The Calgary Flames made two first-round picks in 2024, the first being potential phenom Zayne Parekh and the second being Russian winger Matvei Gridin. Although the Gridin pick was a bit off the board at the time, he shocked not only the Flames but the entire NHL by taking the team out of camp. He was sent back to the AHL after four games. Since then, Gridin has absolutely torn the AHL apart.
Top scorer
Through 18 AHL games, Gridin has collected an impressive eight goals and 20 points, good for 1.11 points per game. This puts Gridin at 10th overall in AHL scoring. Funnily enough, former Flame Jakob Pelletier leads the AHL in scoring this season.
However, among AHL rookies, Gridin stands all alone at the top of the AHL scoring leaders. For a player who just completed his first-ever season in the QMJHL last year, putting up these kinds of numbers in the second-best professional league in the world is truly impressive.
Gridin also has a plus-eight rating and a whopping 56 shots, which equates to more than three shots per game for the Wranglers.
Oh, and did I mention Gridin is only 19 years old?
Early MVP?
Gridin has been on the Wranglers’ top line for most of the season. Whether it’s on the right side of Justin Kirkland and Dryden Hunt, or Martin Frk and Rory Kerins, the right-wing spot in L1 has been a permanent fixture.
As the team’s leading scorer, Gridin is making a case to not only be the Wranglers’ MVP this season, but also an easy call-up if/when the Flames decide to trade away a veteran forward or two.
The 2024 draft class looks like an absolute dynamo for the Flames. Parekh and Gridin are already projected to be impactful NHLers, overshadowing the solid progress of other draftees like Luke Misa, Henry Mews, Jacob Battaglia, Eric Jamieson and Andrew Basha. Could the Flames have a franchise-altering draft class? Time will tell.
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