Derek Grant

Early life

Grant was born on April 20, 1990, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, to parents Debi and Dean Grant.

Playing career

Early career

Growing up in Abbotsford, Grant began playing ice hockey with his hometown Abbotsford Hawks atom team. During his time with the team, he helped them win silver in a 2002 Coquitlam tournament and was also named MVP. Once aging out of atoms, Grant went undrafted during the Western Hockey Leagues Bantam Draft due his short stature and subsequently joined the South East Flames of the B.C. Major Midget League. In his first season with the Flames, Grant broke his arm in November 2007 and missed significant time. However, he endured a growth spurt while recovering and returned standing at six-foot-three and weighing 180 pounds.

Following his growth spurt, Grant was recruited by the Junior B Abbotsford Pilots to try out for the team for the 2006–07 season. Upon making the roster, Grant led the team with 31 goals through 47 games. As such, he was scouted by the Swift Current Broncos and the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL but chose to commit to Michigan State University (MSU). During his breakout rookie season, Grant scored a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal, with 40 seconds left and was named the player of the game. Following the 2006–07 season with the Pilots, Grant played junior hockey with the Langley Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). After tallying 21 goals and 30 assists by January, he was named to the Coastal Conference in the BCHL All-Star Game and ranked 103rd amongst all North American skaters eligible for the 2008 NHL entry draft.

Once the 2007–08 season was concluded, Grant had recorded 24 goals and 63 points in his rookie season and was drafted 119th overall in the 2008 NHL entry draft by the Ottawa Senators. Following the draft, Grant returned to Langley for one more season before beginning his freshman season at MSU.

Collegiate

Grant played NCAA Division I collegiate ice hockey with the Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team from 2009 to 2011. Upon joining the Spartans as a freshman, Grant played on their top line with Corey Tropp and Nick Sucharski. On October 12, 2009, Grant was honored as the CCHA Rookie of the Week after he had tied the national lead in rookie scoring and in points per game, goals, and power-play points. At the conclusion of October, Grant was recognized by the CCHA as their Rookie of the Month after he tallied four goals and six assists through 10 games. This earned him praise from the Spartans head coach who called him a "complete player" and someone who is "more of a distributor of the puck than a guy who puts in 20 shots a night on goal." Grant concluded his rookie season with the Spartans third on the team in goals and tied for fourth in assists with 12 and 18 respectively. His play earned him Honorable Mention honors for the CCHA All-Rookie Team.

Grant returned to the Spartans for his sophomore campaign where he played alongside Brett Perlini and Zach Golembiewski. His second season did not start out as successfully as his freshman season as he went scoreless in his first eight games of the season. He eventually scored his first goal of the season in mid November during a five-point weekend against Ohio State University. As a result of the four assists and one goal in one weekend, Grant was the recipient of the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honor on November 15, 2010.

Professional

Following his sophomore season at Michigan State, Grant chose to leave MSU and signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators on March 10, 2011. He was immediately assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, for the remainder of the season and 2011 Calder Cup playoffs push. Upon joining the Binghamton Senators, Grant earned his first professional career point with an assist in a 3–1 win over the Charlotte Checkers. He then scored the game-winning goal in overtime to tie their best-of-seven Atlantic Division series with the Manchester Monarchs. Grant helped the Senators overcame the Monarchs, the Portland Pirates, and the Checkers en route to the Calder Cup final, where they eliminated the Houston Aeros in six games.

Grant was invited to participate with the Ottawa Senators in the NHL's rookie tournament prior to the 2011–12 season where he played on the starting line alongside Corey Cowick and Stefan Noesen. Following the tournament, Grant was selected to participate in the Senators training camp but was returned to the AHL for the start of the season. He remained in the AHL for the entirety of the season where he tallied 23 points through 60 games.

On February 16, 2013, Grant made his NHL debut in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in a total of five games before being reassigned to the AHL. Following his second full professional season, Grant was again invited to participate with the Ottawa Senators training camp prior to the start of the 2013–14 season. On July 10, 2014, Grant signed a one-year two-way contract extension with the Senators.

As Grant was not offered a new contract by the Senators, he signed a one-year contract with the Calgary Flames on July 1, 2015, as a free agent. Grant later stated that he chose to join the Flames organization due to their young core group. He attended the Flames' training camp but was re-assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat, prior to the start of the 2015–16 season. He was quickly recalled to the NHL level however after Micheal Ferland suffered an injury. Grant played in nine games for Calgary before being re-assigned to the AHL on November 16.

By January, Grant led the team in scoring with 16 goals and 20 points which included his 11 points in 11 games during December. Grant also recorded 51 shots on net in December, including an 11-shot effort during a 3-2 loss to the Bakersfield Condors.

International play

As a native of Canada, Grant was chosen to represent Team Canada West at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge where he helped them win a silver medal.

He represented Canada at the 2023 Spengler Cup, where he was named an alternate captain. Grant scored three points in three games in the tournament, including two goals in the semifinal, where Canada lost to HC Dynamo Pardubice.

Grant once again represented Canada as an alternate captain at the 2025 Spengler Cup, notching two assists in two games in the group stage. He missed the quarterfinal game against HC Sparta Praha, where Canada was eliminated from the tournament in a 5–1 loss to the Czech side.