Joe Grimaldi (ice hockey)

Joe Grimaldi
Born	(1986-08-23) August 23, 1986 Ronkonkoma, New York, United States
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenseman
Years active	2007–2015
Known for	Playing for various teams in the AHL, ECHL, CHL, GET-ligaen, and EIHL

Joe Grimaldi (born August 23, 1986) is a former American professional ice hockey defenseman.

Early life

Although not selected in the NHL Draft, Grimaldi was picked in the seventh round by the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. At age 16, he joined Team USA and participated in the United States National Team Development Program from 2002 to 2004. During this period, he secured a gold medal at the Four Nations Cup and earned silver at the 2004 World Championships held in Minsk. He went on to attend the University of Nebraska Omaha, competing in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). In the 2004–05 season, Grimaldi tallied 21 points, was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team, and led all college players with a plus/minus rating of +24.

Career

During his sophomore year, Grimaldi shifted to major junior hockey by joining the Ottawa 67's of the OHL, coached by Brian Kilrea. He signed a contract with the New York Islanders and took part in their exhibition games before returning to Ottawa for further development. The 2007–08 season marked his professional debut when he signed with the Rochester Americans (AHL), an affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, and was assigned to their ECHL affiliate, the Elmira Jackals. Over 36 games with Elmira, he registered 15 points and also appeared in AHL contests for Rochester and the Albany River Rats (affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes). On January 15, 2008, Grimaldi was traded to the Fresno Falcons (ECHL), then moved on to play for the Gwinnett Gladiators before being called up to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL), affiliated with the St. Louis Blues, where he contributed one assist across four games.

Grimaldi started the 2008–09 campaign with the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) before returning to Elmira, where he ranked third on his team with 101 penalty minutes. An ankle injury sidelined him at the start of the 2009–10 season; however, he signed mid-season on December 12, 2009. After playing 33 games for Elmira that season, he left in March 2010.

Following an initial retirement due to injury after the 2010 season, Grimaldi resumed playing in Atlantic Hockey League with the Colorado Eagles (affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche) and later competed in Norway’s GET Ligaen.

In 2013, Grimaldi played abroad for Rosenborg IHK in Norway's GET Ligaen but suffered a C2 vertebra fracture early in that season. After three months of rehabilitation, he joined Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) for the 2013–14 season. He recorded eight points and amassed 110 penalty minutes over seven games before being released after a dispute with coach Corey Neilson.

For the 2014–15 EIHL season, Grimaldi signed with the Edinburgh Capitals. On January 4, 2015, he was released following an incident involving a dangerous open-ice hit on his former team Nottingham Panthers and subsequent altercations that led to an 18-game suspension imposed by the Department of Player Safety. Shortly thereafter, he retired upon returning to the United States.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	U.S. National Development Team	NAHL		43	0	5	5	146		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	U.S. National Development Team	USDP		51	1	4	5	62		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	U. of Nebraska-Omaha	CCHA		38	4	13	17	44		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	U. of Nebraska-Omaha	CCHA		19	0	4	4	51		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Ottawa 67's	OHL		27	7	14	21	81		6	2	4	6	10
2006–07	Ottawa 67's	OHL		65	2	34	36	185		5	0	1	1	16
2007–08	Elmira Jackals	ECHL		36	2	12	14	53		—	—	—	—

Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Rochester Americans |American Hockey League (AHL) |2 |0 |0 |0 |5 |— |— |— |— |—
Albany River Rats |AHL |1 |0 |0 |0 |7 |— |— |— |— |—
Fresno Falcons |ECHL |10 |1 |2 |3 |15 |— |— |— |— |—
Gwinnett Gladiators |ECHL |21 |1 |3 |4 |74 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0
Peoria Rivermen |AHL |4 |0 |1 |1 |6 |— |— |— |— |
Cincinnati Cyclones |ECHL |3 |0 |1 |1 |20 |
Elmira Jackals (ECHL) |32 |2 |7  9  101 |
Elmira Jackals (ECHL)  33  1  7  8  104 |
Evansville IceMen (Central Hockey League) CHL 17 5 6 11 45 |
Colorado Eagles (CHL) 45 4 20 24 171 21 1 1 2 83 |
Rapid City Rush (CHL) 2 0 0 0 11 |
Rosenborg IHK (GET-ligaen) GET-ligaen 5 1 1 2 50 |
Nottingham Panthers (EIHL) EIHL 6 2 6 8 83 |
HC Valpellice (Italian Hockey League - Serie A) ITA 3 0 1 1 14 6 0 1 1 4 |
Edinburgh Capitals (EIHL) EIHL14 2 6 8 102 |

colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1 AHL totals !7 !0 !1 !1 !18 !— !— !— !— !—

International

Year	Team	Competition	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Minutes
2004	United States	WJC18	6	0	0	0	2
Total Junior International Stats			6	0	0	0	2

Awards and honors

Distinction	Season
Selected to the All-CCHA Rookie Team BBOTW	2004-05, 2014-15

External links

• Profile at University of Nebraska-Omaha
• Joe Grimaldi Released by Edinburgh Capitals Following Controversial Spearing Incident