Prospect Info: #129 Arseny Gritsyuk RW

not so much a scouting report as it is a quick impression
  • does a lot of things well that youd wanna see for a player about to make the jump to the nhl: quick decisions with the puck, able to spin off contact, knows when to challenge vs chip and chase, will circle back to cover for his D, etc.
  • specifically to us, quite good in transition as well. speedy, quick to react and get counter attacks going. great problem solving, too, isnt just brute forcing plays/entries. has a solid survey of the ice ahead of him
  • the goals are obviously exciting, but even when hes not trying to score he can be very involved offensively. saw it on both ska goals today. hes moving pucks, hes pressuring defenders, hes having smart possessions, etc. and even when he is shooting, not every shot attempt is some ive gotta score type play, hes generating chaos and trying to set up opportunities for his linemates. ive seen some concern that hes gonna be this one dimensional liability shooter and i dont anticipate that at all
  • weird to think this is almost assuredly the last time we see all of gritsyuk, nikishin, and demidov in an ska sweater
in any case, i do think theres a chance that a sector of fans might think the grits hype sort of...overshot what his actual impact will be, for example i dont see star level talent or anything, but id argue that the framing, on here at least, has been fair

he does a lot of things well and should slot in as an effective top 6/middle 6 caliber player: he skates well, competes well, handles the puck well, thinks the game well, times plays well, gets to pucks quickly, isnt small/reluctant to engage physically. the shot is of course high end, and he certainly uses it. ive had good playmaking viewings and ive had not the best playmaking viewings. his off puck game from the standpoint of positional ideas and support on the forecheck is pretty decent, but hes not a defensive leaning player

excited to have him finally join the team, be it this season or next, its been a long time coming. gritsyuk will be a very welcomed addition to our top 9
Yap. Even with his results in KHL and points production he doesnt look like Panarin or Kaprizov as driver and creator. He is very good complimentary player who is doing everything well. He reads the play well, see the open ice well, can pass, strong enough on boards, skates really well. I believe the more we will have better depth and better health of 13-86 - we will have better Gritsyuk. He can shoot the puck and we have some kind of a problem with this aspect this season. He can skate and skate fast, so if Keefe wil decide to use him on the third line - we will gain more speed on the third line and more danger.
He isnt Savior but he should def-ly help. And I believe his adaptation will be short. I dont know will he can be ready to make enough impact right from the game one but he will adapt as soon as he will gain experience. He did mostly everything he can, played against hardest competition in all hardest situations and learn mostly everything he can outside NHL.

Time to find more "Gritsyuks" in later rounds. Enough of Hurtigs, Browns and Grahams. Jack and Luke are very young, we can see on example of Sid and Malkin how bad drafting can effect on longevity of great players.
 
not so much a scouting report as it is a quick impression
  • does a lot of things well that youd wanna see for a player about to make the jump to the nhl: quick decisions with the puck, able to spin off contact, knows when to challenge vs chip and chase, will circle back to cover for his D, etc.
  • specifically to us, quite good in transition as well. speedy, quick to react and get counter attacks going. great problem solving, too, isnt just brute forcing plays/entries. has a solid survey of the ice ahead of him
  • the goals are obviously exciting, but even when hes not trying to score he can be very involved offensively. saw it on both ska goals today. hes moving pucks, hes pressuring defenders, hes having smart possessions, etc. and even when he is shooting, not every shot attempt is some ive gotta score type play, hes generating chaos and trying to set up opportunities for his linemates. ive seen some concern that hes gonna be this one dimensional liability shooter and i dont anticipate that at all
  • weird to think this is almost assuredly the last time we see all of gritsyuk, nikishin, and demidov in an ska sweater
in any case, i do think theres a chance that a sector of fans might think the grits hype sort of...overshot what his actual impact will be, for example i dont see star level talent or anything, but id argue that the framing, on here at least, has been fair

he does a lot of things well and should slot in as an effective top 6/middle 6 caliber player: he skates well, competes well, handles the puck well, thinks the game well, times plays well, gets to pucks quickly, isnt small/reluctant to engage physically. the shot is of course high end, and he certainly uses it. ive had good playmaking viewings and ive had not the best playmaking viewings. his off puck game from the standpoint of positional ideas and support on the forecheck is pretty decent, but hes not a defensive leaning player

excited to have him finally join the team, be it this season or next, its been a long time coming. gritsyuk will be a very welcomed addition to our top 9
This all being said, this is the exact type of player this Devils team needs playing in a line with Haula, Glass, Palat, Tatar, Mercer, etc.

He’s probably just a 40-50 point player and not the superstar some expect, but the Devils could use an offensively leaning player. Someone that has a chance to turn what otherwise would be stale offensive minutes on the second or third line into a scoring chance or two.
 
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Of course he could and I expect he would. But without Jack and Siegs and maybe a hobbled Hamilton I just don’t know if the incremental improvement is worth the use of the one year ELC. Just my thought. If they had an easy way to move on from Palat I’d say no big deal but right now they have a cap squeeze for next season.

Gritsyuk would have no leverage as an RFA, he is not eligible for an offer sheet or arbitration, so I don't think this is that big of a deal. Basically I think he signs something like 2M AAV for 2 years, or something like that, if he does end up burning his ELC this season. He's not getting a Gusev-like deal, or at least we're not giving it to him.
 
What money is he making on his KHL contract? We might not have much leverage if he'd be taking a paycut to come over.

I had asked @Guadana about this at one point and I think his KHL deal paid less than $1 million US? Y recollection is that ona one year ELC with bonuses he’d make more in thr NHL.
 
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Hope Fitz is already doing his job and making calls.
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The benefit of Grits getting action this year is seeing how he adapts and if he can be a real top six guy or if we need to calibrate mid six / line three type player.

I’m not even sure we can figure that out in given the adjustments from KHL to NHL but that might help in a way.
 
anyone wanting us to wait to bring Gritsyuk over is struggling to see the forest for the trees. The Devils don’t & won’t have a cap issue this summer, and Gritsyuk is not arbitration or offer sheet eligible.

If he can help the team he should be on the team. Who cares if we’re not going anywhere this season? Playoff experience is valuable, and especially valuable for younger players.

He positively can’t be worse than the heap of trash we’ve had play 40+ for us this season.
 
I haven’t watched him too much. I think @Hisch13r and @Guadana would have better insight.

From what I have seen. He is the type of winger who can adapt to any center or role.

With a competent 3C (or sliding down Bratt there) I think he could work on any of the top 3 lines. I think he's talented enough to be a complimentary top 6 dual threat guy who can help as a secondary transition guy and I think he's improved enough in other areas to work as a scoring 3rd liner. I talked recently about how I'd like to add another top 6er to pair with Jack then rolling out the top 3 lines with Jack-X, Timo-Nico, and Bratt-Grits as pairs. Good luck stopping a team being able to throw that at you all game.
 

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