Zayne Parekh has been doing some generational things over in the OHL this season. He already is the first defenceman to have back-to-back 30-goal seasons and just joined Ryan Ellis as the only defenceman to score back-to-back 100-point seasons. It would seem though that his dominance has begun to overshadow a few of the other strong performers from his draft class.
Not very often this year have we heard about Matvei Gridin, Calgary’s 28th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Gridin was just named the QMJHL Rookie of the Month in February after scoring 11 points in just six games. On the year, he has 71 points in 52 games and is scoring at a pace of 1.37 PTS/G. It would appear that Parekh isn’t the only Flames prospect who might already be a bit too good for the CHL.
Prior to being drafted by the Calgary Flames
Matvei Gridin was taken 28th overall out of the USHL. The Russian forward played two seasons for the Muskegon Lumberjacks where in his second season, he would lead the entire league in scoring with 83 points in just 60 games—five more than second place Trevor Connelly.
His performance would result in him getting drafted first overall in the 2024 CHL Import Draft by the Val-d’Or Foreurs, but he would not play there.
Prior to the season, he would be traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes for import defenceman Eduard Bondar and a third-round pick in 2026. A move that so far, has worked out pretty well for Shawinigan.
Matvei Gridin’s 2024–25 QMJHL season
The Calgary Flames have been very desperate for offence this season with the team sitting near the bottom of the league in offence. Thanks to Matvei Gridin, it would seem they may finally have a legitimate scorer working his way up their system. He currently has 71 points and sits second place in team scoring, just three points behind Félix Lacerte, although Lacerte has played in six more games then Gridin.
On top of his impressive point totals, Gridin has also managed to score 32 goals this year. He leads the team in shots by quite a bit with 214 and takes over four shots per game on average. While that may be concerning to some who would worry about his efficiency, so far this year he has been scoring on 15% of those shots.
It’s looking like he has just been getting better as well. He just returned from a short term injury that had him miss parts of the end of February and early March and since returning has been on fire. In the last three games, Shawinigan has gone 2–0–1 with Gridin grabbing three points in his return game, and then followed it up by scoring in both of the next two games.
The Shawinigan Cataractes have had a pretty solid year so far as well. The Cataractes currently sit fifth in the QMJHL as a whole with a record of 34–18–8. They have already clinched a playoff spot and are preparing to make a run in the QMJHL Playoffs later this month. They have been going on quite the tear as the playoffs approach as well, going 6–2–2 in their last 10 games. If Matvei Gridin can carry his recent form into the playoffs, Shawinigan could be a tough team to beat.
Remember Matvei Gridin’s name
Flames fans certainly have a lot to be excited about moving into the future. Young stars like Dustin Wolf, Connor Zary, and Matt Coronato are already leading the NHL squad.
Down in the AHL, players like Jeremie Poirier, Rory Kerins, and Hunter Brzustewicz have done plenty to get people excited.
At the juniors level, it has become increasingly obvious that Matvei Gridin needs to be on Flames’ fans watch lists. The Russian forward may very well be one of the most exciting forward prospects in the entire organization.
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