Mike Sgroi

Mike Sgroi (born August 14, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger playing for the Texas Brahmas of the Central Hockey League.

Early Career
In 2005 while Sgroi was a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he participated in the Battle of the Hockey Enforcers, a made-for-TV event that featured enforcers from various minor leagues such as the ECHL, AHL, and the LNAH. The participants fought on-ice and in full equipment. Sgroi's fight against then-Sherbrooke St-Francois forward Jason Simon. Sgroi was declared the winner, but because the fight was stopped early, this caused the crowd of 2,000 people to boo the announcement. Sgroi would also fight Bone and Hewitt that night. Sgroi made it to the final round before losing to eventual champion Dean Mayrand by split decision.

2007-08
During the 2007-08 ECHL season, Sgroi was traded from Pensacola for Michael Cohen. Later that year, Sgroi set a career high in goals with 25 total.

2008-09
On January 24, 2008, Sgroi was traded to the Utah Grizzlies for future considerations. However, it was short-lived, as Sgroi only played one game with the Grizzlies before he was traded to the Elmira Jackals. After he was traded twice in one week, this alerted clubs to his availability. There were two clubs however that were said to be very interested in Sgroi's services, these were Coventry Blaze and Sheffield Steelers, both of who play in the top league in the United Kingdom. After a few weeks their interest was said to have died down.

2009-10
Sgroi started the season in training camp with the Rochester Americans of the AHL. On September 28, 2009, Sgroi was cut from Amerks camp. On November 2, 2009, Sgroi signed a one year contract with the Laredo Bucks of the CHL and wore jersey #22. After a month with the team, Sgroi was waived by the Bucks on December 10, 2009.

On January 26, 2010, the Elite Ice Hockey League Club Sheffield Steelers announced that they signed Sgroi to a contract. To make room for him, the Steelers released forward Brad Cruikshank. Despite putting up 18 points in 20 games and providing the role of enforcer for the Steelers, the Steelers announced on May 20 2010 that Sgroi would not be returning to the team.

Personal

 * Sgroi is also a mixed martial arts fighter who teaches muay thai in the offseason. According to an Elmira Jackals press release, Sgroi started his mixed martial arts career 5-0.
 * Sgroi also enjoys playing poker in his offtime and has competed in tournaments. He once finished 27th out of 780 players in a World Series of Poker event
 * Sgroi appears in the 2010 EA Sports video game NHL Slapshot. He is not assigned to a team, but can be found on the game's free agent list.