Meet Matvei Gridin, the Flames’ 28th overall pick in the NHL Draft

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The dream began a long time ago for Matvei Gridin.

It came true Friday night, but it was born halfway around the world and long before the Calgary Flames selected him 28th overall in the NHL Draft Friday night.

“My first steps on the ice were when I was two years old and at three years old I started really thinking about the NHL,” Gridin told Flames TV in Las Vegas.

Gridin was something of a surprise pick by the Flames and the Sportsnet panel seemed to suggest it was a bit of a gamble by the organization immediately after Flames director of amateur scouting Tod Button called the Russian winger’s name.

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But the Flames couldn’t be more excited about the player they got.

In their eyes, they got a forward with high-level talent and a propensity to find moments to have a big impact in the offensive zone.

“I think size, skill, hockey sense and his overall game,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said when asked by reporters in Vegas what he liked about Gridin’s game ahead of the draft. “When he was in Muskegon (of the USHL), he was playing against good teams and he could take control of games himself.

“The only thing is you’ll see his shot as we go along and even at Dan Milstein’s camp, he caught your eye. If (Flames president of hockey operations) Don Maloney was here, he’d say the same thing. You look at everybody and then you’re just drawn to him, like in the games.

At the most basic level, Gridin’s numbers seem to confirm the Flames’ belief that he has elite offensive upside.

He can score goals, that’s for sure.

Playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, the Russian right winger scored 38 goals and added 45 assists in 60 games last season. No one in the entire USHL had more than 83 points.

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Gridin has committed to play for the University of Michigan Wolverines, so he’ll have time to develop his game and add some bulk to his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame, but he’s already had time to adapt to the North American game after playing at home in his native Russia until 2022.

“It all starts with my IQ”

And there’s an intelligence to his game that has been touched on repeatedly by Conroy and Button.

It’s the key to everything he does on the ice, in the player’s own opinion.

“My IQ allows me to pass, shoot and be creative,” Gridin told Flames TV. “It all starts with my IQ. I need to improve my consistency without the puck, but I’m going to work on it.”

It’s not just hockey smarts that make the Flames believe Gridin could be a difference-maker for them.

He also has the skills to go along with the IQ.

“It was a skill and offensive draft for us,” Button told reporters in Las Vegas. “We have a lot of skills. He led the USHL in scoring at 17 and he has talent. He is really very intelligent. The good word is cunning, it seems to (do one thing) and then it throws itself. He watches and he jumps. He’s not going to blow you away with his energy, but all of a sudden you look up and he’s made two quick plays and there’s a chance to score.

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“Cerebral and skilled. He takes charge and he reads the game really well, but he’s explosive when he decides what he needs to do.

So while Gridin might not become your prototypical forward or dazzle you with his ability to take off up the ice at blazing speeds, the Flames like the way he reads the ice and produces hard on the offensive end.

“Great shot,” Conroy told reporters. “I saw him play a lot of games against the American program this year and it was impressive. He was making plays through people, around people and whether he’s shooting or passing, he can do it all. There’s a reason he leads the USHL in points scored. He has good size, he skates well and I also like his shot. »

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