Slightly Chilled on Sioux recruit Rocco Grimaldi

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Ryan Clark from the Fargo Forum has a really nice article on Fighting Sioux recruit Rocco Grimaldi who is coming to UND this fall. Some have compared Roco Grimaldi to players like Brian Gionta or a Nate Gerbie because of the type of game that he plays. Roco coach on the U-18 team has already compared him to Brian Gionta. Personally, I hope Roco is half a good as the two aforementioned players.

Slightly Chill ---- Just about anyone following sports or even pop culture knows that Tebow is a God-first athlete that’s just about as devout as it gets. He did mission trips to the Philippines where he was born and during spring break at Florida, he did ministry with inmates in the Florida prison system.


Has Grimaldi done that? No. Should he? No. But can he leave a mark on college hockey like Tebow did with college football? Absolutely. It has come out that Grimaldi is an extremely devout young man. Sit down and hear the kid talk and you know this isn’t an act. He has his favorite Bible verses, he understands the stories in the Bible and furthermore, you know he’s the kind of kid that’s grateful for everything.

Every sport has its knuckleheads and its good guys. Hockey, whether it be pro or college, has its good guys but there’s a chance Grimaldi could become that shining example. He’s going to a school where hockey is religion and at that place, if you’re good enough, people will treat you as if you are larger than life.

That’s a lot for a 18-year-old to handle. Really, it is a lot for many people to handle. The pressure of a fan base can cripple anyone but this is what makes kids like Grimaldi so different. His faith, he feels, can lift that burden and make him stronger for it.

Grimaldi might not give “The Speech” like Tebow but he can certainly have an impact on a locker room and his infectious attitude and views can spread further. Colten St. Clair, who’ll also be at UND next year, said he was impressed with the way Grimaldi handles himself and how he is strong in his faith.

His faith could also be the other thing that really impresses people. We all have heard the jokes regarding Tebow and his faith and we saw the way he dealt with it. Of course, Grimaldi won’t get nearly the national attention Tebow got, but we all know whether it be in the stands or through a message board, people can be pretty vocal. Just ask Todd Reynolds about it.

EDIT: This blog post was lost in hyperspace and reappeared today.