In ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, a grinder is a player better known for his hard-work and checking

Checking (ice hockey)

Checking in ice hockey is any one of a number of defensive techniques. It is usually not a penalty.- Types :There are various types of checking:...

 than his scoring

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...

. A grinder is often a player who has limited offensive skills, but is valuable to a hockey team due to their physical forechecking skills especially along the boards; for "grinding along the boards". They are often fan favorites due to their work effort in games. While grinder often refers to a player of lesser offensive skills, this is not always the case. NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Clarke

Bobby Clarke

Robert Earle Clarke, OC , better known as Bobby Clarke or, in later life, Bob Clarke, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team...

 of the 1970s and 80s Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 was considered a grinder, but was also a reliable goal-scorer. While a "grinder" plays a physical style of hockey they are distinguished from an "enforcer", whose role is more physical intimidation and engaging in fights

Fighting in ice hockey

Fighting in ice hockey is an established tradition of the sport in North America, with a long history involving many levels of amateur and professional play and including some notable individual fights. Although a definite source of criticism, it is a considerable draw for the sport, and some fans...

 which are not within the rules of hockey. A "grinder" refers specifically to a style of defensive hockey which is within the rules of the game. Often grinder is used in combination with "mucker

Mucker

Mucker may refer to:* On a farm, a "mucker" is a person who shovels feces from animal stalls in a barn. A "mucker" is a person who mucks, i.e., shovels...

" to describe a player as a "mucker and a grinder", although it is used as emphasis. A mucker is largely synonymous with grinder.