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The Swarm Acquire Grimes and pick from the Stealth for Hass and StevensAugust 13, 2014The Minnesota Swarm get:
The Vancouver Stealth get: Paraphrasing Swarm Owner/General Manager John Arlotta from the team's website, this trade had a bit to do with each of the players' family and work. Mutually beneficial on the surface one could say. Mike Grimes has played eight years in the NLL after being drafted sixth overall by the Arizona Sting in the 2006 NLL Entry Draft. The 6'3" 210 lbs. defender from Peterborough, Ontario has scored 41 goals and 67 assists in 115 games. He has scooped 624 loose balls in his career and his eighty forced turnovers since that stat has been recorded by the NLL starting in 2011 which is more than any Swarm player during that time. He won a Champions Cup with the Washington Stealth in 2010 and was an All-Star in 2011. He was named to the NLL All-Pro Second Team in 2013. In 2010, in the first game between the Swarm and Washington Stealth, Grimes scored the game winner for the Stealth in their 12-9 win over the Swarm. This is not Grimes first go around with the Swarm. The Swarm actually drafted Grimes in the 2007 Arizona Sting/Boston Blazers Dispersal Draft in November of that year. Later that month, the Swarm traded Grimes, who was working in British Columbia at the time for BC Hydro, to the Edmonton Rush for a fourth rounder in 2008 that the Swarm used to draft Ricky Pages, who spent the 2009 on the Swarm's practice roster. Look for Grimes to wear #23. Last year, Dominique Alexander wore #23 but since he finished the season on the practice roster, he automatically became an unrestricted free agent. If Grimes stays for the 2015 season and the Swarm bring back Alexander, my hunch is that Grimes may get number preference. With Jeff Gilbert signing with Toronto yesterday, the acquisition of Grimes came at a very good time. His size and speed along with a knack for transition should soften the loss of Gilbert. But the Swarm had to give up assets to get Grimes and the key asset was Tyler Hass. Drafted in the third round of the 2006 NLL Entry Draft, the Swarm had to wait until 2011 before Hass played for the team after his basketball career was over. In 52 games for the Swarm, Hass had 32 goals and 10 assists. Hass became known as a steady transition threat and his lanky 6' 6" frame was easily noticed by Swarm fans as he galloped down the floor like he did to score the overtime winner against the Rock on February 8, 2013. With a new family in Victoria, BC comes added but welcomed responsibilities for Hass which made the trade probably quite welcome in his household. Dane Stevens will join Hass in Vancouver. Stevens joined the Swarm last January in a trade with Edmonton and in four games he had a goal and four assists. With his job as a jeweler and rock star, his availability was limited for Minnesota. |