Stu Grimson Part 2: NHL Enforcer to Corporate Lawyer - Work In Sports Podcast

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast.

I very rarely listen back to our podcast episodes after I finish creating them. The neurotic side of me can’t stop analyzing the way I deliver questions -- I’ll be walking around with ear buds yelling at myself to “stop talking already and let them answer!”

It’s not a good scene and not all that healthy, so I tend not to listen once the final production is done and published. But I’ll admit, Monday night I listened back to part 1 of Stu Grimson’s interview and despite having already listened to it multiple times during production… I was hooked again. 

I thought the 30 minutes went by really fast and I wanted to hear more. Stu is a fascinating person to speak with, and I couldn’t wait to publish and listen to, part 2. 

So I’ll take my own advice and stop talking  -- so you can hear Part 2 --here’s Stu Grimson. 

Questions for Stu Grimson, Cheif Counsel THIRDHOME and former NHL Enforcer

10: Were former teammates and opponents surprised that you were becoming a lawyer, or was this the locker room secret – that the brawler who would beat the snot out of you was smarter than you too? 

11: In the practice of law you deal with leverage all the time – was leverage something you started learning about as a player as you assessed your own value to a team?

12: To become an NHL player puts you in the rarest of categories – it is such a miniscule amount of people that make the pros. Then layer in becoming a lawyer, and again, you break all the rules of probability.

Both of these roles require incredible discipline and work ethic - where did your work ethic come from, and is that a skill you can learn, or is it something you are born with?

13: Your side gig beyond being chief counsel for ThirdHome is as a senior analyst for NHL network – this role as an analyst is a logical step for a lot of ex-players, was this part of your post-playing days plan?

14: Is it hard to be critical of players, when you know how difficult it is to be an NHL player?

15: Do you have a favorite player you like to watch right now?

16: Ok, I have this weird curiosity with friendships and relationships – like I watch a movie and wonder if the two main stars are still friends because they seemed to have so much chemistry in the movie.

I know, I’m weird.

But it makes me wonder – are the majority of your friends from hockey former teammates, or the guys you got into brawls with? I picture you hanging out with Marty McSorley or Dale Hunter and it amuses me.

17: We’ll finish up with this – we have a lot of student-athletes in our audience, people who dream of being a pro – looking back at your 20-25-year-old self, what advice would you give that guy that could be helpful to someone in those shoes today…