LD Artyom Grushnikov (2021, 48th, DAL, traded to CGY)
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serp
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- Jan 17, 2016
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Stars director of scouting mentioned Grishnikov played under a fake ID in Belarus and that gave the Stars some video .
thethinglonger
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Caser
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Brock
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The defensive side of things has come as advertised. His defensive instincts are high end and when you combine that with his excellent four way mobility, you have a very good defensive player. Even when he's gotten himself out of position a few times that I've seen (bad pinch attempt, chasing a hit), he recovers so quickly because of how well he anticipates the play.
The offensive side of things has been pretty rough. I think the year off really hurt him in this regard. He plays things pretty safe with the puck generally, rarely using his quickness to skate the puck out of trouble. Lots of chip outs, swings, etc. Turnovers in the defensive end have also been a bit of an issue, especially against teams who use a two-man forecheck. His exit pass and confidence with the puck will definitely need to greatly improve. The Bulldogs have basically paired him with either Nathan Staios or Colton Kammerer. With Staios, he can defer exits because Staios is an aggressive offensive defender and it does not hurt the Bulldogs. With Kammerer, both have limited offensive profiles currently, so he has needed to do a little bit more and that's when he's had some issues.
Truthfully, I kind of expected his play with the puck in the defensive end to struggle a bit, adjusting after the year off and to a new league. But having watched some of his work in Russia and internationally previously, I did expect him to be more of a factor offensively inside the opponents blueline. And even that has been pretty non existent in the games I have seen.
Way too early to suggest that his confidence and offensive abilities can't improve, especially when you factor in that aforementioned break. But they will need to improve in order for him to be more than just a 6/7 guy at the NHL IMO.
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starsfan86
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Dr Pepper
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WhatWhat
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Such a strange prospect. Guy produces at a negligible level in the OHL yet was signed instantly after being drafted. Ive never seen his game but the scouts talk about him being someone who will be an NHLer. I assume thats more of a 3rd pair PK specialist but the confidence the stars have in him as a prospect when he produces this little is intriguing.
FLYguy3911
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Strange release.
I wasn't a big fan of Grushnikov in his draft year. He got a lot of praise for his defensive work, but I didn't really see the offensive upside to feel comfortable projecting him. Also he didn't play at all due to Covid. That didn't seem to affect the offensively inclined Mintyukov, so maybe that part is being overstated, but it didn't help. I am generally skeptical of Russian-trained defensemen translating to the NA game as the style of play and what they are asked to do is much different (although there have been a few exceptions in the last two drafts).
With defensemen scoring more than ever and pushing the 1.3 PPG threshold regularly, ~PPG is now the minimum threshold for CHL defensemen. 20 points in 95 combined OHL games post draft is pretty much non-prospect territory. The most notable exception that comes to mind is Cernak and even he was about double Grushnikov's scoring rate in the OHL.
ELCs for second round prospects aren't uncommon these days- especially for European prospects playing in NA as an incentive to stay. The Flyers did this with Tuomaala also (taken a pick before Stankoven : /) and hoped to have him play in the AHL or CHL. Obviously they would probably like a re-do on that one.
I wasn't a big fan of Grushnikov in his draft year. He got a lot of praise for his defensive work, but I didn't really see the offensive upside to feel comfortable projecting him. Also he didn't play at all due to Covid. That didn't seem to affect the offensively inclined Mintyukov, so maybe that part is being overstated, but it didn't help. I am generally skeptical of Russian-trained defensemen translating to the NA game as the style of play and what they are asked to do is much different (although there have been a few exceptions in the last two drafts).
With defensemen scoring more than ever and pushing the 1.3 PPG threshold regularly, ~PPG is now the minimum threshold for CHL defensemen. 20 points in 95 combined OHL games post draft is pretty much non-prospect territory. The most notable exception that comes to mind is Cernak and even he was about double Grushnikov's scoring rate in the OHL.
shotvalley
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- Jan 18, 2010
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I assume you didnt see offensive upside by watching stats. Anyhow he played in his draft year with fake id.
FLYguy3911
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shotvalley
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Care to explain how did you see that he doenst have offensive upside in his draft year as you weren't a fan?
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FLYguy3911
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I'd actually be curious to see why you think he had/has offensive upside. I'm assuming you disagree since you focused on my draft year comment.
I just found him to be very vanilla/safe with the puck. Didn't see great vision or an ability to layer passes. I don't necessarily blame him as Russian systems generally ask their defensemen to play defensive first, second, and third and don't really ask them to activate or get involved in transition. Also the year off and the missed reps didn't help. He also played up an age group in Russia so maybe he defaulted to conservative plays, but that is just a theory.
shotvalley
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I dont have particular opinion on Grushnikov to be honest.
I just found it wierd that how anyone can make any statements on player if he doesnt see the player (expecially when he thinks the player hasnt even played). The point is that there is so much information nowadays and most of them is false or just opinions. I know this is a hfboards where you can say what you think about hockey, but sometimes i just wish there would be more high quality conversation and content.
This is a bit off topic but i listened today a THN podcast about USHL/NCAA where their USHL/NCAA "pro" (some girl) was talking about what is going on in particular series lately. It was pure talking head without any actual information. The last bit before i unsubcribed the podcast was when they were talking about is North Dakota's Judd Caulfield related to Cole Caufield. They concluded that propably not because they have born in different places.
Best regards
Hockey autist
FLYguy3911
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I've done draft rankings the last 3 years on the Flyers board mostly for my own enjoyment. I saw Grushnikov in passing playing with the Russian 02s in his D-1 year but did not focus on him too closely. I watched (well re-watched) Grushnikov during his draft year for my own ranking "process" hence my comment. I figured I would clarify in my OP that he did not play during his DY but to no avail I guess.
I try to avoid posting in player threads to avoid back and forths such as this but wanted to comment on the point production that another poster brought up since I've done a lot of research on the topic. Grushnikov would be an extreme outlier if he were to turn into an effective NHL player.
Not that Dallas needs anymore good news, but the player selected before Grushnikov looks like a star and obviously Johnston is already in the NHL. I think Martino is a player too. Great draft with or without Grushnikov.
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