Alex Grant (ice hockey)

Alex Grant (born January 20, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played under contract with Barys Astana in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Grant was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round (118th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Alex Grant
Grant with the Springfield Falcons in 2015
Born (1989-01-20) January 20, 1989 (age 35)
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
team
Former teams
Free agent
Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Jokerit
SKA Saint Petersburg
Barys Astana
National team  Canada
NHL draft 118th overall, 2007
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2009–present

Playing career

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Grant was selected in the first round (first overall) of the 2005 QMJHL Entry Draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs,[1] and played four seasons of major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Saint John and the Shawinigan Cataractes.[2]

On June 24, 2013, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Grant to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for winger Harry Zolnierczyk.[3] He was re-signed to a one-year contract on July 10, 2013.[4]

Grant scored his first goal in his first NHL game, on November 30, 2013, against Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks.[5] Despite scoring a goal in his second successive game with the Ducks, on December 12, 2013, he was reassigned to the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League.[6] Approaching the trade deadline on March 5, 2014, Grant was traded by the Ducks to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for minor league right winger Andre Petersson.[7]

On July 2, 2015, Grant signed a one-year, two-way contract as a free agent with the Arizona Coyotes.[8]

On July 4, 2016, Grant signed a one-year, two-way deal as a free agent with the Boston Bruins. He spent the entire 2016–17 season in the AHL with affiliate, the Providence Bruins, first among the league's defensemen in scoring with 49 points in 70 games and second in goals scored with 17.

On July 1, 2017, Grant left the Bruins as a free agent to sign his third successive one-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild.[9] Grant was assigned to the Wild's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild for the duration of the 2017–18 season. In 73 games, he collected 13 goals and 36 points.

Grant signed a one-year contract with Finnish club, Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League on June 15, 2018.[10]

After four seasons with Jokerit, Grant left the club after their withdrawal from the KHL due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a free agent into the off-season, Grant opted to continue his tenure in the KHL, signing a one-year deal with Russian club, SKA Saint Petersburg, on July 1, 2022.[11] In the 2022–23 season, Grant made just 16 appearances on the blueline with SKA before he was traded to Kazakhstani based club, Barys Astana, on November 22, 2022.[12]

International play

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In January 2022, Grant was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[13][14][15]

Career statistics

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Grant with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2013

Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Antigonish Bulldogs MJAHL 50 7 9 16 36
2005–06 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 47 4 9 13 58
2006–07 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 68 12 20 32 108
2007–08 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 70 15 33 48 96 14 3 11 14 12
2008–09 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 37 9 22 31 51
2008–09 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 23 4 15 19 11 21 4 5 9 18
2009–10 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 40 7 20 27 36 6 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 14 3 2 5 28 2 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 14 3 2 5 6 17 2 0 2 13
2010–11 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 4 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 61 10 27 37 73 12 2 5 7 13
2012–13 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 46 4 16 20 73 13 2 2 4 27
2013–14 Norfolk Admirals AHL 52 7 20 27 46
2013–14 Anaheim Ducks NHL 2 2 0 2 2
2013–14 Binghamton Senators AHL 19 2 8 10 6 4 0 0 0 10
2014–15 Binghamton Senators AHL 58 6 27 33 57
2015–16 Springfield Falcons AHL 69 11 31 42 57
2015–16 Arizona Coyotes NHL 5 0 0 0 7
2016–17 Providence Bruins AHL 70 17 32 49 36 17 2 6 8 12
2017–18 Iowa Wild AHL 73 13 23 36 79
2018–19 Jokerit KHL 57 13 23 36 52 5 0 0 0 4
2019–20 Jokerit KHL 43 5 14 19 14 4 0 1 1 2
2020–21 Jokerit KHL 50 6 15 21 28 3 0 0 0 24
2021–22 Jokerit KHL 27 5 7 12 17
2022–23 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 16 1 5 6 2
2022–23 Barys Astana KHL 33 9 8 17 20
2023–24 Barys Astana KHL 8 1 1 2 4
NHL totals 7 2 0 2 9
KHL totals 234 40 73 113 137 12 0 1 1 30

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Canada Atlantic U17   6 0 1 1 2
2006 Canada Atlantic U17 6th 5 1 3 4 2
2006 Canada IH18   4 0 0 0 0
2007 Canada U18 4th 6 0 0 0 0
2022 Canada OG 6th 3 1 1 2 2
Junior totals 21 1 4 5 4
Senior totals 3 1 1 2 2

References

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  1. ^ Sea Dogs Trade Alex Grant To Shawinigan Cataractes - OurSports Central
  2. ^ Urquhart Recalled; Grant Reassigned to Wheeling - OurSports Central
  3. ^ "Ducks acquire Grant". Anaheim Ducks. June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  4. ^ "Ducks sign Defenseman Grant to one-year contract". Anaheim Ducks. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  5. ^ "Grant scores in NHL debut". stationnation.ca. December 1, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  6. ^ "Steckel, Grant and Yonkman Reassigned to Norfolk". Anaheim Ducks. December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  7. ^ "Senators Trade D Petersson To Ducks For D Grant". TSN.ca. March 5, 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  8. ^ "Coyotes sign Grant to one-year, two-way contract". Arizona Coyotes. July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  9. ^ "Wild sign five players to two-way contracts". Fox Sports. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  10. ^ "Grant and Kalnins join Jokerit" (in Finnish). Jokerit. June 15, 2018. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  11. ^ "Alex Grant signs with SKA" (in Russian). SKA Saint Petersburg. July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  12. ^ "Alex Grant moves to Barys" (in Kazakh). Barys Astana. November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Canada unveils non-NHL Olympic hockey roster with pro experience, young talent". www.cbc.ca/. CBC Sports. January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  14. ^ Nichols, Paula (January 25, 2022). "Team Canada's 25-player men's hockey roster nominated for Beijing 2022". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  15. ^ Stephens, Mike (January 25, 2022). "Canada Names Men's 2022 Olympic Hockey Roster". The Hockey News. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
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