Nashville was the closest thing Grimaldi ever found to a home in the NHL. He played the bulk of three seasons with the Predators and put up his best season in 2019-20, during which he had 31 points in 66 games. 

Grimaldi’s best moment in a Predators uniform came on March 25, 2021, in a home game against Detroit. Grimaldi scored three goals in the first three minutes of the game against the Red Wings, giving him the fastest hat trick in Predators franchise history. He added a fourth goal in the third period to make him only the second Predators player with a four-goal game. For one night, he was the best scorer in the league, and he’s forever etched in Predators legend for it. 

And then it all went downhill. 

Grimaldi had a rough 2021-22 season with Nashville. He lost his role with the NHL club and spent most of the season with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals. Grimaldi scored prolifically for the Admirals but had no NHL offers going into the 2022-23 season. He hasn’t played a game in the NHL since. 

But, Grimaldi has been tearing up the AHL, with 2023-24 being his best season in professional hockey. With the Chicago Wolves — the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes — Grimaldi put up 73 goals while playing all 72 games, his highest professional total in both categories. At the end of the season, he was named to the 2023-24 Second AHL All-Star Team. 

Grimaldi wants to return to the NHL, and if this past season was any indication, he is at the top of his game. He just needs a team to take a chance on him like the Panthers did 13 years ago. 

His spiritedness would be a shot in the arm that could help any NHL team, and I implore all 32 of them to give him a shot. 

Ethan Inman is a rising senior writing about Los Angeles’ unique hockey heroes in his column, “L.A. on Ice.”.