Tim Ramholt traded to Nashville for Josh Gratton

I haven't seen this on the Flyers or Phantoms sites yet, but it's made an appearance on a couple of Flyers boards.

The attached quote is from Kukla's Korner, which at the moment doesn't seem to want to load for me.

From the Nashville Predators PR staff:

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has acquired forward Hugh Jessiman from the New York Rangers in exchange for future considerations, and defenseman Tim Ramholt from the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Josh Gratton.

Jessiman, 24 (3/28/84), was the Rangers’ first pick (12th overall) in the 2003 Entry Draft held at the Sommet Center. The 6-6, 231-pound right wing has spent the past three-plus seasons with Hartford (AHL) and Charlotte (ECHL), amassing 119 points (57g-62a) in 217 professional games. A season ago, he posted AHL career highs in goals (18), assists (24), points (42), games played (71) and penalty minutes (154) with Hartford. The New York, N.Y., native played three seasons at Dartmouth (ECAC) before joining the Rangers.

Ramholt, 23 (11/2/84), was also selected in the 2003 Entry Draft, being selected in the second round (39th overall) by Calgary. The 6-1, 195-pound blueliner played his first two North American professional seasons in 2006-07 and 2007-08 with the Flames AHL affiliates in Omaha and Quad City, and appeared in one game with Calgary on Nov. 29, 2007. The Zurich, Switzerland native was traded to the Philadelphia organization on June 30, 2008, and has played seven games for the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2008-09. Prior to playing in the AHL, Ramholt spent three seasons (2001-03, 04-05) playing in Switzerland, and spent the 2003-04 season with Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Welcome back, Josh!

I have to admit to being a little surprised by this move, though. I wasn't expecting us to trade a defenseman for a forward. Unless Hersley's coming off the injured list, we're going to be plugging along with the bare minimum of six D (Bartulis, Ratchuk, Guenin, DeSantis, Syvret, Curry).

If the Flyers decide to plug Gratton into their lineup, we can expect to see Downie back with the Phantoms. Otherwise, we're adding some experience to the Phantoms, which given the amount of youth on this team might be helpful. Unlike prior years, we're not overloaded with veterans, so we can afford to add someone to the roster with some experience under his belt.

Stay tuned. When I see the Flyers/Phantoms sites report on this trade, I'll link to the information.