Player Preview: John Grant

With the bloackbuster trade of Matt Vinc and John Grant last week, we had a Vinc player preview with his new team in upstate New York. Now, we look at the player moving from the only franchise he's ever known to Denver.
Grant was originally a third round pick for the Buffalo Bandits in 1995, but opted not to sign and to stay in college. He re-entered the draft four years later in 1999, and was selected first overall by the Rochester Knighthawks, and was named rookie of the year. In the next three years in Rochester, Grant scored 95, 105, and 99 points. The year where he scored 105 came in a 14 game season, and the year he scored 95 was in 12 games.
The next season, 2004, Grant was injured most of the year and was only able to score 35 points in 5 games.
In 2007, Grant set a National Lacrosse league record with 15 points in a single game in a win over the New York Titans. Grant was also named MVP that season, as well as Champions Cup MVP with the championship in Rochester. The record does not hold, as Mark Steenhius of the Buffalo Bandits broke it.
Grant missed the entire 2009 season with emergency knee surgery. He returned to play 15 out of the Knighthawks 16 games in 2010, but they did not make the playoffs after falling to the Washington Stealth in the last game of the season.
In the MLL, Grant was a member of the Rochester Rattlers in their inaugural season. He finished second in the league with 59 points, and won offensive player of the year.
He skipped the 2002-2004 seasons, but returned to the Rattlers in 2005. In 2007, he broke the single season points record with 71, and was again named offensive player of the year, and also the MVP. He again led the league in scoring in 2008, and was again names MVP.
With the Rattlers folded, Grant now plays on the Toronto Nationals. He has been to two championship games, one in Rochester and one in Toronto.
Grant also played in the Ontario Lacrosse Association, with the Peterbourogh Lakers in the junior OLA. He was the league's top scorer in 1993, 1994, and 1995, as well as MVP in 1994. In 1995, Grant moved up to Major Series Lacrosse, also with the Lakers, and won the Rookie of the Year award. In 2000, he won the league's MVP. In 2002 and 2003, Grant moved to the Western Lacrosse Association, with the Coquitlam Adanacs.
Grant returned to Peterbourough in 2005, and led his team to the Mann Cup Championship. He also won the championship with the Lakers in 2006 and 2007. Grant surprisingly played in 2009, after his knee surgery that kept out of the Knighthawks lineup. In 2010, the Lakers won the championship again.

Grant is about to write a whole new chapter to his lacrosse legacy in Colorado now, hoping to lead the Mammoth the the playoffs, and the Champions Cup.