Why Rangers Winger Adam Graves is .... " The City's Greatest Athlete"
By Michael Morrissey, New York Post Sports week, December, 2000

It all makes sense. The policeman's son relentlessly makes his rounds in the city, helping those in dire need.
The kid from North York, Ont., who used to play street hockey with his foster brothers becomes a big hockey star in New York. He lives in the largest city in the United States, where there is an insatiable need for heroes.

If you've never met Adam Graves of the New York Rangers, it's not because he hasn't been trying. Graves, a 32-year-old Toronto native, is a left winger by trade and a humanitarian by essence.

It's a nice holiday story to write that he's a tireless contributor to charities who makes others feel good all the time. It's nice to report that his Toys for Tots venture is a huge success for the seventh straight year.

But Graves goes above and beyond these bouquets. When you've met as many people as he has, you have felt the total spectrum of human emotions at one point or another. When you live as humbly as he does, you have no choice but to absorb the disappointments and tragedies of your own life - as well as others.

What makes him unique is that he has chosen the difficult path in a time when many of us seclude ourselves from our next door neighbors, never mind total strangers. "I refer to Adam as the gift that keeps on giving," said hockey agent Rob Ingraham, who coordinates Graves' charitable ventures.

Graves is there even when the government or the insurance company or the official charities can't be. And he is there even long after those people are gone. He uses his celebrity as an entree into children's lives' and then he strikes up legitimate friendships with them. Not only that, he draws his teammates to his causes - both those who are charitable by nature, and those less so.

Finally, he brings communities together. On the ice, he understands there are often two assists for every goal. Off the ice, he knows you need so many more.

"I've been in rooms with the president, met the mayor and been in rooms with the first lady and others," said Valerie Cohen, who works at PS 118 in Hollis Queens, "and of all the people I've ever met, this man is the most down to earth. "He is really human."

FOSTERING LOVE

Whenever a Toronto relief agency needed to place a foster child, whenever there was nobody else to turn to, the agency turned to Lynda and Henry Graves. The Graves family, as everyone in North York know, couldn't say no. Lynda, Adam's mother, had grown up around foster children herself. Henry, Adam's dad, was a Toronto cop whose idea of recreation was running the community fair or helping out in the Police Children's League. Or coaching minor-league hockey and baseball in his spare time.

Graves grew up with two older biological sisters, Richenda and Lynette, and a younger adopted brother, Mark. He also grew up with somewhere near 40 foster children. They were all brothers and sisters to him.

"It ranged from a couple of hours to years," he said. "It wasn't a big deal in the house. "It was just like, hey, that was part of it. It was you've got chores, you've got the same rules."

It's there Graves learned to treat everyone as equals, to help out those in need and talk to those who needed a friend.

Obviously, not all of the foster children were perfect angels. But he tried to rub off on them by being mature and doing his chores and his homework and helping them with theirs as he got older.

The story goes that he would take the top bunk if one of his brothers was a bed-wetter, and the bottom bunk otherwise.

As he's said again and again, it's in his childhood home that he learned how lucky he was. And how much he could give back.

"So much of what he is, not surprisingly, is a natural outgrowth of his upbringing in Ontario," Ingraham said. "Adam learned the value of a strong, stable family." Not surprisingly, Graves immediately became involved in charity when he settled in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers.

Predictably, the charities he has chosen are those that place a strong emphasis on children and family. Toys for Tots and Family Dynamics are two of Graves' pet projects. Whoever said charity begins at home had his family in mind. "He thinks the best way to be a great family man is to contribute to other people's well-being," said Trish Kerr, Rangers vice president of business and community relations. "You always look at it and say, 'Wow.' "He's an incredible, incredible example of someone who is completely unselfish."

ABOVE AND BEYOND

His charity doesn't come in the "limousine liberal" tradition, where you show up, flash your famous smile and sign a few autographs before being spirited off for a dry martini.

"He's so good, he'll be scheduled to sign autographs for two hours and he'll stay for four hours," said Billy McCauley, manager of Cronies Restaurant on the Upper East Side. "Of course, I probably shouldn't tell you that." Graves began his New York social work at Cronies, which has been a stomping ground for professional athletes for over a quarter-century.

During the lockout year of 1994, Graves decided to make good use of his free time by working for Toys for Tots. The deal is, you drop off a toy, you get an autograph.

The first year, Graves and his Rangers teammates had a toy drop at Cronies. But the second or third year, they increased it to two toy drops in metro New York. For the last couple of seasons, they've done three drops. "One of my favorites," Graves said of Toys for Tots. "This is the time of year for giving, and to visually see a toy, when you're able to see it, it really makes you feel good.

"A lot of people have been coming for six or seven years. They're not coming for the autograph; they're coming to be a part of it and put a smile on the kids' faces. "That's what's special about New York."

Although Graves won his first Stanley Cup with Edmonton in 1990, he chose the Big Apple as a free agent in 1991. While this winter's Hot Stove League reminded us that some people aren't cut out for New York, Graves has enjoyed his time with the Rangers, winning a second Cup in 1994 and breaking the team record with 51 goals that season.

"One of the privileges of being in New York and playing with the Rangers is the type of support you get from the fan base," he said. "It's second to none. People respond in an incredible way."

He has responded by doing as much community work as possible, even though he is now married with three children. Rangers first-year head coach Ron Low has always been amazed by Graves, all the way back from their days with the Oilers.

"He was a huge part of the community then, and he's become a lot more gifted in that part of the community services here." Low said. "The things he does, he goes three nights, four nights a week."He does it because he's a good person, not because he thinks it's going to come back with good things to him in any way."

Suffice it to say Graves is usually doing one of two things. Nobody can quantify the amount of time he spends, either during the season or in the off-season. "He just does it on an ongoing everyday basis," Ingraham said. "Even if it's only a phone call. "He does something every day, and sometimes it's a good part of a day.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

Graves also has been known to help his teammates in their charities of choice, whether it's assisting Brian Leetch's work with the Ronal McDonald House, or Manny Malhotra's Hockey in Harlem, or Mark Messier's Tomorrow's Children. One of Graves' favorite endeavors is Family Dynamics, a program that vows to prevent child abuse by strengthening the family core.

Specifically, Graves loves the nitty gritty of interaction. He befriends the children and inspires the adults to learn job skills or get back on their feet. One legendary story is that Graves recently gave four 15-25 minute seminars at a Family Dynamics function. The things was, it was a get-together for donors, not families in need. Graves didn't care; he wanted to spread the message.

"What Adam is special in is tuning in to these people involved in these charities," Ingra said. "It's just typical Adam that when he gets involved, it's not just to help an organization.

"It's to find the people that are in it, befriend them and become lifelong friends. And that is one of the great things that makes him special."

It doesn't matter if the charity is in Bed-Stuy or Queens or Westchester County. In late October, Graves participated in the Rangers involvement with T.A.S.C. (The After-School Corporation) as part of Madison Square Garden's Cheering for Children program. Essentially, every branch of the Garden shut down for a day and traveled to schools in a different borough. Graves wound up in Hollis, Queens, at P.S. 118.

"I would say my first impression is that Adam is one of the most humble men I have ever met," said Cohen, an educator at the school. "When we toured the school, he didn't stand on the sidelines. He looked around at what the kids were working on, stopped to talk to the students. "I've been involved in the PTA since 1991 and worked in the Police Athletic League. I've noticed the most successful adults are the ones with humility, and who put the kids on the same level."

The Rangers' Kerr, who coordinates many of these off-ice ventures for the club, marvels at the amount of commitment Graves has for the work. She said, "Half the stuff he does we don't even know about," and feels almost guilty in asking him to volunteer more of his time.

Geoffrey Croft, the president and founder of the Stanley Isaacs Park Association, met Graves though the Toys for Tots function at Cronies. Croft needed $200,000 to rebuild a roller rink on the Upper East Side, and had trouble finding anybody to help. Not only did Graves become a chief fund-raiser, but he enlisted friends like Pat LaFontaine to lend a helping hand. The result: The Paul McDermott Rink was recently dedicated on 96th and 1st.

"What did you do all summer?" Croft asked Graves this fall. "It sounded like his whole summer was taking care of others," Croft said. "So I asked him, 'Did you at least go on vacation?"

Ingraham was specifically enlisted by Graves' principal agent, Rick Curran, to coordinate charitable endeavors for Graves. They have streamlined the amount of time, money and effort Graves expends in order to get the maximum amount of results. And you'd be surprised at how creative the Rangers veteran has become.

"Adam thinks nothing of carrying phone numbers around of youngsters, let's say, and giving them phone calls from the road, from home, from his car phone," Ingraham said. "Just to see how they're doing. "These are the things that he would probably not want me to even mention."

FIGHTING ADVERSITY

Now that Graves has his own family, you wouldn't blame him for scaling back his efforts and contributions. Instead he has integrated his family (wife, Violet, 5-year-old daughter Madison, 3-year-old daughter Montana and 1-year-old son Logan) into his off-ice endeavors.

"Its like anything else," he said. Everybody has different things in their free time. "Madison goes everywhere with me. She was with Toys for Tots with me. As far as that, it's a family thing. "It's something we enjoy"

His extended family also gets into the mix in the off-season hockey camps, golf tournaments and fishing derbies. Henry Graves was a regular at Graves' hockey camps before he passed away from cancer last winter.

Although reaching out to the community is something very enjoyable to the left winger, some events provide him with a glimpse of true adversity. Ingraham told a story about how the Rangers forward befriended a youngster named Nick Springer, a former hockey player who contracted a rare disease at summer camp a few years ago and had both arms and legs amputated.

Graves was so affected, he helped the family pay off a mountain of medical bills as well as support their efforts to build an annex to their house and purchase a new vehicle.

"With this terrible, terrible tragedy happening, Nick's courage and his faith were very inspirational to Adam, who's usually the one to inspire people," Ingraham said. "And Adam and Nick have become buddies."

Another tragedy hit closer to home for Graves. Julianne Borsella, an 8-year-old from Pelham, was afflicted with a rare form of bone and tissue cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma. Graves was indefatigable in his fund raising efforts for the Borsella family, yet Julianne passed away two weeks ago. Graves attended the funeral.

"That's one of the sad endings and sad chapters of being a professional athlete who links up with friends and people in need," Ingraham said. "Sometimes the outcome is not what we want."

Graves knows the anguish first-hand. Last January, his twin son Jaxon died. Needless to say, the loss was devastating.

"Throughout life everyone is going to go through adversity, and you have to overcome it and whatnot," Graves said. "If you're able to get the support of your family and friends, a lot of times isn't (through) people showing they care.

"Just the fact that you care makes someone who's going though something difficult care and work through it.

We're all at some point going to have to go through adversity. It comes in different masks." This season hasn't been the best for Graves, who has just 12 points (five goals) through his first 30 games. The Rangers had fallen on tough times in recent years since winning the Cup, although Messier's return has them hopeful of a return to the playoffs.

One thing Graves has never lost through good times or bad is his positive perspective. He asserts that many people volunteer more time than he does, that he is selfish in these acts because they make him feel good.

The feeling has been mutual for more people than you could ever count. "I've been so fortunate to play a sport in a city like this," he said. "The one thing I don't think you can ever forget is the kindness and human nature, deep down what everyone is all about.

"I've been lucky enough to see it on many occasions how giving people are and how caring they are. And especially when it comes to kids."

Thanks to Blazin for saving me with the typing :)