Grant Besse (born July 14, 1994) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

who last played for Tölzer Löwen in the

DEL2 DEL2 (also known as DEL II) is the second tier ice hockey league in Germany, below the '' Deutsche Eishockey Liga'' (DEL) and ahead of the '' Oberliga''. Founded in 2013 to replace the defunct '' 2nd Bundesliga'', DEL2 is administered by ESBG, u ...

. Besse was selected in the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Alek ...

by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

in the 5th round (147th overall). Besse was named the 2013 Minnesota Mr. Hockey.

Playing career

Amateur

Playing for the Red Knights of

Benilde-St. Margaret's Benilde-St. Margaret's is a Catholic, co-educational private prep school for grades 7–12 located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, that draws its over one thousand students from throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area. It is located in the Roma ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, in 2012 he had 51 goals, bringing his career totals to 115 goals in 85 games. On March 11, 2012, Besse set a state tournament record when he scored five goals, including three short-handed, to power the Benilde-St. Margaret's to a 5-1 win to capture the Minnesota State boys hockey championship. As a result of the five goals, he scored 163 goals in his high school career, finishing fifth in Minnesota history, according to CBS Minnesota. Besse was named the 2013 Minnesota Mr. Hockey as the top senior player from the state of Minnesota. It was announced in March 2013 that he had also been named Associated Press Player of the Year for Minnesota high school hockey, an award voted on by a state panel of broadcasters and sports writers. Besse committed to attend the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

to play NCAA college hockey with the

Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey The Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The team plays at the Kohl Center and is coached by Tony Granato. The Badgers ice hockey team ...

team. Besse scored in his first two career games with the Badgers. He had 14 points in his freshman season, which led all freshman on the team. In his sophomore season he led the entire team in points with 22. His junior season he was named assistant captain and lead the team again in points, but this time with 33. Following the conclusion of his senior year in the 2016–17 season, Besse completed his four-year collegiate career, posting 37 goals and 97 points in 138 games.

Professional

With the Anaheim Ducks opting not to offer Besse a contract, he signed as a free agent to his first professional contract with the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

on October 3, 2017. In the 2017–18 season, Besse completed the campaign as the top scoring rookie in the ECHL, compiling 30 goals and 62 points in 62 games with the Admirals. He led the team in goals and game-winning goals (4), and finished second on the club in assists and points. He was selected to play in the 2018 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic, and earned a spot on the ECHL All-Rookie Team for his play. Besse, earned a professional tryout with the AHL's

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

at the tail end of the season, finishing with seven points in 11 games. He scored his first AHL goal on March 28, 2018, against the

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The Hea ...

, and registered three assists against the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

on April 8. As a free agent over the summer, Besse secured a one-year AHL contract with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

on August 23, 2018. He began the 2018–19 season familiarly in the ECHL with affiliate, the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...

. He matched his rookie season totals with the Stingrays, posting 30 goals and 62 points in 60 games. He played in just 7 games with the Hershey Bears, posting 2 goals in his various call-ups. On April 25, 2019, Besse opted to pursue a European career, signing an initial one-year contract with German club,

Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Penguins) are an ice hockey team in the DEL2. Their home ice is in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the König Palast. Founded first in 1936 by Willi Münstermann, the pro team became a limited liability ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL). In the following 2019-20 season, Besse co-led the team with 20 goals through 48 regular season games, before the playoffs were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Leaving Krefeld after one season, Besse signed as a free agent with Swedish second division club,

IF Björklöven IF Björklöven (often simply referred to as Björklöven or Löven) is a Sweden, Swedish professional ice hockey Club (organization), club in Umeå, Västerbotten, in northern Sweden. The club is currently playing in the second-tier league HockeyA ...

of the

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system (after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL). Since the 2009–10 ...

(Allsv) on December 3, 2020. Besse was unable to make an impact with IF Björklöven, registering 2 assists in only 8 games before opting to mutually terminate his contract on February 9, 2021.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Besse, Grant 1994 births Living people American men's ice hockey forwards Anaheim Ducks draft picks IF Björklöven players Cleveland Monsters players Hershey Bears players Krefeld Pinguine players Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) players Omaha Lancers players People from Plymouth, Minnesota Ice hockey people from Hennepin County, Minnesota Ice hockey players from Minnesota South Carolina Stingrays players Vienna Capitals players Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players