Colorado reportedly receives forward Grant in trade with Rochester

As first reported by NLLInsider.com earlier today, the Colorado Mammoth and Rochester Knighthawks are expected to announce a trade.

Here is a link to the Insider story.

Here’s the breakdown:

COLORADO GETS:

— Left-handed forward John Grant Jr., an aging veteran who still led the Knighthawks with 83 points (39 goals, 44 assists) in 15 games last season. Grant played his entire career in Rochester. The soon-to-be 36-year-old has been a force in the league for some time and could prove to help Colorado’s attackers mature.

— Right-handed defender Mac Allen, who appeared in 14 games for Rochester last year and recorded one goal and 56 loose balls. Allen, 25, played his first two seasons with Edmonton before playing the 2009 and 2010 seasons with Rochester. He has collected 191 loose balls in 44 career games. Colorado’s defense improves with this move.

— Rights to Rochester’s 1st Round pick in 2011 draft and 1st round pick in 2013.

ROCHESTER GETS:

— 2010 NLL Goaltender of the Year (with Orlando) Matt Vinc. Vinc was acquired by Colorado through the dispersal draft. The 28-year-old was No.1 in the league last year with a .810 save percentage and also registered 10 wins and a 9.51 goals against average.

— Right-handed defender Matt Zash. The 27-year-old Zash, who was originally picked up by the Stealth in the Orlando dispersal draft and then shipped to Colorado for the Mammoth’s 3rd round pick in 2011, heads back east. Zash recorded two goals and five assists in 10 games last year. He had 39 loose balls and has collected 164 in 33 career games.

— Rights to Colorado’s 1st round pick in 2012 and 3rd round pick in 2012.

ANALYSIS:

The Cody Jamieson era officially beings in Rochester. Jamieson, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, along with fifth overall pick Jarrett Davis and Orlando dispersal draft pick Jordan Hall give the Knighthawks a much younger and, arguably, equally as talented attacking core. Rochester’s top five points leaders in 2010 had an average age of nearly 33 years old. With Jamieson (23), Davis (23) and Hall (26), the K’Hawks inject youth into the attack.

The K’Hawks also seem to have solved their goal-tending woes with the addition of Vinc. The league’s goalie of the year in 2010, Vinc will surely give Rochester a leg up. The loss of a solid young defender like Allen hurts Rochester’s thin defense, but Vinc could help ease the pain.

It’s tough to think John Grant Jr. will stay with the Mammoth. Colorado might try to turn him around to a team like Toronto or Buffalo since Grant lives in Peterborough, Ont., and is a long-time veteran who played his entire career in the east.

Allen is a solid pick up for the Mammoth defense, but it will be interesting to see what the team does with Grant. If he stays, he obviously would be a boost to the Colorado offense in more than one way. The Mammoth lacked guidance last year and Grant could provide a leadership role as well as a scoring threat.