The Toronto Maple Leafs opened up their preseason on Monday night with hosting their provincial rivals.
Falling down 1-0 early on, the Toronto Maple Leafs were chasing the contest most of the night and took the loss in overtime. Despite the loss new coach Craig Berube had to leave the game finding positives, including seeing veteran Max Pacioretty record three points thanks to a pair of goals to inch ever so closer to trading in his PTO for a full contract.
With several players competing for jobs, many fans and writers have expressed their interest in the team moving on from veterans such as Calle Järnkrok, David Kämpf and Ryan Reaves as the three make up nearly $6 million of the team's $88 Million cap and represent some of the most wasteful spending in the NHL.
While Reaves and Kämpf have several players in camp that can already take their positions, Järnkrok has a bit more value due to his ability to move up and down the line-up. However, through the opening day of training camp and leading into the opener, one prospect has turned heads amongst the decision makers and that is 2022 fifth round selection Nikita Grebenkin.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to give Jarnkrok's roster spot to Nikita Grebenkin
Grebenkin put his name on the radar in 2023-24 as he jumped to a full-time role in the KHL playing for Magnitogorsk Metallurg where at 20-years of age he finished second on the team in both goals (19) and points (41), which ended in his team capturing the Gagarin Cup as league champions.
After day one of training camp Berube was asked about his Russian prospect and stated "He's a strong guy. He's a big guy, strong. I was impressed with him today. It was a tough practice but his pace didn't drop off. Big, strong kid. Strong skater. Some real good stuff there. You know I love his size."
Everything he has done led him to drawing into the line-up Monday night playing alongside veterans John Tavares and Pacioretty. Throughout the game, the now 21- year old was hard on the forecheck trying to create space for his two elder line mates and showed no fear which led to a fight in the third period against Adam Gaudette.
While Grebenkin was fighting for a spot on the team, Järnkrok was nearly invisible despite getting an opportunity to play alongside William Nylander and Max Domi.
Fans know what they get in Järnkrok which is a guy who hustles, but does not create much and disappears in the playoffs. He is also old and has no upside. With how Grebenkin showed up for the first week of training camp, he is earning a much longer look.