C Mikhail Grigorenko - Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (2012 draft)

[domdo345]

I've seen Grigorenko all season as a Remparts fan, and I agree he's not NHL ready. He could probably do good on the powerplay, but 5 on 5 would be though.

At this point, I'll say this: He'll make the team who picks him extremely happy... if that said team is patient. Bringing him up too fast has good chances of making him a bust, in my opinion. But he has top skills and is willing to work to better himself, as such I don't see how it could not work in the end with the right development path.



Admittedly, I could be too biased, wanting Grigo back next year as a Remparts fan, but I'm pretty confident in what I'm saying.

My thoughts exactly! Except I don't really care about the remparts other than the NHL prospects It's still good hockey to watch tho!

 

[Rise from the Ashes]

Its not about being NHL ready. Its about picking the best player down the road. That being said, I do believe Galchenyuk has more upside of being a perennial All Star.

BTW he does compare to Staal. Cerebral, big centers who cover a lot of ice, but wont dominate a game.

 

[GordieHoweHatTrick]

I wouldn't pass on these guys who think the game at a very high level. These guys usually have a way of 'beating the odds' and being gems at the NHL level. Take a look a Giroux as an example. He may not be NHL ready at the moment but me thinks he'll be the best player in this draft just a few years down the road. Like someone else said, if Yakupov doesn't alter his game quite a bit he may end up getting rocked at the NHL level

 

[Paulinho]

Any chance he is available at 4th?

 

[rockinghockey]

Any chance he is available at 4th?

I can't see MTL passing on him at 3.

 

[matCH penalty]

I can't see MTL passing on him at 3.

I doubt Edmonton will pass him up at 2nd, either, unfortunately for us.

 

[Jee]

I doubt Edmonton will pass him up at 2nd, either, unfortunately for us.

They might draft Murray.

 

[pocketful]

From what he said he just thinks that Grigorenko wont be an elite number one centre. He said nothing about him not being a number 1 centre just not elite.

Edmonton would be happy to have him as our elite number 2 centre

Unfortunately I think management will be passing him up for a D.

 

[Laurent]

They might draft Murray.

I cannot see Edmonton not drafting a defenseman. They need a DMAN. So either they pick a DMAN at #2 (Or 1 or 3) or they trade the pick for a TOP 2 Pairing Dman + the teams first rounder

 

[SB164]

Is that a joke ?

Is THAT a joke?

Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty had 35 and 33 goals respectively.

 

[BobDobolina]

I cannot see Edmonton not drafting a defenseman. They need a DMAN. So either they pick a DMAN at #2 (Or 1 or 3) or they trade the pick for a TOP 2 Pairing Dman + the teams first rounder

What team do you see trading away legit top 2 dmen? You have to draft guys like that.

 

[Suxnet]

I cannot see Edmonton not drafting a defenseman. They need a DMAN. So either they pick a DMAN at #2 (Or 1 or 3) or they trade the pick for a TOP 2 Pairing Dman + the teams first rounder

They need a #1 dman but they also need a #2 center.

 

[pocketful]

I cannot see Edmonton not drafting a defenseman. They need a DMAN. So either they pick a DMAN at #2 (Or 1 or 3) or they trade the pick for a TOP 2 Pairing Dman + the teams first rounder

Wouldn't be surprised if Edmonton picks a D but to expect an 18/19 year old to stop the bleeding of goals is unrealistic. Oilers have a deep D prospect pool. Unfortunately it'll be a few more years yet before they'll make an impact. Oiler's forwards prospects however, not as deep. Grigorenko could be that 2C that they need for a one, two punch.

 

[YEGJuniorFan]

Klefbom and Marincin have top 3 potential imo with Marincin the greater longshot. Musil, Davidson, Blain look to be solid mid/bottom pairing guys and Gernat is a wildcard who could potentially run an NHL powerplay one day or bust completely. Add Smid and Petry who are only 24 and 26, Edmontons defense prospects are deeper than its forwards.

Hamilton, Pitlick, Cornet dont have much more than 3rd line potential, Omark cant cut it in the top 6. Add that those players and PRV, Hartikainen are all wingers and I'd say our need for a Center behind RNH is greater than defence. Id be very happy if MacGregor fet Grigorenko was the guy.

With that said you always take the BPA for down the road. If thats D you take him, if its a C...even better. Same goes for winger obv

 

[Soundwave]

If Grigorenko is drafted by Edmonton, Gagner is basically guaranteed to be traded for a d-man.

So they'll get someone (may not be as good as Murray/Dumba).

Honestly a veteran d-man like even a Bryan Allen would help them more. Ryan Murray at age 18/19 is not going to do much to improve the D immediately.

 

[LeMAD]

Some of these players we are talking about will be NHL stars, while others will be total failures. Drafting on need instead of pickng the best player available would be extremely dumb.

The Oilers know that and therefore will pick who they think will be the best. Not saying that is a forward though.

 

[Ginu]

They need a #1 dman but they also need a #2 center.

And given those numbers, which do you think is a more important need to fill first?

 

[Left Circle OneTimer]

Edmonton should draft Cam Barker over Evgeni Malkin

On a serious note tho i don't understand how anyone can draft any player but the BPA at anytime.

Haven't you guys seen Pittsburgh?

 

[Pick Six]

Button is a conundrum.

He's out there watching games, talking to GMs, players, scouts etc but his opinions seem to warrant suspicion.

From his rankings before the 2011 draft, he ranked Ryan Murphy #4, Larssonat #8, Hamilton at #12 (after Beaulieu and Murphy), Scheifele at #16, Phillips at #15, Kucherov at #17 etc.

I respect his opinion and if that is how he sees them thinking long term, then sure.

But when it comes to lists, I use the actual draft results as the goal because each NHL team has 15+ scouts rather than just one man's opinion, and Button always differ greatly from actual draft day results.

This is exactly it. Button makes lists on the players he watches. Not from looking at other lists, or collaborating with someone else. So, of course his list will differ from that of ISS etc., because it's one man's views as opposed to a collective effort of multiple scouts. I would expect if you were to get one of those 15+ scouts and look at his individual list, it wouldn't look anything like a 'HF consensus list', because everyone has different views in the scouting world (especially when you actually watch the players). If Button wasn't high on Scheifele, it's probably because when he saw him, he didn't see the potential that others saw in him. He makes lists on players he actually sees and I commend him for that.

As for his 2011 rankings, it's way too early to look at those, IMO. It's only 9 months after the draft, who knows how it'll turn out.

Actually, I'm a part time scout for CSB, so I have seen my fair share of games. Craig Button is an idiot and is viewed amongst the scouting community the same way that Eklund is viewed around here. And to be fair about Button, he's made several head scratching moves during his tenure as Calgary GM. He traded Marc Savard, Valeri Bure, and JS Giguere for next to nothing and then he let Martin St. Louis walk. On top of it, look at the job he did as the lead scout when he was in the Toronto organization. I'm sorry, but Craig Button is a complete incompetent buffoon when it comes to rating talent.

Scouts will have respect if you're out there watching games, and seeing players play. I don't know anyone not on HF Boards that thinks Button is an idiot. The guy travels across the world to scout, I don't know how someone can't respect that.

As for him being a GM, the duties are so completely different from that and a scout it's night and day. Solely assessing talent as a scout and performing the tasks of a GM are very, very different things.

Edmonton should draft Cam Barker over Evgeni Malkin

On a serious note tho i don't understand how anyone can draft any player but the BPA at anytime.

Haven't you guys seen Pittsburgh?

What if EDM considers Murray/Dumba to be the BPA at the 2nd spot? Is it that far fetched? This isn't another 2004 scenario.

 

[Em Ancien]

Scouts will have respect if you're out there watching games, and seeing players play. I don't know anyone not on HF Boards that thinks Button is an idiot. The guy travels across the world to scout, I don't know how someone can't respect that.

Renney was being openly mocked by other scouts when he was working in player development/pro scouting for the Rangers.

So this is untrue.

 

[Papa_Bear_21]

Its not about being NHL ready. Its about picking the best player down the road. That being said, I do believe Galchenyuk has more upside of being a perennial All Star.

BTW he does compare to Staal. Cerebral, big centers who cover a lot of ice, but wont dominate a game.

If you're talking about Eric Staal, he was totally dominant against the Devils and Bruins in the playoffs in 2009. He and and Ward essentially beat the Bruins that year and Staal had to go up against Chara every shift. Oh, and he also has a Stanley Cup ring.

Staal can absolutely dominate a game, and that's without having any truly elite talent surrounding him. If Grigs turned out to be as good in all facets of the game as Staal, whoever drafted him would have to be ecstatic.

 

[Rise from the Ashes]

If you're talking about Eric Staal, he was totally dominant against the Devils and Bruins in the playoffs in 2009. He and and Ward essentially beat the Bruins that year and Staal had to go up against Chara every shift. Oh, and he also has a Stanley Cup ring.

Staal can absolutely dominate a game, and that's without having any truly elite talent surrounding him. If Grigs turned out to be as good in all facets of the game as Staal, whoever drafted him would have to be ecstatic.

Talking about how he compared Grigo to JORDAN Staal.

 

[Luigi Habs]

They need a #1 dman but they also need a #2 center.

#2 center doesn't have to be a Malkin. Gagner should be okay as #2 center.

 

[RNH 93 rulz]

Rangers, if you guys want to suck for 1 season, please be next year so we can compete in the Yakupov/Grigorenko/Reinhart/Murray sweepstakes.

et voilà, they finish 2nd overall!

 

[YEGJuniorFan]

#2 center doesn't have to be a Malkin. Gagner should be okay as #2 center.

Maybe you havent seen Gagner play enough. He is a non factor 3 out of every 4 games. Is average on the PP and gets outskated 5 on 5. In a 7 game series Gagner would not suffice as the 2nd line center of a cup contender. The Oilers need a big 2C for down the road. Grigorenko has the skill and vision to be a star in the NHL. At worst he can be a 60 point guy who uses his body to protect the puck and feed wingers like Hall, PRV, Ebs and Hartikainen.