Burton 40: Kyle Grenier
Kyle Grenier is a menace in the most positive sense of the word. You can see the rage and passion in his eyes the moment you meet him. The snarl etched on his face. 'GRENIER' is tattooed in flames across the length of his right forearm (a pair with the massive fleur-de-lis tattooed on his left bicep in honour of his fiercely-proud Québecois background). And he is absolutely relentless on the rink; a pure ball of energy that refuses to give up on any play in the quest to help his team win and put up big numbers doing it. He is, after all, the all-time highest-volume shooter per game in Burton history.
Kyle is the Burton king of trash talk. Whether on or off the rink, he will say absolutely anything to get a laugh, get in your head, get a reaction, or just to say it. Ranging from the malovelent and profane ('I am going to shoot the ball through your f*cking brain') to the esoteric and surreal ('You're like a little chinchilla. I want to keep you in a cage and feed you wheat and grain'), Kyle's gift for gab is mesmerising. And he backs it up with one of the most entertaining and effective styles of play in Burton Hockey. Wiry and fast, he blows by opponents with amazing speed and agility, outwits them with expert stickhandling and pickpocketing, grinds them into dust with his physicality (only Joe Chwachka is a parallel), and frightens goaltenders across the senior circuit with an absolute cannon of a slapshot. And he never, ever, gives up on any play. He refuses to acknowledge any excuse or any copout, and expects the same from everyone around. Through the harshest weather, through illness, through hangovers, he lays it all down. He once played 17 straight games unable to move his left arm.
Kyle came into BUSH in 2004 as part of a group of insurgent young turks, most of whom had just come off of a provincial midget 'A' championship squadron. While most of them faded away, Kyle caught on. In his first regular season of 2005, he was rough at the edges but at 2.75 PPG, his skill and speed were readily evident. He missed 2006, but came back and made the all-star team in 2007. But no one was prepared for his '09 campaign, one of the greatest in Burton Hockey history.
When BUSH restarted, Kyle came back more passionate, more determined, and better conditioned than ever; an elite player with the total package of talent, workrate and desire. As the season went forward, it was only a matter of time before milestones, and eventually records, began to be surpassed. Grenier was the only guy that came close to Pat Elischer's PPG that year. No one had ever reached 400 points in a year before 2009; Kyle put up 458. 269 goals. An incredible 1,266 shots on goal. He even went in goal for the first time in his life and notched 114 saves AND 13 assists. Ten straight 15-pointers. And to top it all off, he garnered the most historic session record in Burton Hockey, scoring 42 points in an epic SuperSession. Were it not for the astronomic dedication of Lee Orr that year, it would be the greatest season ever seen in Burton. By the end of the year, he was in the top ten scorers of all-time. Often teamed with Troy Waldron, the tandem encased the ALHS Archives Arena in a blur of acceleration and aptitude; one of the most effective lines in Burton Hockey history.
Kyle Grenier is a demon, the blond beast of BUSH. Passionate, extroverted, and committed to fun and good times at the highest level. He's fun to play with and frustrating to play against. Everything we expected from him all those years ago has come to fruition. One of the most intense, crazy, skilled, hardest working, and highest-performing players ever, Kyle Grenier is one of the most respected players in the BUSH crew and a personality unlike any other. In other words, a lock for the Burton 40.
Awards: Comeback Player of the Year - 2007; 2nd All-Star - 2005, 2007.
Previous Burton 40 Articles
Lorne Bilinski
Joe Chwachka
Ben de Wit
Karl Detta
Lyle Detta
Mitchell Detta
Ryan Disterheft
Pat Elischer
Justin Gordon
Rob Hajdu
Tony Hajdu
Simon Hilton
Joern Hornhardt
Chris Jackins
Stefan Klopp
Bernie Koth-Kappus
Sam Lam
K.J. O'Connor
Seamus O'Connor
Nathan Robson
Robert Rogers
Dallas Sinclair
Terryn Stenseth
Patrick Strachan
Troy Waldron
Jerod Warren
Andrew Watson
