Mike Grant

A gifted and fast skater, Grant won speed skating championships at three different age groups when he was 11 years old. His skills transferred to the hockey rink where Grant played cover point (defence). He is regarded as one of the first rushing defencemen in hockey history; Grant used his skating ability to generate offensive chances from his defensive position. He scored one goal in eight games in 1895 and the Victorias, with a record of six wins and two losses, won the AHAC title, and with it, control of the Stanley Cup, emblematic of Canada's senior amateur championship. Grant served as captain of the team. Montreal regained the Stanley Cup in December of that year, defeating Winnipeg 6–5. In AHAC play, Grant scored three goals in eight games in both the 1896 and 1897 seasons. After playing the 1900 CAHL season with the Victorias, he was loaned to the cross-town Montreal Shamrocks in 1901 as an emergency replacement for Frank Tansey. Grant appeared in two league games, and two Stanley Cup challenge games for the team before returning to the Victorias for a final season in 1901. ==Post-playing career and personal life==

Grant remained active in hockey following his playing career. He became a referee and officiated several Stanley Cup challenge games. Among them was the 1905 challenge series between the Ottawa Hockey Club and the Rat Portage Thistles. A physical and sometimes violent series, Grant famously wore a hard derby hat while on the ice. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950. Grant became involved in horse racing through his family's blacksmithing connections and served as a paddock judge for over 40 years. Grant had five children: daughters Dorothy and Reta and sons Graham, Don and Kenny. ==Career statistics==