The Anaheim Ducks, parent club of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, have acquired defenseman Alex Grant from the Pittsburgh Penguins, parent club of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, in exchange for left wing Harry Zolnierczyk.
Grant, a 6-foot-3, 202-pound defenseman, appeared in 46 regular-season games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2012-13, posting four goals and 20 points with 73 penalty minutes and a minus-7 rating. Grant paced team defensemen in points-per-game (0.43) while 12 of his 20 points on the season came via the power play (2g, 10a).
Grant added two goals and four points with 27 penalty minutes in 13 Calder Cup Playoff games as the Penguins advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
A 24-year-old native of Antigonish, N.S., Grant has appeared in 125 career AHL games, all with the Penguins, netting 17 goals and 62 points with 174 penalty minutes and a plus-8 rating. He has also scored four goals and 11 points with 40 penalty minutes in 27 career Calder Cup Playoff games with the Penguins.
In 2011-12, Grant set AHL career highs with 10 goals, 27 assists and 37 points in 61 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was also third among all AHL rookies and fourth among all AHL defensemen with 27 power-play points (7g, 20a) in 2011-12.
Grant, who will enter his fifth professional season in 2013-14, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Zolnierczyk, 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, appeared in 61 AHL games between Adirondack and Norfolk in 2012-13, totaling 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points. He also had one assist in seven NHL games for Philadelphia. Zolnierczyk was acquired by Anaheim from the Flyers in exchange for Jay Rosehill on Apr. 1, 2013.
Signed by the Flyers as a free agent on Mar. 8, 2011, Zolnierczyk has scored three goals and seven points with 71 penalty minutes in 44 career NHL games. He has also appeared in 116 career AHL games between the Admirals and Phantoms, posting 22 goals and 45 points with 142 penalty minutes.
