The 28-year-old forward joins the club after spending the past three seasons with Rapid City Rush of the ECHL, where he iced in 201 matches and recorded 154 points (68G, 86A), whilst last season he posted 52 points in 72 appearances.
Born in Forest Lake, Minnesota, Brett will be making his debut in Europe after spending his entire career in America, icing in the ECHL, SPHL. FPHL, NCAA III, NAHL and Minnesota high-school leagues.
Gravelle, who stands at 6-foot and 1-inch tall, started his professional career in 2020 after icing for four seasons with the University of St Thomas, before then joining Elmira Enforces in the Federal Prospects League.
From there, the American worked his way up the leagues, moving to the Southern Professional Hockey League the following year and having a five-game stint with Quad City Storm and also appearing once in the ECHL for Iowa Heartlanders on loan.
Brett then spent the rest of the 2021-2022 season on loan to Rapid City Rush, making 67 appearances and scoring 54 points (27G, 27A), which earned him a permanent spot in South Dakota and he would stay with the Rush for the next two seasons.
LEFEBVRE ON GRAVELLA
Once the signing of Gravelle was confirmed, Stars Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre, said: “Brett has a lot of speed and skill and I thought we had to add some more of that up front, especially as we will be losing some guys here in the summer.
“So, we had to replace those guys with some more speed and skill but also Brett brings a bit more experience and we want to up our level of offence this year too and he can really bolster our powerplay.
“He is a good, solid two-way player and a strong skater, so he should be very dangerous on the attack against opposition defenders.
“It is amazing to look at his progress from where he started to where he is now and he is a bonified scorer at the East Coast level and there is no reason why that cannot translate to here, he just keeps getting better every season and I am sure he will provide a lot of offence and speed for us this season.”
GRAVELLE ON BECOMING A STAR
After confirming his move to Scotland, Brett said: “I am super excited about joining Dundee and getting the opportunity to play in Europe, so I am looking forward to this change and seeing a new city and a new country.
“The conversations with Marc went really well, I had talked to him last summer a bit about coming over but in the end, I was going to stay for one more year in the U.S.
“I also had a couple of teammates from the past that had played in Dundee and I just heard good things about the organisation, the community and the fans, so I am very excited.”
He continued: “I am fairly familiar with the league and things like that but I am sure there is still plenty that I do not know yet and I am excited to learn and take in this new experience.”
Describing his style of play, Brett added: “I would say I am more of a skilled forward and I am not the biggest body but I like to use my speed to create scoring chances.
“I do also take pride in my two-way game, playing offence and defence, and that is something I think I have improved upon since I turned pro.
“Obviously producing offence and being an asset on the powerplay are my biggest strengths.”
Finally, Gravelle shared a message for all the Stars fans as he prepares for the upcoming season, he said: “I am extremely excited about coming to Dundee and I cannot wait to meet the fans, see this new city and be a part of a great community.
“I want to thank Marc for the opportunity and I cannot wait to get over there.”
Listen to the full interview with Brett and Stars TV below!
GRAVELLE’S CAREER
Brett’s career started back in 2011 as he played at Forest Lake High in the Minnesota state high school league and across three seasons, he iced in 79 games and totalled 114 points (52G, 62A), whilst also captaining the team in his third year.
In the 2014-2015 campaign, Gravelle then joined North Iowa Bulls in the NA3HL and put up 76 points from 45 matches, whilst also appearing 15 times for Minnesota Wilderness in the NAHL.
That same season, the American was named to NA3HL Second All-Rookie Team and was a USA Hockey Junior Tier III National Champion, but then the following year, he swept up a pile of awards as he claimed the NA3HL accolades for Forward of the Year, Most Goals (57), Most Points (99) and Most Valuable Player.
Gravelle had continued with the Bulls and his 99-point season also earned him a spot on the league’s First All-Star Team and All-Tournament Team with North Iowa being crowned NA3HL Champions.
After a two-game spell with Austin Bruins in the NAHL, the 2016-2017 campaign then saw Brett head down the collegiate route as he committed to the University of St. Thomas for the next four-years and would wear an ‘A’ in his third season and the captain’s ‘C’ in his senior year.
The Minnesotan forward would continue to be recognised with awards each year and after a 24-point rookie season, he was named to the NCAA III (MIAC) All-Rookie Team and the following three seasons saw him named to NCAA III (MIAC) All-Conference Team, with his final year ending with the Tommies claiming an NCAA III (MIAC) Championship.
Over his four years in college, Brett accumulated 113 points in 102 games, scoring 50 goals and assisting 63 times, before then in the COVID-19 affected season, joining Elmira Enforces in the FPHL for 20 games and he contributed 23 points.
In the 2021-2022 season, Gravelle then stepped up to play five games with Quad City Storm in the SPHL before joining Iowa Heartlanders for a one-game loan and then making his move to Rapid City Rush for the rest of the season.
In his 13-year-career so far, Brett has featured in 488 matches, recorded 261 goals, 298 assists and collected 127 penalty minutes, while also playing in 33 playoff games, where he tallied 50 points (22G, 28A) and 5 penalty minutes.
Gravelle has shared a dressing room with a few former Stars in his career, including; Ryan Valentini and Elijah Vilio in Rapid City and Ben Sokay in Iowa
Brett is our eighth signing of the summer and joins Drydn Dow, Ben O’Connor, Jonathan McBean, Xavier Pouliot, Craig Garrigan, Kris Inglis and Kyle Pouncy on the roster for next season.
Gravelle will wear #27 for the Stars and you can sponsor his equipment for this season right now, click HERE.
To see Brett’s career stats on Elite Prospects click HERE.
Banner image: Rapid City Journal.
