Grant Sonier gets his Stanley Cup ring

Grant Sonier receives Stanley Cup ring and a promotion from Lightning

“Some veteran guys who won a Cup before told me there’s a three-prong thing – you win the Cup, that’s big; you get the Cup and the ring is special. Honestly, this ring is special. It’s a bit overwhelming, but it’s great.”

Grant Sonier

It has been an eventful 15 months for Grant Sonier.

Sonier joined the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League in October 2020 as an amateur scout focusing on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

The Lightning won the 2021 Stanley Cup. The NHL champions are allowed a day with hockey’s holy grail, and the Lightning made sure this extended to the scouts. In August, Sonier had the opportunity to host the Stanley Cup and share it with the public in his hometown of Summerside.

“I can’t reiterate how well I appreciate how I have been treated,” said Sonier. “It’s a first-class organization.”

Sonier recently travelled to Tampa Bay for mid-season scouting meetings. He left with a Stanley Cup ring and a promotion to assistant director of amateur scouting.

Sonier will work under Al Murray, assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting for the Lightning. Sonier and Murray also worked together with the Los Angeles Kings.

“The rest of our staff is regionalized, and our job is to go around and oversee the regions our scouts have identified players and merging a list (of players) is a big thing,” said Sonier. “Al and I have experience together doing that.”

RINGS

During the meetings, the Lightning presented the scouts with Stanley Cup rings. From being in Tampa Bay when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup, to organizing events around the Cup visit to P.E.I., Sonier described the journey as a whirlwind.

“Some veteran guys who won a Cup before told me there’s a three-prong thing – you win the Cup, that’s big; you get the Cup, and the ring is special,” said Sonier, a former general manager of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Charlottetown Islanders. “Honestly, this ring is special. It’s a bit overwhelming, but it’s great.”

IMPORTANT PEOPLE

As Sonier received the Stanley Cup ring, he thought of his family, friends and people who were instrumental in helping him get his foot in the door in the NHL and to where he is today.

Sonier mentioned Murray, former NHL team president, general manager and head coach Doug MacLean, Ottawa Senators director of pro scouting Jim Clark and former NHL head coach and general manager Rick Dudley.

“It’s hard to get a job, and it’s even harder to keep a job in the NHL,” said Sonier, who worked in management with the Lightning under Dudley in the late 1990s. “I have had lots of people in my corner to help me, and I’ve been with lots of different teams.

"It’s not an easy gig, but I’ve never considered it work, and there’s a big reward; there’s no question about it.”

George Matthews, current play-by-play voice of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Charlottetown Islanders who also called over 1,000 Columbus Blue Jackets games on the radio, congratulated his longtime friend on Twitter.

“Been a good year for the S’side resident – day with the Cup – highlight ring – promotion,” tweeted Matthews. “A good story during Covid.”

CLASSY ORGANIZATION

Sonier appreciated the Lightning giving him an opportunity during the pandemic and said the organization made him feel wanted and welcome.

“Right from ownership on down to management, you have heard me say it before; it’s been really, really refreshing,” said Sonier. “I’ve been treated the best I have ever been in my career.

“I am at a stage in my career where titles don’t mean a whole lot. I want to be part of a really good staff and a group of people and, obviously, winning is fun.

“I have a lot of experience identifying talent and have had some success. Hopefully, we can continue in that

direction with all the good people we are working with.”

Sonier’s new position will include more travel, he said, with international events a priority. Wherever there is a good hockey player and a potential prospect, Sonier said the Lightning want to be there.

“I get a chance to work with really good people and expand the horizons from being just a Quebec scout, which I had great dialogue with everyone,” said Sonier. “Now, my dialogue will be specific to each (scout’s) region. It will be pretty much hockey talking 24-7.”

Like all scouts, Sonier takes pride in finding that diamond in the rough. That is especially important for Tampa Bay, a team built on quality drafting. Tampa Bay’s success also means the team has not had a lot of high draft picks in recent years.

“Some of the success stories are the (Lightning) players picked outside that first round, guys like (Nikita) Kucherov, (Ondrej) Palat,” said Sonier. “That is a testament to the great work the team has done for years.

“When you draft good players, you are able to rotate players in and out. Hopefully, we can keep that going.”