With their second pick in the first round, the Calgary Flames took a slight reach and selected Russian Matvei Gridin. The forward spent the last two years in the USHL, playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he led the league in scoring with 83 points in 60 games. He finished fourth in scoring but first among U19 prospects.
Let’s dive into more on Gridin.
Who is Matvei Gridin?
| Position | Handedness | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| RW | Left | 6’1″ | 185 lbs |
The left-shot right winger moved to North America at the beginning of last season, leaving Omsk, where he played previously, to join Muskegon in the USHL. He adjusted to the North American game reasonably quickly, putting up 21 points in his first season before exploding this year. It helps that he’s a big player and is able to use that to his advantage.
Gridin was committed to the NCAA’s University of Michigan next season, but Scott Wheeler of The Athletic reports his grades weren’t up to snuff. He says Gridin is now likely headed to the QMJHL after being selected first overall by the Val-d’Or Foreurs in the annual CHL Import Draft.
Gridin’s on-ice production
Being on the younger end of the draft as a March 2006 birthday, Gridin still has a good deal of runway to develop. Take a look at his numbers so far:
| Year | Draft Relative | League | Team | GP | G | A | P | Playoff GP | Playoff G | Playoff A | Playoff P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | D-1 | USHL | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 40 | 8 | 13 | 21 | ||||
| 2023–24 | D+0 | USHL | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 60 | 38 | 45 | 83 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Prior to this season, Gridin’s numbers would have been treated as fine but nothing special. He absolutely exploded this season with Muskegon, leading the entire league in points. He also added 51 penalty minutes and finished a very decent +14 on the year. In the high-scoring league, finishing with a +14 is quite decent.
He is unlikely to put up the same numbers this coming season in the NCAA, but after a couple years in the league, if he continues to progress, he could make the jump to the pros.
Gridin’s strengths
Shooting
Gridin has a great shot, with his snapshot being a key part of his arsenal. He has a quick release that is able to beat goalies cleanly. The Russian spent an average of three-minutes-per-game on the power play and was a key cog in Muskegon’s man-advantage.
On top of finishing on set plays in the offensive zone, he was able to get a number of breakaway chances that he buried with reasonable ease. He’s not the fastest guy on the ice, but was fast enough to finish his chances as they came.
Offensive-zone instincts
The forward has a really good read of the game in the offensive zone, keeping his head up to scan the ice regularly. He constantly tries to slow the pace of the game down where possible to create plays and make passes to players moving into position.
Gridin has a knack for finding space in the offensive zone. He can create scoring chances himself or force defenders to move out of position to defend him and leave others open. Gridin is equally comfortable in front of the net or on the wall, able to create chances from both. As a big-bodied forward, he is able to win battles regardless.
Two-way game
The difference between Gridin and many other players is his details. He outworks opponents at all ends of the ice and uses his long reach to poke pucks to open ice or lift sticks. He also uses his size to get the inside track on opponents and move them out of the way.
Gridin doesn’t seem to love playing defence as much as offence—like most skilled forwards—but he’s strong on his feet and battles hard in his own zone to win the puck back.
Gridin’s areas of improvement
Skating
This is the biggest issue with Gridin’s game. He’s got a very stand-up style of skating which doesn’t allow him to get enough power to really accelerate the way he needs to. He also doesn’t use the outside edges of his skates effectively enough to really move dynamically.
Is this the end of the world? No, but it will hinder him seriously in terms of his projection down the line. The good news is that the Flames have been really good at fixing skating over the past few years, including teaching Matthew Tkachuk to be a much better skater. If Gridin can do the same, the projection is much better.
Compete level
This is an interesting one. Gridin is a very opportunistic player who wants to be engaged in the rush. He simply wasn’t engaged in the game the way he probably should have been. On top of that, he’s not the type of player who likes dictating the pace of play; instead, he prefers the play to come to him. He needs to push the play more often than he does.
This could be the result of playing at a level where he vastly outscored his opponents and led the league in points. It will be interesting to see if this continues as a freshman in the NCAA next season.
Gridin’s next steps
Gridin’s future is up in the air now. While he has committed to play for the University of Michigan, he was recently selected first overall in the CHL’s Import Draft by the Val d’Or Foreurs. Nearly every first overall pick in the entry draft has played for the team that drafted them, and there is a very good chance that Gridin heads up to the QMJHL to play.
There is also a reasonable chance that Gridin’s rights will be traded from Val d’Or to a contending team. Rimouski hosts the Memorial Cup this year and will be looking to add talent to its roster. Gridin could be a guy they consider.
Gridin’s future should be decided in the coming weeks, and we should have more clarity on where he’s going to play. Wherever it is, hopefully, he can take a big step forward in his development.
Projection with the Flames
If everything goes according to plan, Gridin projects to be a bottom-six winger who can add complementary scoring and strength to the bottom of the roster. He’s not a game-breaking talent offensively, but he does have a lot of potential. This potential will continue to grow if he can fix his skating in the next few years.
Getting an NHLer late in the first round is a win, and Gridin very much looks like a player. He does have a good amount of work to do—and the road to the NHL is long—but if all works out well, he could see himself in the flaming C in a few seasons.
