Perhaps hidden behind the mess that is the Calgary Flames roster, one of the team’s top prospects is quietly having a historic season in the AHL. Selected in the first round of the 2024 NHL draft, Matvei Gridin has been tearing up the AHL this season.
After starting the year in the NHL at 19 years old, Gridin was sent down to the Calgary Wranglers and hasn’t looked back. In fact, he’s producing at a historic rate.
Gridin’s dominant season so far
As mentioned, Gridin has been tremendous in the AHL since being sent down in October. The 19 year old has been a major catalyst on a middling Wranglers team, despite being the youngest player on the entire roster. Here’s how his season looks so far. All numbers are courtesy of eliteprospects.com.
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Points/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 0.89 |
So far through 27 games, Gridin is sitting just below a point per game pace. His nine goals are second on the Wranglers in scoring behind only Rory Kerins, and Martin Frk who both have 11. His 24 points meanwhile are tied for second on the team in scoring, sitting behind only Frk who has 26 points in 29 games. His 80 shots in 27 games are also well ahead of anyone else on the roster, with Frk sitting second with 62 shots in 29 games.
In terms of a full season pace, here is how Gridin is currently tracking through a full season that would see him play 70 games.
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Points/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 0.89 |
23 goals and 62 points in the AHL as a 19-year-old is simply incredible production. There have been just 10 U20 players who have even suited up in the AHL this season, let alone produced as a top-of-the-lineup player. This type of season from players as young as Gridin simply doesn’t happen in the AHL. For context, not a single U20 player posted over 60 points in the AHL last season. In fact, only two even posted over 40 points, Dalibor Dvorsky and Bradly Nadeau.
The only U20 player with better production in the AHL this season is Buffalo Sabres 2024 14th overall pick Konsta Helenius, who has 26 points in 27 games. Ilya Protas meanwhile, is the only other U20 player in the AHL this year who has even hit 10 points.
The best U20 performances in AHL history
The AHL is one of the longest-running hockey leagues in North America, officially becoming the American Hockey League in 1940. Across the past 85 years of AHL hockey, there haven’t been many U20 players produce as well as Matvei Gridin has. While the AHL is a development league, U20 players don’t often put up Gridin’s type of numbers.
Below are the top 10 seasons by a U20 player in AHL history, ordered by total points. Only players with at least 50 games played were considered.
| Player | Season | Points | Points/GP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guy Chouinard | 1975-76 | 80 | 1.14 |
| Fleming Mackell | 1948-49 | 76 | 1.46 |
| J.J. Peterka | 2021-22 | 68 | 0.97 |
| Fleming Mackell | 1947-48 | 65 | 1.05 |
| Patrik Elias | 1995-96 | 63 | 0.85 |
| Matvei Gridin (70 game pace) | 2025-26 | 62* | 0.89* |
| David Vyborny | 1994-95 | 61 | 0.80 |
| Patrice Bergeron | 2004-05 | 61 | 0.87 |
| Roman Voloshenko | 2005-06 | 60 | 0.87 |
| Mikko Rantanen | 2015-16 | 60 | 1.15 |
The top U20 performances in AHL history span across multiple decades, dating all the way back to Fleming Mackell in the 40’s. Anytime you’re sitting among players from 80 years ago, you’re probably doing something right. It also doesn’t hurt to find yourself sitting among former U20 AHLers like J.J. Peterka, Mikko Rantanen, Patrice Bergeron, and Patrik Elias, all of whom have gone on to be impact players in the NHL.
Gridin’s current pace would place him with the sixth-best U20 season in AHL history, and the second-best U20 season of the 21st century. Only Peterka has had a better U20 season this century, totalling 68 points a couple of years ago in 2021-22. Everyone else ahead of Gridin played over 25 years ago, including Mackell, who has two of the top five seasons, both coming in the 1940s. In other words, only four U20 AHL players have produced better than Gridin has right now.
It’s also worth noting that throughout the entire 85-year history of the league, there have only been nine occurrences of a U20 player posting 60 or more points in one season. Gridin and Helenius are currently on track to become the 10th and 11th.
A budding star
Make no mistake, Gridin is quickly becoming one of the top U20 drafted prospects in the world. The 2024 first-rounder was always one to watch, but his elite production in one of the world’s best leagues this season has taken him from a noteworthy prospect to one of the organization’s best.
