Matvei Gridin: The Flames' Late-Round Steal Is To Get

Here's a fun bit of hockey history for you: when Calgary took Matvei Gridin 28th overall back in 2024, plenty of folks scratched their heads. He wasn't a big-name, heavily hyped prospect. Elite Prospects had him ranked 91st, well below where you'd normally expect a first-round pick to come from. But hindsight's a funny thing, because it's looking more and more like Craig Conroy and the scouting staff found themselves a genuine diamond in the rough.

Gridin has a high hockey IQ.

What makes Gridin special isn't blazing speed or brute force. It's what the Flames' own director of scouting called being "cunning." He surveys the ice, reads the play, and then strikes fast once he's made his decision. It's a cerebral game rather than a power game, but don't mistake patient for passive. Once he decides what he's doing, he executes it in a hurry. He's got a genuinely dangerous release too, the kind scouts compared to a young Jarome Iginla, along with the puck-handling and playmaking touch to set up teammates just as easily as he scores himself.

The numbers suggest Calgary's scouts may have seen something others missed. After a dominant USHL season (38 goals, 83 points in 60 games) and an even better follow-up in the QMJHL, where he tied for his team's regular-season scoring lead and led the playoffs in points, Gridin jumped straight to the NHL last season and posted 20 points in just 37 games as a teenager on a rebuilding team. That's a legitimately strong debut, especially given how little fanfare surrounded him on draft day.

Without Kadri, Gridin has a strong chance of making a breakthrough.

So what's his ceiling? With Kadri traded away, there's real space at the top of Calgary's lineup, and Gridin's now being talked about as the guy who could lead this team in points as soon as this season. He'll have real competition from linemates Frost and Coronato, but Gridin's blend of hockey IQ and shooting touch gives him a legitimate case as Calgary's future first-line playmaker.

He’s not all finished product yet, however. His defensive zone coverage still needs work, and he's had stretches of inconsistency, going quiet for a few games before erupting again. That's a pretty normal growing pain for a 20-year-old finding his NHL legs. But between the skill, the hockey sense, and the opportunity sitting right in front of him in Calgary, Gridin looks like exactly the kind of player fans will be glad they got to watch develop from the beginning.