The Toronto Rock have completed a trade with the Georgia Swarm just hours before the 2015 NLL Draft. The Rock have acquired defenceman Mike Grimes along with the Swarm’s 4th round pick, 34th overall in the 2015 NLL Draft in exchange for the Rock’s 3rd round pick, 29th overall in the 2015 NLL Draft and Toronto’s 2nd round pick in 2018.
The 29-year old Grimes was acquired by the Swarm in the summer of 2014 from the Vancouver Stealth in exchange for two players. Due to work commitments, Grimes never suited up for a single game with the Swarm in 2015.
“Mike’s a player that we have respected for his talents and been interested in for a while now,” said Rock Owner, President and GM Jamie Dawick. “We think the upside outweighs any possible risk in making this deal. We’re hopeful he will be a part of the Toronto Rock this year.”
In his last season in the NLL with the Vancouver Stealth in 2014, Grimes played all 18 regular season games, scoring 5 goals and adding 17 assists for 22 points. He also finished in the top 25 in the NLL with 96 loose balls and caused 25 turnovers, 10th best in the NLL.
A veteran of 8 NLL seasons, Grimes was selected in the first round of the 2006 NLL Draft, 6th overall by the Arizona Sting. His career began in 2007 with the Sting before moving on to the Edmonton Rush for a season and then the Stealth franchise for the next six.
The addition of the Peterborough, Ontario native will help fill the void left by defender Damon Edwards who may miss the entire 2016 season after tearing his ACL in July playing for the Oakville Rock of Ontario Major Series Lacrosse (MSL). Edwards has undergone surgery and has targeted a possible late season return.
Grimes played his Junior A lacrosse with his hometown Peterborough Lakers and won the Minto Cup Canadian Junior A Championship in 2006. Grimes will be reunited with one of his teammates from that championship squad in current Rock player and fellow Peterborough native, Brock Sorensen.
Following this trade, the Rock still hold 5 picks in tonight’s NLL Draft. Toronto’s first selection is a second round pick, 10th overall. Toronto holds an additional second round pick as well as one pick in the fourth round and two in the sixth and final round. The NLL Draft takes place tonight at 7 p.m. at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario. Fans are welcome to attend the draft in person, or they can watch online at NLL.com.
