Calgary Flames Prospect Update: The Struggles of Grushnikov

With seasons ending, the Flames organization is finally seeing some payoffs, with the recent signing of Tyson Gross, the top undrafted NCAA free agent, Cole Reschny winning NCHC rookie of the year, and even defensive prospect Artyom Grushnikov scoring his first goal of the current AHL campaign.

Let’s take a look at everything from the past week in the Flames organization.

Welcome to the TWC Calgary Flames prospect update. We have defined a prospect as a skater who has played fewer than 65 NHL games and was born in 2001 or later.

Artyom Grushnikov, Defender, Calgary Wranglers, AHL

Some Context for the Season

Grushnikov is a name that many Flames fans might be unfamiliar with. The 22-year-old Russian defender was part of the February 2024 three-team Chris Tanev trade to the Dallas Stars and was included with a 2024 second-rounder and a conditional third-round pick in the 2024 draft.

Grushnikov himself was a 2021 2nd-round, 48th overall selection by the Dallas Stars. The 6’01 defender was drafted out of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL, and eventually went on to serve as a key shutdown defender in the Bulldogs’ 2021–2022 OHL Championship and Memorial Cup runner-up season.

After playing his OHL overage season in 2022–2023, Grushnikov would eventually be traded to the Flames, 44 games into his AHL rookie season with the Texas Stars. The Voskresensk product is now in his 3rd season with the Wranglers.

Grushnikov’s Season so Far

Grushnikov has hit a crossroads in his development, as the Russian’s effectiveness and ice time have reduced as the 2025–2026 campaign has progressed. The former second-rounder started the year in the Wranglers’ second(ish) pairing, but now averages just under 17 minutes with penalty kill time.

The Good

Now Grushnikov is more known as a physical shutdown defender, and has a game that resembles that with strong physicality, a capable compete level, and moderate puck skills. His main drawbacks to his game are his average skating, shooting and no offensive instincts.

Defensively, Grushnikov is fine, with good pace mitigation, defensive pressure, and physicality. This physicality is best articulated by his imposing muscle mass, high level of board play willingness, and toughness. His compete level shows good hustle, defensive pressure exertion, and play engagement.

Through Grushnikov’s gap control, the 6’01 Russian manages pace (when in position), uses his reach well, and disrupts zone entries well. Similarly, in zone play, the 2003-born defender is generally hard to play against in the slot with relentless boxouts, tie-ups, and physical pins opponents can’t set up.

His defensive habits are positive; there is no doubt about it.

Grushnikov’s hard skill partially explains his 50% puck battle win rate, 0.57 shot blocks per game, and six takeaways per game. In tight and in gritty situations, the former second-rounder excels. Grushnikov’s tendency to overcommit raises questions about his awareness of quick-developing plays.

Offensively, Grushnikov is a capable breakout asset with decent vision and play decisions. Grushnikov’s decision offensive decision-making revolves largely around basic D-D passes or dumps. The defender’s pass consistency also needs improvement, with 18 passes per game, his accuracy is only 78%.

The Bad

Grushnikov’s mobility is not ideal, as he has a questionable gait/stride recovery, with around average acceleration and top speed. These skating shortcomings are particularly noticeable when he overcommits on a hit in defensive transition, leaving him chasing the play.

The Flame’s defensive prospect is a non-factor in offensive play. Grushnikov’s shooting has stiff mechanics, questionable shot selection, and limited accuracy (36%). The 2nd-rounder’s offensive senses are not evident with no offensive creativity, play reading, or instincts.

Grushnikov often relies on straightforward offensive plays, which explains why at the AHL level he averages only 0.14 scoring chances per game and has a 0.04 goals-expected rate. With reactionary hockey sense, limited offensive play reads and struggles with pace, it’s unlikely this improves in the future.

Now, a defender may get to the NHL despite limited offensive upside, but Grushnikov will need to improve his play anticipation, play reading, and skating to do so.

Final Thoughts on Grushnikov

Craig Conroy and company have a preference for shutdown defenders like Grushnikov. The selections of Axel Hurtig, Jacob Leander, Maceo Philips, and Eric Jamieson, all in the past two years, are a testament to this.

With Grushnikov, it is a matter of whether he can do enough as a shutdown defender to justify his black hole style of offence. Right now, the 2003-born Russian still shows struggles with the previously mentioned pace mitigation/play processing.

If Grushnikov improves his senses, skating and even elevates his puck skills to another level, he could carve out a role as a 7th defender in the NHL in the next three years or so.

Calgary Flames prospect updates

AHL

• The Wranglers had a less busy week, splitting a pair of games with the Manitoba Moose. They collected a blowout 7–2 win on the 13th, but dropped the rematch on the 15th, 4–2.
• The Wranglers are solidly locked into 9th or 10th in the AHL’s Pacific division, as the 8th-place Tucson Roadrunners are nine points ahead of them in the standings. The Wranglers have a season record of 20–25–14.
• Defensive bruiser Artyom Grushnikov scored his first goal of the season in their 7–2 win on the 13th, which has got to be a minor confidence booster for the 22-year-old defender.
• There were no roster moves for the Wranglers this past week.

ECHL

• The Rapid City Rush have gained momentum this week, with a 2–1–0 record in a trio of games against the Wichita Thunder. The Rush collected a 4–3 OTW on the 12th, then lost the next game the following day, 3–2, only to rebound and win their final game of the week on the 14th.
• Rapid City is now tied for 6th in the ECHL’s Mountain Division with a 24–29-5 record. The Rush have 14 games left in their season.
• 24-year-old forward Quinn Olsen has been quite consistent for the Rush, and just came off a 4-game, 7-point streak. The Calgary product could be a call-up candidate for the Wranglers in the near future.
• Rapid City acquired defender Eric Parker and forward Cole Tymkin from the Wheeling Nailers on the 12th.

Europe

• Swedish defensive prospect Jakob Leander is playing at the U20 regional level and appeared in two games this past week. The first game of the week was on March 14th against IK Oskarshamn U20. The second game saw the defender post an assist against Tingsryds AIF U20 on the 15th.
• 2025 2nd round forward Theo Stockselius played an additional two games at the SHL level, on the 12th against Frölunda HC, and on the 14th against Skellefteå AIK. The intelligent playmaker was then reassigned to the U20 team, where he played MoDo Hockey U20 on the 16th and posted an assist.

NCAA

• A forgettable 5–1 loss to the University of Minnesota-Duluth on the 14th was the only game UND played this past week. Both Littler and Wiebe were quieter, with the latter setting a season low in TOI. 2025 1st-rounder Cole Reschny helped set up UND’s only goal.
• Wyttenbach met with Flames management this past week. He then followed up this meeting with two of his lowest event games of the season as Quinnipiac lost 3–0 and 4–3 to Clarkson University on the 13th and 14th. Wyttenbach posted a single assist in the second game.
• 2024 5th round forward, Luke Misa, played an oddly scheduled mid-week game on the 11th against the University of Minnesota, working towards a 6–2 win. The speedster then lost 5–2 to the powerhouse University of Michigan, where he did set up one of Penn State’s goals.
• The Flames won the race to sign top NCAA undrafted free agent, Tyson Gross. Expect the St. Cloud State forward to debut with the Wranglers soon.
• 2024 4th-round forward Trevor Hoskins had a goal-scoring week: against UMass-Lowell on the 11th, he recorded a multi-goal game, and against Providence College on the 14th, he netted another goal. The offensively minded Hoskins shot remains a key element to his game.
• Cornell University and recently acquired Flames prospect Jonathan Castagna played a trio of games against Harvard on the 13th, 14th, and 15th. Castagna played around 18:00 per game, and posted an assist in the first game and a goal in the third matchup.

WHL

• 2024 6th-rounder Hunter Laing had a successful week against the Swift Current Broncos, whom he played on the 13th and 14th. In the first game, he scored a goal and an assist. In the second, he had a pair of assists. His unique combo of soft and hard skills will translate well to the AHL next season.
• Basha played the Lethbridge Hurricanes on both the 13th and 14th. In the game on the 13th, he had a trio of points, a goal and two assists. Basha’s reassignment to the Medicine Hat Tigers is on track, as his complete domination of the WHL bodes well for his development.

Russia

• 2025 7th round forward, Yan Matveiko, remains a consistent contributor in the MHL. In the forward’s first matchup, Matveiko had three assists in a 10–5 rout of Dynamo-Kareliya Kondopoga, on the 12th, while the second and final game was a 5–4 SOL to MHK Spartak-MAH Moskva on the 14th.
• 2024 3rd round netminder, Krill Zarubin, got a bit more of a rest week, only playing a single game. This single game was a 3–2 win and a 34-save effort against Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk on the 12th. Zarubin is likely the best goaltending prospect in the system right now.
• 2023 6th round netminder, Yegor Yegorov, made three appearances this past week. His first game was a tight 2–1 SOW against SKA-1946 St. Petersburg on the 11th, and he followed it with a 39-save, 5–4 win against Krasnaya Armiya Moskva on the 14th. The 20-year-old goaltender then made a 13-save relief effort against MHK Spartak Moskva on the 17th.

Forwards