Evgeny Grachev

FilthyNote*

Guest
Blues fans are going crazy over this kid.

So far 3g 1a in three pre-season games.

He is ranked 11th best prospect for the Blues by Hockeys Future but a lot of fans think he will make the roster this year. The Blues added a lot of depth this off-season and there isn't a whole lot of room for outsiders that weren't already predicted to be on the roster.

Personally I don't think he should be on the roster yet but he should be the #1 call-up from the AHL. However I am very interested to see what he could do at the NHL level against full NHL teams in games that matter.

He is impressing a lot of people.
 

rumrokh

THORBS
Mar 10, 2006
10,107
3,285
I think people want him on the roster because they finally have a chance at three scoring lines. As it is, without Grachev, Oshie or D'Agostini will likely have to play the left side in order to have their best top 9. With Grachev, it leaves Osh & Dags at right wing and pushes Langenbrunner out of the top 9 and forces Crombeen to play his way onto the team after a season in which he regressed.

If Grachev makes it, it potentially increases scoring, but it definitely increases their size, line combination freedom, and internal competition. Too many guys got more playing time than they deserved last year due to injuries. If the Blues are ready for the playoffs, nobody can be handed ice time like that anymore.

That certainly doesn't mean he should be given the roster spot. He needs to earn it. But it's also looking like he's done basically everything necessary to earn it. The Blues have enough talent and depth that they don't need to be worrying about frickin' Chris Porter clearing waivers. Ice the best team and that's that.
 

The Kremelin Wall*

Guest
Why did he go from an 8.0C to an 7.0C after being traded? Is whoever does the Rangers rankings just a really big homer?
 

FilthyNote*

Guest
I think people want him on the roster because they finally have a chance at three scoring lines. As it is, without Grachev, Oshie or D'Agostini will likely have to play the left side in order to have their best top 9. With Grachev, it leaves Osh & Dags at right wing and pushes Langenbrunner out of the top 9 and forces Crombeen to play his way onto the team after a season in which he regressed.

If Grachev makes it, it potentially increases scoring, but it definitely increases their size, line combination freedom, and internal competition. Too many guys got more playing time than they deserved last year due to injuries. If the Blues are ready for the playoffs, nobody can be handed ice time like that anymore.

That certainly doesn't mean he should be given the roster spot. He needs to earn it. But it's also looking like he's done basically everything necessary to earn it. The Blues have enough talent and depth that they don't need to be worrying about frickin' Chris Porter clearing waivers. Ice the best team and that's that.

I would agree that Crombeen regressed defensively but without him and not having McClement, Winchester, or Janssen to play 4th line agitator and PK it's hard in my mind to let him go so easily for a young (what is supposed to be) point producing prospect.

I also don't like the idea of pushing Langenbrunner down or out because I really admire his accomplishments and think that if anything his mental game is going to help the young core of the Blues.

I guess it's a good problem to have and it's one the Blues didn't have last year. The injury bug destroyed us last season and this season should be a lot different in the regard.
 

Fulcrum

Guest
Just to be sure, is Grachev playing center?

Maybe not a bad idea to shape him for the arrival of Tarasenko and Junland next year, although I don't see Grachev being the perfect Center for him.

St Louis is becoming an interesting team to watch and follow.
 

OnlyTheBrave*

Guest
I was shocked the Rangers traded the guy in the first place, he was a guy I had hoped Shero would some how trade for. Kid has got some solid skills.
 

FilthyNote*

Guest
Just to be sure, is Grachev playing center?

Maybe not a bad idea to shape him for the arrival of Tarasenko and Junland next year, although I don't see Grachev being the perfect Center for him.

St Louis is becoming an interesting team to watch and follow.

Good point with him and Tank (Tarasenko). Yes, he is playing center.

I have heard from some Russian people that I know on other boards that that some fans of former Russian Blues think that the Blues don't like Russians. Lemtuygov fled for Russia when he wasn't called up after a season and a half from the AHL. Many people think the Blues didn't give Shiskonov a good enough chance. It just seems that they like to be with their own kind and the Blues just don't have a lot of them or the Russians don't think the Blues are a good team for Russians.

I hope both Grachev and Tarasenko are playing here in the near future.
 

Levitate

Registered User
Jul 29, 2004
30,947
7,652
I dunno, I can't tell if I should blame the Rangers AHL development for scaring him off, or if it's his own damn fault for not showing what he needed to show in order to get a real callup, and the trade made him start working harder.

He was always inconsistent with the Rangers farm team, and in callups, always looked a little bit behind the play, or just not ready to be a factor.

I don't like that they traded him, but yeah, he requested a trade. I think he can be a good player and I"m annoyed that he's not with the Rangers anymore.
 

trickster

Maple Leaf Lane Forever
Mar 6, 2002
2,553
6
Leaf Nation
classic lack of patience...
this kid was as blue a bluechip could be when he was in junior, but then he didn't make the jump immediately and anisimov did well, so many figured he was a bust...

as it turns out - he was learning to play on the other side of the ice...

I think the Blues have a potential rookie of the year candidate if they can give him ice time
 

Levitate

Registered User
Jul 29, 2004
30,947
7,652
Again, not really true, he requested a trade...maybe because the Rangers were being patient with him and not pushing him into the NHL.

Decent chance the Rangers try to hold on to him if he wasn't asking for a trade
 

iamitter

Thornton's Hen
May 19, 2011
4,006
374
NYC
classic lack of patience...
this kid was as blue a bluechip could be when he was in junior, but then he didn't make the jump immediately and anisimov did well, so many figured he was a bust...

as it turns out - he was learning to play on the other side of the ice...

I think the Blues have a potential rookie of the year candidate if they can give him ice time

Let's not exaggerate. He got called up for 8 games last season and didn't look too good.

On the other hand, I still don't like the fact that we had to trade him and all we got was a third in return.
 

Blues0307

Registered User
May 25, 2009
1,018
61
St. Louis
Just to be sure, is Grachev playing center?

Maybe not a bad idea to shape him for the arrival of Tarasenko and Junland next year, although I don't see Grachev being the perfect Center for him.

St Louis is becoming an interesting team to watch and follow.

Junland likely won't ever sport a blue note. Our front office wasn't too thrilled that he went back to Sweden instead of trying out to make the roster last year.

As for Grachev, I'd love for this kid to make the team, but I think the odds are he won't.
 

bruinsfan46

Registered User
Dec 2, 2006
11,457
2
London, ON
So there are people out there that think a kid can go from 28 points in the AHL to 38 points in the AHL to NHL Rookie of the Year? Lol, not very likely. He has size and potential but there's no way he's ready to really produce in the NHL. This year is about finding some consistency.
 

msv957

Registered User
Aug 3, 2005
2,098
4
Many prospects throughout the years have looked good in pre-season so I am not buying into the Grachev hype again. Let's see him do it consistently in the NHL. So far, in his AHL career he has not.

He is still young so he still has a good chance to make an impact in the NHL.
 

ThirdEye

Registered User
Nov 28, 2006
14,749
3,063
New York
classic lack of patience...
this kid was as blue a bluechip could be when he was in junior, but then he didn't make the jump immediately and anisimov did well, so many figured he was a bust...

as it turns out - he was learning to play on the other side of the ice...

I think the Blues have a potential rookie of the year candidate if they can give him ice time

Did you not get the part where he requested a trade? Also, the Rangers tried to give him another chance by calling him up later in the season, but he was invisible for the most part and sent back down.

Why did he go from an 8.0C to an 7.0C after being traded? Is whoever does the Rangers rankings just a really big homer?

Maybe because he didn't make much progress in his second year in the AHL? He improved by 10 points when most people expected him to at least double his output (like Anisimov did in his second season)

The Rangers did nothing wrong. I was a huge Grachev fan and wanted him to make the team more than just about any other prospect, but he never seized the opportunity when he got a chance and eventually got frustrated I guess because the Rangers weren't impressed by him not doing anything on the ice.
 

Stang

Registered User
Dec 4, 2007
4,030
2
Grachev has looked really good in preseason...but everyone needs to remember, it's just preseason. The Blues have tons of depth and preliminary outlooks did not have Grachev in our opening night lineup. The team may find a way for him to stay with the big club or he may be a really intriguing call up to have available when injuries hit. If he does stick with the Blues...I won't be expecting the moon from him, just some consistency.
 

rumrokh

THORBS
Mar 10, 2006
10,107
3,285
Outside of his goal last night he wasn't very noticeable. His goal was a great pass by Langenbrunner.

Not saying you're wrong, I didn't see the game, but by listening to the Colorado radio play by play, it sounded like he had several chances. Stripped Duchene of the puck and immediately got a scoring chance, few just-missed shots, and he was involved in some chippiness and shoving.

Outside of Backes, Pietrangelo, Allen, and possibly Nikitin, it seemed like Grachev was involved the most.
 

Mike Liut

HFBoards Sponsor
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Feb 12, 2008
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He needs a full season in Peoria imo. The kid needs to be patient and work his tail off for a year and be ready to make the jump next year. With Langs and Arnott gone next year, there will be room for him if he's ready. He also could be a first call up this year too to fill in and get his feet wet.
 

Fulcrum

Guest
He needs a full season in Peoria imo. The kid needs to be patient and work his tail off for a year and be ready to make the jump next year. With Langs and Arnott gone next year, there will be room for him if he's ready. He also could be a first call up this year too to fill in and get his feet wet.

I disagree with the full season in AHL. How good would he have to play in the preseason to earn a few games in the NHL this year. I say that 3+1 in 3 games is sufficient to see him at least start in the NHL.

I also strongly believe, that despite his shortcomings with production in the AHL, he is a top 6 forward potentially. He might never reach it, but he is a boom or bust prospect since he relies on scoring and passing. But he certainly has/had the potential to be top 6.
 

richardsequalscup*

Guest
The Rangers idiot coach in Hartford didn't play Grachev on the PP which is a strength of his. That hurt his AHL numbers. However, he's also lazy at times. One has to wonder when NHL defenseman start to make his life miserable if he will fight thru it. Either way, Sather said the Blues were the only team interested. Which means there could be a lot of other GM's and scouts who might look like morons which shouldn't shock anybody.
 

David Dennison

I'm a tariff, man.
Jul 5, 2007
5,940
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Grenyarnia
I think his choice to enter the AHL at 19 may have hurt him as much as anything. While he has some great raw tools, big guys like him usually take more time to find their game when they move to a new league, and he was a little over his head as a 19 year old in the AHL. Last season improved his production a bit, but it appears that he stagnated a bit as he grew tired of the organization's handling of him.

Granted it is only the preseason and he is still playing against a lot of AHL/CHL guys, but he has always had the size and skill to thrive in the NHL. The biggest issue with putting him on the Blues out of camp is that he has to be playing consistently for it to be worth it; Theres no point in keeping him on the roster if he's only playing every other night or getting small minutes.

Im thinking he'll be the first 'skill' call-up when injuries strike, assuming he continues his strong play in Peoria early on in the season.
 

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