BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Tony Granato spent the first six months of his tenure as Wisconsin men's hockey head coach taking care of things away from the ice. He had to get his staff squared away. He had to get acquainted with the administrative side of things. He had to get up to speed with his players and recruits. He had to find a place for him and his wife, Linda, to live. He also had to resume his academic career — 16 credits were needed to secure his degree — before he was able to conduct his first practice. Now the Badgers are four games into the regular season — they're 2-2 heading into non-conference games at St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday — and Granato has settled into a routine of sorts. He found a moment recently to talk about, among other things, being a student again, about his relationship with two of the greatest players in NHL history, and his favorite all-time teammate.
In addition to coaching, you're taking classes to finish your degree. Has your cumulative GPA gone up or down?
"Up."
Care to share what it is?
"I think a 3.0."
Do students recognize you in class?
"Some."
What's their reaction?
"Positive. Nobody's laughed at me yet. A few ask questions about the team and the games and stuff. I would say I don't think I've been a distraction. I think I fit in and everything. I feel comfortable in there."
Are you raising your hand a lot, sitting in the front row?
"I'm being a little bit quiet, but participating when needed."
You played your whole UW career for Hall of Fame coach Jeff Sauer, but another Hall of Famer, Bob Johnson, recruited you, correct?
"He recruited me before he left for Calgary (and the NHL), yes."
Did you decide in the midst of talking to Bob that you were coming to UW?
"Oh, I was coming here. If they wanted me, I was coming."
What other schools did you consider?
"I would say the second place would have been Michigan State. I went to Minnesota for a visit just to go."
You played on the same line with Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles and coached Sidney Crosby as an assistant in Pittsburgh. What's the takeaway from watching two of the greatest players in NHL history?
"The passion and love they have for the game. They loved to be on the ice, loved to play and that passion is what drives them."
You played at UW, in the Olympics, the World Championships, the NHL and the Canada Cup. Who's your favorite teammate?
"I'll go with Gary Suter."
Why?
"We shared a lot of things together. We came here as freshmen. Finished together (in the NHL) in San Jose. His competitiveness. His team-first attitude. Just a great human being that I enjoyed being with. You figure that you start your run in college with him and finish your (playing) career with him, there's a lot of things that happen in between. I thought that was really special. We roomed together at the end. We shared a lot of good times together the last couple years (with the Sharks)."
What was your recruiting experience like here as a student-athlete?
"(Chris) Chelios took me out as my (host). He had a big impact for sure. I had a conversation with Badger Bob that was huge. The fans at the Dane County Coliseum. The game experience was overwhelming and that was even before I was recruited. That's when I used to come up here (from the Granato home in Downers Grove, Illinois) as a pee wee or whatever. In my mind, Badger hockey had an image, something that I thought was the greatest place in the world."
Coaches are famously busy and preoccupied with their programs. When's the last time you mowed your own lawn?
"This summer. Up in Eagle River (where he has property)."
What was your first job?
"Beer truck for my dad. I was a helper, unloading and wheeling cases of beer into bars and restaurants. I was 16."
What's the worst injury you ever played through?
"Broken ribs was the most painful."
You were in the media after retiring from the NHL, doing a radio show and working college and NHL games as an analyst and rink-side reporter. Did you enjoy it?
"No. I didn't, because it didn't fulfill being part of a team and being close to the ice. It was more of an individualistic position. I didn't like it. I felt like I was competing to see if I could get an ESPN (gig) against other people. I like being a part of a team. I enjoyed being around the game, but there was no filling the void of playing."
When the National Anthem is played do you sing? Hum? What?
"I think. I go through family members. I think of things I'm thankful for: our country, our service men and women. That would be my time for thanking people for what opportunities I've had as a professional and an American."
If not coaching, what would you be doing for a living?
"Being a part of some team. I would try and stay in management or player development. I would think about working with an agent to help — not financially or trying to make the (player) more money — but in some sort of partnership where I could help the player as a mentor."
