The Toronto Maple Leafs have been dealing with a staggering number of injuries to their forward ranks, highlighted by the absence of Auston Matthews for almost a month. Also missing from the lineup are Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Max Pacioretty, Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf, and most recently, Bobby McMann.
Surprisingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs weathered the storm, amassing a 7-2-0 record without Matthews, who last played on November 3 before returning to the lineup on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The contributions of several callups from the AHL Toronto Marlies have played a large part in keeping the ship afloat until the return of the Leaf captain.
One of those callups seemingly came out of nowhere, that being 21-year-old Nikita Grebenkin. The 6’2, 210 lb Russian was drafted by Toronto in the 5th round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He played well in the KHL against fully grown men for the past two seasons, racking up 67 points in 119 games (stats per hockeydb.com) before moving to Canada and making his North American debut with the Marlies.
Nikita Grebenkin may not stick with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Normally a player from overseas will play at least a season or two in the AHL to learn the style of play, which is more physical and often more defensive than what is found in Europe. This is especially true for players as young as Grebenkin, who have much to learn to reach the level of play required to succeed in the NHL.
However, necessity is the mother of promotions, and the Leafs long injury list lead to Grebenkin getting called up to the big club on November 20. Since then, he has played four games and made a big impression on Toronto Maple Leafs fans, despite having yet to record his first NHL point.
Grebenkin has stood out first and foremost for his aggressive style of play. He is relentless on the forecheck and likes to throw his body around. He crushed Vegas Knights defender Shea Theodore along the boards in his NHL debut, and earned a minor boarding penalty for a questionable hit against Florida’s Uvis Balinskis. Grebenkin also stirred up the Scotiabank crowd with a spirited preseason fight against Ottawa’s Adam Gaudette.
Grebenkin has also shown some offensive flair, particularly when paired with fellow callup Fraser Minton. He has generated several quality scoring opportunities with his speed and puck handling abilities.
Add in an outgoing personality and a bit of fish-out-of-water charm (a la former Leaf Ilya “Soup” Mikheyev) and you have the makings of a fan favourite. Hopefully he’ll soon be a big contributor to the Toronto Maple Leafs core of forwards, but not yet.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans are often hyped about the next big prospect, sometimes too much so. I think we’ve already seen enough of Nikita Grebenkin to be fairly sure he’s NHL material. However, once the established players heal and start returning to the active roster, several fill-ins will have to go.
Some followers are looking for GM Brad Treliving to unload some salary cap (maybe Reaves, Kampf and/or Domi) in order to upgrade the blue line. Two or three extra forwards will likely stick around to rotate on a game-by-game basis. But the best thing for young players like Grebenkin and Minten will likely be to return to the Marlies to improve their skills, get stronger, work on their defense and get more experience.