Gratz Putting Together Nice Mix in Bloomington


In just his third year as a head coach in the CHL, Brian Gratz has shown that he is loyal.

The new Bloomington Blaze coach spent his first two years in the CHL with the Dayton Gems who are no longer a part of the CHL after the league’s two-year agreement with the IHL expired in June.  With the Gems, Gratz went 55-58-19 through two injury-plagued seasons.

His first with the Gems earned him recognition in the coach of the year balloting and also saw the Gems qualify for the playoffs after a 32-29-5 record.

Last season, the Gems lost in overtime or a shootout 14 times, tied for the most in the 20-year history of the CHL.

The Blaze announced Gratz as their head coach more than a month ago and he has already shown great loyalty to the players who have become fan favorites in Bloomington along with the guys who battled for him in Ohio.

See all the CHL's announced signings from the off-season

One of his first moves was to sign forward Jon Booras who is the face of Bloomington hockey.  Booras played five seasons with the PrairieThunder before staying in Bloomington to play for the Blaze last season.  In 52 games, Booras scored 27 goals with 26 assists leading the team in scoring.

Other fan favorites from last year’s Blaze squad such as all-star defenseman Aaron Dawson and forward Travis Granbois have also re-upped.

Gratz has also brought with him forward Matthew Larke and goaltender Dan Dunn helping to add to the roster.

More signings are on the horizon for the Blaze who look to improve from last year’s 24-35-7 record.





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