Introduction
Alex Grant (born January 20, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Grant was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round (118th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Grant was selected in the first round (first overall) of the 2005 QMJHL Entry Draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs, and played four seasons of major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Saint John and the Shawinigan Cataractes.
On June 24, 2013, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Grant to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for winger Harry Zolnierczyk. He was re-signed to a one-year contract on July 10, 2013.
Grant scored his first goal in his first NHL game, on November 30, 2013, against Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks. 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. 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.
On July 2, 2015, Grant was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes.
On July 4, 2016, as a free agent upon the conclusion of his contract with the Coyotes, Grant agreed to a one-year, two-way deal with the Boston Bruins. He spent the entirety of the 2016–17 season, in the AHL with affiliate, the Providence Bruins, leading the blueline in scoring with 49 points in 70 games. His 17 goals placed him second amongst the league in scoring for defensemen.
On July 1, 2017, Grant familiarly left the Bruins as a free agent and signed his third successive one-year, two-way contract in agreeing to join the Minnesota Wild. 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 from the blueline.
Unable to add to his NHL experience, as an impending free agent, Grant opted to embark on a career abroad, agreeing to a one-year contract with Finnish club, Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League on June 15, 2018.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| 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 | ||
| NHL totals | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 57 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 52 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||
International
| 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 | |
| 2007 | Canada | WJC18 | 4th | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||||