| Jaden Grant | Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | L | F | 6’2″ | 174 | Bowling Green | 2022 | White Lake, MI | 2002 | 2019-2020: C |
USHL: Youngstown vs Cedar Rapids, October 30, 2021: Grant recorded two shots on goal tonight all from below the dots where he seems to thrive. Grant uses his strength and size to box out defenders, get to the front of the net, and take away the goaltender’s line of sight. Once he gets ice near the paint, he’s tough to move. He keeps himself square to shooters, gives them great targets to shoot for, knows when to redirect and when to just let the shot through. In the 3rd period Grant was the first one to come out of the gate and ramp up the physical play, which helped change some momentum in favor of the Phantoms. His physical play helps give his teammates space and allows the defense to focus on him instead. He’s absolutely irritating to play against and walks that line but doesn’t often cross it. Grant has that in-your-face kind of game that will draw penalties and put his team on the powerplay. On the faceoff dot, Grant is strong. When he doesn’t win the puck clean, he’s tying up his opponents and taking away their hands to help his teammates gain control. If it’s a clean loss, he’s rarely tied up and breaks through the line to pressure the puck hard. Grade: B-
USHL: Youngstown Phantoms vs Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, October 23, 2021: In the 5-2 loss to Cedar Rapids Grant placed second on the Phantoms with 22:19 of total ice time including 3:06 while short handed and a team leading 8:10 while on the power play. Statistically he won 11 of 16 face-offs, had 1 giveaway versus 2 takeaways, 1 blocked shot, 2 minutes in penalties and 1 power play assist. Grant played his normal abrasive game. He finished checks a little late and a little too hard. He was annoying to play against and his stick was very active with extra hacks and whacks. We like this element because he is a distraction to his opponents and he creates more time for his linemates. Grant worked the goal line on the power play and he did it very well. He handled hard passes through traffic very cleanly, showed deceptive eyes and was a real net front presence that helped Adam Ingram score two power play goals. He regularly plays with a controlled aggression that will lead to drawing penalties and being a home fan favorite. Even though the Phantoms lost this one, Grant was a positive player and impactful leader for them.
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, April 2021: Grant is an intriguing prospect with size and strength, plays the game the right way, snaps passes off and is defensively responsible. He has a rocket snap shot that he can get off on the rush and drives hard to the net drawing defenders with him and opening space for his teammates. A two-way physical presence whose game will translate at the higher levels. College: Bowling Green
USHL: Youngstown Phantoms vs Muskegon Lumberjacks, April 3, 2021: Grant had a solid game for the Phantoms, registering a goal and an assist in the contest. He is a skilled forward who showed the ability to make plays one on one and was effective through the neutral zone, both offensively and defensively. On his goal, the Bowling Green commit was able to make a nice move as he entered the offensive zone with the puck before getting a shot on the net and following up to find his own rebound and finish it. Throughout the night he did a good job of helping his team create turnovers in the neutral zone and then transitioning the puck quickly to offence. Grant was then crafty when carrying the puck over the offensive blueline and did a good job of finding passing lanes to hit his teammates in stride. Overall, he played a solid game for Youngstown and was most effective through the neutral zone where he helped turn his team from defense to offence. Grade: B+
NAHL Showcase Part Two: Bismarck, Chippewa and Corpus Christi, December 2019: Jaden is a young guy who had a successful Midget career using his body and bullying his way to the goal. Here we saw some of that as he drove the net hard without possession. He also made crisp passes to the wing and showed a rocket shot from the top of the circles. His strides are long but we noted he kicks up at the end of his stride. That’s an area he can improve to get even more power and speed as he adds even more strength. Overall, the September 2002 was around the play and never looked out of place against older players at this level. He should take a big step next season. Grade: B-
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Stats provided by InStat