What is The Gritty Index?

Hockey fans, players and coaches talk a lot about "grit." It's coveted yet tough to pin down. The Gritty Index attempts to measure a player's toughness, physicality, and willingness to engage in the sandpaper aspescts of hockey using basic math.

I created it in 2024 to determine whether John Tortarella's Philadelphia Flyers actually embodied the blue-collar, tough identity the team claims to be known for. They did!

Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler, who appeared at #2, endorsed his position on the list

“I have heard that before, yeah,” the blueliner said with a grin when asked about his gritty style of play. “I have heard that. I think it’s something that I’ve always had when I play. It’s something that I need to bring, is grittiness and toughness.

So if you think my methodology is bad, you can go tell Nick Seeler that he's soft.

Each player receives a percentile ranking (0-100) for key grit statistics, and their overall Gritty Index represents the average of these percentile rankings. Only players with 20+ games played are included.

Also, I didn't take this terribly seriously when I made it so you probably shouldn't either.