Back in June, Matvei Gridin made a bit of Calgary Flames franchise history. When he was selected by the club in Vegas, he became the 50th first-rounder in Flames history – dating back to Jacques Richard’s selection in 1972.

One of the more impressive rising stars in the 2024 NHL Draft class, Gridin had a superb offensive season in the United States Hockey League and wound up as early pick as a result. He’s got a bit of work to do on some aspects of his game, but he’s a really exciting young player.

Gridin debuts at sixth in this year’s edition of FlamesNation’s prospect rankings.

Matvei Gridin

Right Wing, Shoots Left
Born March 1, 2006 (age 18) in Kurgan, Russia
6’1”, 182 lbs
Drafted in the first round (28th overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Gridin is a left-shot forward that plays his off wing primarily. He’s only been in North America for two full seasons.

Originally from Kurgan, a city in southwestern Russia, he ended up playing much of his youth and junior hockey in northwestern Russia – primarily in the St. Petersburg area. He played with Spartak St. Petersburg in 2020-21 and Avangard Omsk in 2021-22 before making the leap and moving to the United States in 2022 after being selected by the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the 15th round of the USHL’s entry draft.

In 2022-23, his rookie year, Gridin had 8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points over 40 games. He was 27th among USHL rookies in points and 25th in goals. He was 12th among Lumberjacks skaters in points. It wasn’t an awful first season in North America, but he didn’t blow anybody away with his offensive output.

He was awesome offensively in 2023-24. In his sophomore year, he posted 38 goals and 45 assists for 83 points over 60 games. He led the USHL in goals and points. If you decided to be mean and ignore his special teams points, he would have had 53 points (all at even strength) and still have been top five in the USHL in points. Things just clicked for Gridin this past season offensively, and he basically forced him into the upper echelon of the NHL’s draft picture.

Ultimately, Gridin ended up as the 21st-ranked North American skater by Central Scouting, and he was selected at 28th overall by the Flames.

Here’s what our pal Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff had to say about Gridin:

“Gridin loves to spend time around the net, and he’s got the hands to be a real finisher. Everything he does feels calculated – he’s not wasting movement out there. Gridin was the best in the USHL at finding open lanes and beating goaltenders with deceptive moves, and I think that should give him a realistic shot at being a middle-six forward.”