Henryk Jerzy Gruth is a former professional defenceman.

One of the best Polish players, Gruth played for GKS Katowice

GKS Katowice

GKS Katowice is a Polish football club based in Katowice, Poland. The club currently plays in the Polish First League.-History:In 1963 in Katowice a special organizational committee was called with the purpose of uniting all the clubs and sporting organizations of city into one large club which...

 and GKS Tychy in Poland. He spent one season in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 with the ZSC Lions

ZSC Lions

The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League A. The home arena, the 10,700 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon...

, where he scored seven goals

Goal (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...

 and nineteen assist

Assist

-Sports:Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team:*Assist , a pass by a player that facilitates a basket by another...

s.

International career

Gruth was member of the Poland men's national ice hockey team for the 1980 Olympics

1980 Winter Olympics

The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...

, 1984 Olympics

1984 Winter Olympics

The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden...

, 1988 Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 and 1992 Olympics

1992 Winter Olympics

The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...

, as well as for 17 World Championship

World championship

A world championship is the top achievement for any sport or contest. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best nation, team, individual in the world in a particular field. Certain sports do not have a world championship, instead...

s. He holds the record for the most selection to the Polish squad, with 248, as well as the record for the most points (109).

He was inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame

IIHF Hall of Fame

The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which was established by the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1997, when 30 individuals were inducted at the world championships in Helsinki...

 in 2006.

Coaching career

Following his playing days, Gruth turned to coaching. In 1996-97, he was head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 of EHC Salzgitter of the 2. Bundesliga

2nd Bundesliga (ice hockey)

The 2nd Eishockey-Bundesliga is the second tier of Ice hockey in Germany. It is organised by the DEB, the German Ice Hockey Federation. In the 2007-08 season, it features 14 teams.- History of the 2nd Ice Hockey Bundesliga :...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He had a record of 5-17-2. He was head coach of the ZSC Lions when current head coach Christian Weber

Christian Weber

Christian Weber is a German football player who currently plays for Fortuna Düsseldorf.Weber can play as either a defender or a midfielder.-External links:* at kicker.de...

 was downgraded to the role of assistant of Beat Lautenschlager with the GCK Lions

GCK Lions

GCK Lions is a Swiss professional ice hockey team founded in 1932. They are currently in the National League B, Switzerland's second tier ice hockey division. The home arena is Eishalle Küsnacht . The team has won one Swiss Championships, in 1966, as well as two championships in the Swiss second...

 of the NLB

NLB

NLB may refer to:*National Labor Board, a Depression-era agency in the United States*National Library Board of Singapore*National Library for the Blind of the United Kingdom*New Lantao Bus, a bus service operator on Lantau, Hong Kong...

.

External links

• Gruth's profile on eurohockey.net
• Gruth's profile on sports-reference.com
• Gruth article on pl.wikipedia.org. In polish