Evgeny Grachev

[FilthyNote*]

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.

Thats exactly what I was hearing about him too. Some of the Blues beat writers like Jeremy Rutherford think he deserves a spot on the team. He really said his play against Colorado was fantastic. Lots of opportunities to score and stripping duchene of the puck was icing on the cake. Personally I would like to see him play before I make any judgments but from what I am hearing... he is the real deal.

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.

Until I see him play I think he should be in the AHL but be told that he is the first call-up for any forward that goes down.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

He won't be an NHL player unless he starts getting hungrier for the puck and stops playing timid. Those are big ifs, but if he can shake them, watch out.

 

[Confound]

Great young prospect, would be interesting if he could make a run at the Calder if he could get good minutes in STL.

 

[Pizza]

Grachev making some noise is nice to see. It will be interesting to see if he makes the Blues squad and how it all shakes out.

 

[BlueDream]

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.

No he's not. Grachev is playing LW.

 

[FilthyNote*]

No he's not. Grachev is playing LW.

Sorry, I haven't been able to listen to the games or see any of them. The Blues website has him listed as a center.