Bloomington, IL - Bloomington PrairieThunder officials announced Wednesday the team has obtained the rights to 23-year-old forward Travis Granbois from Kalamazoo in exchange for veteran defensemen Casey Handrahan and Rod Aldoff in an International Hockey League transcation.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Granbois scored 10 goals and had 21 assists for 31 points in 72 games for the Wings last season in his second year of professional hockey. He also accumulated 136 minutes in penalties.
Granbois (GRAN-bwaa), a native of Campbell River, British Columbia began his pro career with the Quad City Mallards of the United Hockey League in 2006. He played in 45 games with the Mallards, scoring three goals with five assists for eight points. He was a teammate of current PrairieThunder players Don Parsons and Blake Stewart with the Mallards.
"Travis is a young guy, who is very versatile," said PrairieThunder coach Jarrod Skalde. "He can play any of the forward positions and plays at a high energy level. That's something I look for in young players."
Handrahan and Aldoff came to the PrairieThunder in earlier trades with Kalamazoo. Handrahan played the final 16 games of the 2006-07 season with Bloomington and was one of only two players to see action in all 76 games last year.
During his 92-game career with the PrairieThunder, the 28-year-old Handrahan scored two goals, had 25 assists for 27 points, and 33 penalty minutes.
The 37-year-old Aldoff played the final 42 games of last season with the PrairieThunder, scoring four goals with 15 assists for 19 points. He had 44 penalty minutes.
"We couldn't afford to get both of those guys under the salary cap with what we are trying to do in putting this team together," said Skalde. "This gives them the opportunity to play somewhere else. Nick (Kalamazoo coach Nick Bootland) expressed an interest in Casey and Rod, so this turned out to be the right fit for everyone."
Handrahan and Bootland were teammates in Kalamazoo during the 2006-07 season.
