The whirlwind of trades continued Tuesday for the Tri-City Americans in their effort to get down to the league-mandated number of players.

General Manager Bob Tory announced the trade of defenseman Sam Grist to the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for two draft picks in upcoming WHL Bantam Drafts. The gritty Grist, one of the biggest and strongest American defenders, played in 119 games after making the club as a list player in 2010 (WHL undrafted). He also received a free-agent tryout with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011  just before putting up career best numbers last season.

Grist, 6' 4 and 200 lbs.,  will be missed as he heads off to Kamloops. However, with the Americans promising young defenders Wil Tomchuck and Brodie Clowes will return from injuries, the Ams again faced a numbers issue. WHL teams can only carry so many players who are 20 years old ("overage" players). With the trade of Jordan Messier, the Ams now have their three overage players in Justin Feser,  Jesse Mychan and Drydon Dow.

These were some very tough decisions for Tory, but faced with an overabundance of talented players, he had to make some moves.  The high draft picks received by the Americans for the Messier and Grist trades will enable the Am's to draft young talent in the future for WHL campaigns.

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