Stephen Grumley was one of the top offensive pieces for this Pacific roster in their hard-fought loss to Michigan. The creativity, movement, and puck skills put on display in the offensive zone made him very difficult to contain, often, he was able to dance around a pursuing opponent, walk into the high slot, freeze the next defender, and shoot off a pass to a teammate who had creeped up to the faceoff dot, taking full advantage of a collapsed defensive scheme. He was very dynamic when working in the offensive zone, rotating with teammates, taking the puck for skates around the perimeter, really exhausting all options and refusing to settle for rudimentary play, he made the most of the offensive zone possessions he had. Playing this adventurous offensive game, there was a few instances where his opponent tried to get a quick one over on him, but luckily Grumley’s straight-line speed allowed him to quickly get back on defense, winning critical puck races, and denying chances in transition in the event of a quick change in possession and ensuing counterattack. He plays a quick game all over the ice, reads and processes things quickly, will keep pace working backward defending the line against speedy opponents, and remains calm playing a run-and-gun, up-tempo style of play.

Through smart and simple plays from the back end, Grumley became one of the more efficient players for his team. His puck-moving skills were very evident throughout the game whether it was quick passes onto the tape of his teammates during breakouts or sending a stretch pass through the middle of the ice and hitting his forward in stride. I thought he controlled the blue line well, again with quick decision making and smart passes but also with his footwork and mobility to escape pressure and combining it with some sneaky good puck skills to continue possessing the puck in the offensive zone.

One of the best puck movers at this tournament, full stop. Grumley has impressed in every game we’ve seen of him due to the pace he plays with — it’s simply on another level compared to the competition here. He rushes through lanes and uses his reach and skill to make plays once the defense finally takes his space away. Play him close and he’ll simply pass through you, or use his sharp lateral agility to play around you, leaving defenders behind completely. Despite this talent level, Stephen still plays a controlled game — minimal aggression with pinches and the like unless the Kings have a strong advantage, otherwise he’ll anchor the back line and quarterback play.

The most noticeable thing about Stephen Grumley’s game is how fast he recognizes his options when he receives the puck. He strives to make the clean, easy play as quickly as possible to ensure the Kings’ counterattack up the ice has good pace. This approach extends towards Grumley’s impact in the OZ as well, where it’s fused with his skating ability to become one of the more dynamic blue-line attackers competing in the tournament. Despite the dynamism, Stephen didn’t really force anything unnecessary and could rarely be found sacrificing stable positioning for a chance to activate deep into the zone. That’s a great sign of maturity in his game.

In reality it’s a toss up between Nolan and Grumley for my first star honours. Despite not finding the scoresheet, I thought Grumley was the most noticeable player on the ice all game. He was fluid in his puck retrievals and able to quickly make passes in transition. Even with his smaller stature, he used his body positioning very effectively to keep opponents to the outside while transitioning. Grumley was the powerplay QB of this team, gaining OZ entry, staying composed as he waited to find a passing lane and always keeping his feet moving along the blue line.

I found it was tough to really identify many defenders that popped off the page for me in this one, but Stephen Grumley did a great job as a two-way force for Team Gold. Some strong 4-way mobility and physical resiliency let him remain balanced long enough in contact with defenders to free up his feet and escape pressure with some pivots and crossovers, letting him build speed, open up lanes, and get the puck out of his defensive end in transition. His soft puck touches and ability to change direction on a dime helped him get out of trouble repeatedly, along with helped remain dynamic and evasive when quarterbacking the powerplay as he quickly moved the puck around high in the offensive zone. He had a few moments where he elected to skate the puck himself, showing good speed in transition as he gained the line, along with quick hands once-more to buy an extra half-second of possession as he eluded stick checks. His mobility continued to be of use defending the rush, coupled with strong anticipatory play and defensive awareness, he picked his moments right and was able to deny a lot of defensive zone entries.

For a relatively small player it's impressive to see how well Grumley is able to leverage his upper body strength against bigger players to guard the puck, just long enough for him to make a more effective long-term play. He showed good awareness of his outlets when engaging physically so that he could defer possession out of the pressured areas. On the powerplay, Grumley played with excellent pace, not skimping on the details of cradling passes upon reception or keeping his feet moving while selecting one of his own. He squares his body to the puck carrier, remaining nimble on his feet and accepts passes with a relaxed, yet sturdy grip on his stick. His pass execution was timely and deceptive, moving his feet while making a decision and using that movement to add to his deception.

It took the Jr Kings a while to get themselves established in this game, but on a powerpaly mid-way through the first period, Stephen Grumley was able to work some magic from the point to get his team on the board first. He had enough ice to work with but showed good urgency rallying back and forth wiht his flanks and remaining unpredictable with detailed footwork. Ultimately he selected a shooting lane for himself.

The offensively minded Stephen Grumley once again played well in the Kings victory. Contributing to the first goal of the game as he joined the rush as the third man, he got a shot on net that created a huge rebound, leading to Landon MacSwain’s goal to get the game going. He continued joining the rush and had another quality scoring opportunity later, getting the puck at the faceoff dot he took a hard wrister on net. His explosive nature along with smart reads allows him to routinely join the offensive rush, combined with some soft hands and a decent caliber of shooting talent, he remains a strong offensive threat.

It took me almost 2 whole periods before I noted Stephen Grumley’s name down as a standout player before I realized “what am I doing?”. Throughout the entire game he was successful at shutting down the rush for the Kings, with excellent body positioning he either outright intercepted the puck in the neutral zone or forced the Penguins skaters to dump the puck in as he wasn’t going to make it a pain-free experience if they attempted to skate the puck in the zone. Attacking the middle of the ice on Grumley wasn’t an option either, as he did a great job picking off passing and whacking away any fancy dekes opponents would try to pull on him. On the breakout I found he was very supportive of his defensive partner, positioning himself relative to them, always making himself a convenient pass option to help coordinate a breakout that didn’t involve any hail-Mary risky passes. It may have taken me a little longer to truly recognize Grumley as a standout, but deserving as ever, he had a great game.

Stephen Grumly had a couple of really high quality possessions early in this game that caught my eye. He was very smooth and controlled in the way that he accepted and distributed the puck. Despite playing at a very high pace, Grumly often held the puck with great security and made smart, sustainable decisions to keep it deep, without sacrificing his own position. He's not quite as quick or evasive as Shayne Gould but plays a similar style, and can be equally as effective in his own way at getting the puck up ice.