Archive for the 'Igor Grigorenko' CategoryPage 2 of 3

Grigorenko and Grand Rapids

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Matt Saler
on September 29, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko
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Update (9:52 PM): I caught the end of the Wings’ game with Toronto tonight and saw something that restored some of my faith in Grigorenko: his reaction to being bowled over by the Leafs’ Chad Kilger. First Igor slashed Kilger, then he went after Bryan Muir. Toronto’s Jay Harrison took exception to that, so Igor dropped his gloves and absorbed a few hard punches from a guy probably a foot taller than him.

The result? A two-minute interference penalty, a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, a fighting major, and two game misconducts for the kid. Now, it’s not cool that he lost his temper and would have put his team in a bad situation had the game not practically been over (with the slash). What is cool is that he has an edge and that he has enough of a temper to defend himself. So, kudos for the fight, Igor.

One more thought on the question of where he’ll start the season. Why would the Wings keep him in Detroit if he’s “just going to eat popcorn,” as Mickey Redmond put it so well tonight? The team seems to be satisfied with the 12 forwards pegged to be regulars, so any 13th or 14th forwards will be spectators more often than not. It will do Igor much more good to be playing regularly in the minors than to be sitting in the luxury box with Matt Ellis and Derek Meech every game night. Someone at the Wings’ front office needs to tell him that and to point out that Grand Rapids isn’t really that bad a city.

It looks like we’ll find out his fate tomorrow, as Bruce MacLeod reports that the final cuts will be announced then. - Matt

It looks like Igor Grigorenko might allow himself to be sent down to Grand Rapids to start the season, but only for 1-3 weeks. How generous of him. I love that Grigorenko wants to play in the NHL and wants to play for the Wings. I do. But I hate this attitude of his, where he’s trying to dictate the terms of his North American career to the team.

Is it just me or should he have to pay some dues over here before he takes a roster spot he clearly has not earned? He has not yet shown that his upside outweighs his ego and until he does, I don’t want to see him in the Winged Wheel and I won’t care if he went back to Russia. The Wings ought to send him down to Grand Rapids and if he doesn’t like it, good riddance.

Give me someone who puts forth the effort and doesn’t feel he’s entitled to a spot over Igor Grigorenko any day.

Babcock on Ellis

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Matt Saler
on September 16, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko, Links, Matt Ellis, Mike Babcock and Quotes
. 1 Comment

I was glad to this quote in a Helene St. James blog post today:

“The person no one ever talks about is Matty Ellis. His skating has improved 300 percent and he just works like a dog every single day and is a competitive guy and a big, strong guy. He’ll be in the mix, too.”

Grigorenko’s stock is falling somewhat, even given all the slack the Wings are allowing him, and if he doesn’t pick it up, people will be talking about Ellis and Aaron Downey competing for that last spot instead Downey and Igor.

MacLeod reports from camp

Published
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Matt Saler
on September 15, 2007
in Brent Sopel, Igor Grigorenko, Links and Pavel Datsyuk
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Update (4:30 PM): Helene St. James has chimed in on the second scrimmage. To MacLeod’s comments on Grigorenko she adds that he “looked gassed on several shifts, and hardly touched the puck.” However, she points out that the Wings still see him as a work-in-progress and are waiting until the last of the exhibition games to make their assessment. So, he has some time to step it up.

In his post on the game, Ansar Khan also notes Igor’s lack of conditioning, but writes that he was still able to get in on a couple good scoring chances because of his good hockey sense. - Matt

Bruce MacLeod has some notes on the second scrimmage game posted on his blog. Two particularly interesting points: Igor Grigorenko wasn’t very noticeable, and Brent Sopel “looked very good,” apparently demonstrating his two-way ability well. Also, MacLeod says Pavel Datsyuk looked “brilliant” I like the sound of that!

Roster battles

Published
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Matt Saler
on September 14, 2007
in Derek Meech, Igor Grigorenko and Matt Ellis
. 1 Comment

 According to Ted Kulfan, the Wings expect to carry 22 players into the season. Apparently, that means 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies, though Holland allows for the possibility that another forward could impress in camp, forcing them to carry 14. He doesn’t say the same about the defensemen, so it looks like that logjam will have to be cleared up by camp/pre-season performances. If Meech doesn’t out-perform Sopel, it looks like the Wings will risk losing him on waivers by sending him back to GR. This isn’t the first time the Wings have indicated they’d only like to carry 7 defensemen, so the scenario I posted the other day is looking more and more unlikely. Wishful thinking, I guess.

As for the forwards, the battle for the 13th spot will primarily be between Matt Ellis and Igor Grigorenko. I think Igor’d better watch his back. Ellis is just the kind of player Babcock loves and if Grigs takes so much as a drill off, he’ll fall behind. Obviously, though, the Wings know what their doing in leaving a 13th and a 14th spot open, as it’s likely both players will perform well.

More on Grigorenko

Published
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Matt Saler
on September 11, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko
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Update (4:41 PM): In contrast with MacLeod’s report, Red Wings Central’s Sarah Lindenau writes that the Wings are “happy with the play” of Grigorenko, quoting Jim Nill as saying,

“He’s played pretty well. He’s really got the head (for the game). He makes plays that guys aren’t ready for, but this has been good just to get him ready for main camp.”

This doesn’t mean MacLeod’s assessment is wrong by any means, as his information could have come from observing body language or on a condition of anonymity. Nill, knowing he’s being quoted by Lindenau, has no reason to call Igor out there and it’s not unlikely that he’s keeping the team’s real assessment of him private, as the Wings often do.

Even asuming that Nill is not fully speaking his mind there, the phrase “he’s played pretty well” is a bit ambiguous and it’s hard to tell exactly how he meant it when he said it without actually hearing the words. (via Snapshots) - Matt

Bruce MacLeod’s latest:

Igor Grigorenko needs to do a lot more to make this team. He had a sub-par game against the Rangers. He was above average in a tournament against 18-22 year-olds, a tournament that he could have dominated. He came to camp out of shape. There’s still time for Grigorenko, but at the moment, the Red Wings’ brass is not impressed.

So, it wasn’t just that first game and those video clips, after all. I had hoped he didn’t have his eyes so set on the NHL roster that he’d neglect the intermediate steps, but it sounds like he isn’t taking this prospect camp seriously. No doubt he still expects to play in the NHL, even after his lackluster performance in this stage of the entry process.

Look at Evan McGrath, who by all accounts is having a great camp. He’s taking this thing seriously and, as a result, is impressing all the right people, even though he has no chance of making the Wings this year. Maybe that’s the problem with Igor. It sounds like he’s let the projections of himself as an NHL-ready forward go to his head. The organization needs to sit him down and talk about his future, which could very well include a stint in Grand Rapids. He has to understand that GR isn’t a career killer and that he has to pay some dues here.

While I’d love to have a Calder Trophy candidate Grigorenko on the team, I have no interest in seeing the Wings give a roster spot to a player who isn’t going to give his all when there’s a guy like Matt Ellis ready to step in. If Igor has a great main camp, the question becomes murkier, but he still should probably see some AHL time. He’s no Henrik Zetterberg or Pavel Datsyuk, after all. If that’s not okay with him, good riddance.

Grigorenko in the wild

Published
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Matt Saler
on September 10, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko, Jonathan Ericsson, Links, Mattias Ritola and Video
. 1 Comment

NHL.com has some video (opens Hightlight Machine) of Igor Grigorenko from the first prospects game (versus Atlanta). Nothing terribly exciting, as it consists mostly of Igor skating and gliding around, rarely lower in the zone than the circles. From the admittedly scant evidence provided by the video, it seemed to me that his linemates were doing most of the work. Granted, it was his first game, but I hope he starts moving his feet more than that and mucks it up along the boards a little more in the future.  For more video options, including film of Jonathan Ericsson and Matthias Ritola, click here. (via Snapshots)

RWC reports on Grigorenko’s debut

Published
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Matt Saler
on September 8, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko, Links and Prospect Camp
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Red Wings Central’s Sarah Lindenau has the story on the Wings 3-2 loss to Atlanta in the first game at prospect camp. Grigorenko posted an assist and was impressive overall, at least according to Evan McGrath and Jan Mursak, his linemates.

Igor skates with Wings

Published
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Matt Saler
on September 5, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko
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Update (4:30 PM): John Niyo has posted a more personal reaction to the practice over at the News’ Wings blog. (via. George Malik) - Matt

Update (12:07 PM): Apparently, I linked to the first edition of the Freep article, as there is now a piece up that has some more content. - Matt

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David Guralnick/The Detroit News (gallery)

Igor Grigorenko, the most highly anticipated rookie since Henrik Zetterberg came over, has finally arrived in North America and has donned the Winged Wheel in an informal practice with a number of his teammates at a rink in Troy, MI. By all accounts, his first skate with the team went well, but that’s about all the accounts tell us, aside from the usual bits of information included in all stories about Grigorenko (The Accident, The Lost Step, The Escape Clause, etc.). Even the quotes from the Wings’ brass are the same, such as this one from Ken Holland in the Freep:

“You know, he’s an unknown for me. In the sense of how close is he to being NHL? This is a big month.

“Obviously, we’re going to give him some time. He hardly speaks the language…you know, it’s a different style of hockey. I know he’s got the hands and the head.”

The closest we get to a report on how he actually looked out there is this comment by Kris Draper, made to John Niyo of the News:

“He seems like he has a great set of hands, holding onto the puck. But it’s the first week in September — he’s still adjusting. Exhibition games and training camp are going to give you a better feel for what he’s able to do.”

So, how would you grade him, Drapes? B? B-minus?

Draper told Ansar Khan pretty much the same thing he told John Niyo, but ended with,

“Hopefully he can step in and be a good surprise, kind of like when Pav came over.”

No pressure, Igor.

Grigorenko Update

Published
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Matt Saler
on July 7, 2007
in Hockey Bloggers, Igor Grigorenko and Links
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George Malik has a great round-up post with the latest on Igor Grigorenko here. Be sure to check it out, as it’s sort of a mix of good and bad news. Also, you might want to read this interview with Igor if you haven’t already.

Grigorenko finally coming over?

Published
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Matt Saler
on January 23, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko
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Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, and Abel to Yzerman have been all over this, but it’s big enough news to repeat: according to Matt Wuest of Red Wings Central, the long-awaited arrival of Igor Grigorenko on North American soil will finally take place this summer.

Apparently, the Wings feel he’s ready for the NHL and are planning on signing him with the intent of giving him a chance at making the team. Take it with a little grain of salt because there have been reports like this before. Still, this time it seems to be for real, even with the fact that there is currently no transfer agreement between the RSL and the NHL. That is probably a good thing, though, since I believe the Wings would have lost the rights to Igor if there was one. Anyone know for sure whether or not that’s true?

Not since Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg has there been so much anticipation for a prospect, though his transfer to North America has been hampered by serious injuries sustained in a car crash, the lockout, and his long comeback from those injuries. After a couple slow seasons (during one of which he was demoted to a lower tier of the RSL), he’s putting up fair numbers again and, based on Wuest’s article, his future looks promising.

For whatever reason, he’s never been under the knife in the States, but he was here in September 2003 to see training camp and to meet with doctors. All of his operations have taken place in Russia and the feeling is he may be a surgery or two away from being fully restored if US doctors get their hands on him.

His speed is understandably down from what it used to be and he may have trouble in the speedier NHL, but the Wings have never been all that fast so he ought to fit in. I’ll always remember hearing him described as a tougher Ilya Kovalchuk* and look forward to finally seeing him, though it may be in Grand Rapids rather than Detroit. Hopefully it won’t be like the other times they said they were bringing him Stateside.

Sidenote: I got a laugh reading that old post there. I remember Henrik Zetterberg being compared to Peter Forsberg but I’d forgotten the comparison to Robert Lang.

*He played on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Kovalchuk in the 2003 WJCs. For an idea of what he can bring to the table, he was second in tournament scoring (6 games, 6 goals, 4 assists) that year as Russia won the gold medal.