Gross Reports to AHL After Signing Contract with Coyotes

GLENDALE - The Coyotes added offensive-minded defenseman Jordan Gross to the mix this week by signing the Hobey Baker Award nominee to a two-year entry-level contract.
Gross, who recently completed a four-year career at the University of Notre Dame, flew to Tucson after signing his deal on Thursday and is expected to play for Arizona's affiliate in the American Hockey League before its season ends. He skated warm-ups with the Roadrunners on Friday night, but did not play vs. San Diego.

"I'm really excited," Gross said. "Arizona is a really good fit for me. I felt really comfortable speaking with (General Manager) John Chayka and (Assistant G.M.) Steve Sullivan. It feels like a really good spot for me to start my pro career."
Gross, 22, played 159 games for the Fighting Irish over his four seasons and produced 121 points (36 goals, 85 assists). Only two other defensemen tallied more career points for Notre Dame. As a senior, Gross notched 10 goals and 20 assists and led his team and Big Ten defensemen with 143 shots on goal. He also helped guide the Irish to the NCAA championship game, which it lost, 2-1, to Minnesota-Duluth, last weekend.

The Coyotes are eager to see how Gross adapts to the pro game and the system the organization likes to play at the NHL and AHL levels.
"Jordan was one of the top defensemen in the NCAA last year and we're thrilled to add him to our organization," Chayka said. "He's a mobile, puck-moving, right-shot defenseman who is very smart."
Gross grew up in Maple Grove, Minn., and has been playing hockey year-round since age 7. He says his older brother, Josh, was his mentor when it came to hockey, and that he studies various NHL defensemen and tries to emulate certain parts of their games. Ottawa's Erik Karlsson is a favorite.

"I definitely like to shoot the puck," said Gross, who scored 12 of his 36 NCAA goals on the power play. "Obviously I look for good passing lanes, but if there's nothing there I'll try to throw the puck on net … I like having the puck on my stick and I like to try to control the play when I'm out there. I also like running the power play. That's definitely one of my strengths."
Gross is majoring in Management Consulting at the Notre Dame business school. He said staying in college for all four seasons was a no-brainer on multiple levels.
"I went back for my senior year because I knew that we were going to have a really good group of guys coming back and I wanted to enjoy the whole college experience," Gross said. "You can't really get that again in life. So I thought it would really benefit me as a person. And hockey-wise."
Notre Dame came up just short of winning the national title but Gross enjoyed the ride.
"I sort of expected us to do what we did," Gross said. "We knew we had a really solid team coming back for this season. I don't think many people outside of Notre Dame expected us to do what we did, but we knew how good a group of guys we had."