Manchester Storm are excited to confirm the signing of forward Martin Gran from Lillehammer.

The Norwegian has already spent two campaigns outside his native country with spells in Austria and Italy, which is particularly impressive at the age of 24.

Gran, who is born in Hamar, went on to represent his local Storhamar from 2010-2017, as the skilled forward progressed through the junior ranks before making his professional debut in 2014.

After three full seasons in the Eliteserien, Gran signed with Kitzbuheler EC of the AlpsHL in Austria and went on to produce 28 points (11G 17A) in 33 appearances. This impressive debut campaign overseas saw Gran snapped up by Italian side Fassa for the 2018-19 season. Despite a bitterly disappointing team record, Gran was able to rack up 40 points (20G 20A) in only 34 games.

This impressive return and increased amount of ice-time saw Gran return to Norway, but this time with Lillehammer, for the 2019-20 season. Upon his return to Norway, Gran has produced 50 points (22G 28A) in 66 matches and is under contract with the Eliteserien side until 2022-23 and will return to the side once the Elite Series has been completed.

Head Coach, Ryan Finnerty, had this to say about recruiting Martin Gran:

“Martin was producing a point-per-game in one of Europe’s top leagues at the age of 24 and has rightly been rewarded with a long-term deal. As a result, I think it’s a brilliant piece of business for the club to effectively loan a high-end import forward for the Elite Series.

The competition for import slots is usually high in the Elite League, but with only 8 spaces for the Elite Series and hundreds of players available we wanted somebody extremely talented, Martin most definitely is that player.

I know he will be a role model for our younger Brit, as he went overseas at a young age to develop himself in the professional leagues and has since returned to Norway as a Top 6 forward and high-end talent.

In the conversations we have had, Martin knew a lot about the city and franchise, and is extremely excited to put on one of the most famous jerseys in British hockey history.”

Welcome to Manchester, Martin!

ELITE SERIES: Manchester Storm take on the Coventry Blaze on Saturday the 3rd April at the Nottingham Ice Arena in Elite Series action! Buy the webcast HERE! Face-off is 2pm!

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