Inseparable pair sign with Grizzlies

Utah Grizzlies general manager Laurence Gilman announced today that the team has signed right wing Justin Cox and forward Brett Draney to professional tryouts.

Cox, 23, has played 205 career games with the Grizzlies posting 25 goals with 30 assists. This season in 16 games with Idaho (ECHL), the Merritt, B.C., native has scored four goals with four assists. Last season in 78 games with Utah, the 6-foot, 185-pound left wing scored 12 goals with 11 assists and 65 penalty minutes.

Draney, 23, has played 55 games in his career with the Grizzlies posting three goals and four assists. This year he has scored two goals with seven assists in 11 games with Idaho (ECHL). Last season, the Merritt, B.C. native split time between Utah and Idaho combining to score 11 goals with five assists. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound forward was a member of Idaho’s Kelly Cup championship team scoring three goals with five assists during the 2004 post-season.

The two players have mirrored each other through most of their hockey careers and lives. Both were born in Merritt one day apart in the same hospital in 1983. The two than were drafted in the same year (1999) by the same team (Dallas Stars) just two picks apart, and then played for three seasons with the same AHL team (Utah) and this year were side-by-side with the same ECHL team (Idaho). Now the two are signed to PTO’s by the same team on the same day.

Both players are expected to be in the line-up tonight when the Grizzlies host the Chicago Wolves at the “E” Center. Face-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. MT.