CALGARY — As Matvei Gridinâ€s confidence grows, so do his chances of sticking around.
As if the 19-year-old Calgary Flames hopeful wasnâ€t making enough of an impression in Seattle Monday with a goal in his second straight game, Gridin punctuated the evening by adding the shootout winner in a 2-1 win over the Kraken.
Winding his way into Seattleâ€s zone by taking slow, wide turns at either side, he then flashed the shot that has Flames brass so excited, roofing it past Philipp Grubauer to kickstart a celebration that saw the self-assured youngster tuck his stick into his holster before being mobbed.
“I would say itâ€s a Gridin Signature, like (Justin) Kirklandâ€s Signature,†he chuckled.
“I scored like five goals last year in the shootout like that.â€
Gridin, a first round pick of the Flames in 2024, was the QMJHLâ€s rookie of the year with 36 goals and 79 points in 56 games.
A soft-spoken Russian who may just have the best shot/speed combination of any Flames prospect, Gridinâ€s game has been building throughout camp.
Intrigued by Gridinâ€s talents, coach Ryan Huska placed him on the top line with Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato Monday. By far the teamâ€s best trio all night, it was responsible for the teamâ€s lone regulation goal when Gridin took a slick pass from Ilya Solovyov, skated in alone and unleashed a rocket past Grubauer.
“Amazing pass by Solo, a breakaway so Iâ€ve just got to score,†laughed Gridin.
“I know my shot is my strength, so shoot more and find the back of the net. Playing with Frosty and Matty builds my confidence up, so I felt nice.â€
Gridinâ€s co-star on the night, Dustin Wolf, enjoyed seeing the NHL debut of the “Gridin Signature.â€
“I hadnâ€t seen the shootout yet, until today, but I could tell taking it slow and taking it wide he knew what he was doing,†said Wolf.
“Pretty neat release. Excellent shot. Every day he picks your corners. Heâ€s going to score a lot of goals in this league.â€
Although heâ€s still junior-eligible, Gridin is also eligible to play in the AHL this season where heâ€s likely to open the season. However, if he continues to impress like he has the last few outings thereâ€s an outside chance he could open the season in the bigs.
It’s a longshot as one of the other tough decisions Flames brass must make revolves around Rory Kerins, who is the teamâ€s second-leading scorer, with four points in five pre-season games. Kerins was 8 of 13 in the faceoff circle Monday and would be a risky player to try putting through waivers for the purposes of returning him to the AHL.
Gridin doesnâ€t require waivers, so he would most likely start in the minors and be eligible for promotion later on.
No one was sharper Monday than Wolf, who made 16 of his 35 saves in the first period when the flat-footed Flames allowed 10 high-danger scoring chances.   Â
“They came out hard in the first and we found our footing as the game went on,†said Wolf, who will make one last pre-season start Friday at home against Winnipeg.
“This is a great step for me.â€
Frost continues to impress, pacing the Flames†top line once again, spearheading the top power play, scoring in the shootout and finishing 11 of 13 in the faceoff circle. His assist on Gridinâ€s goal puts him amongst NHL pre-season leaders with six points in four outings.
Speaking of league leaders, former Flames prospect Matthew Phillips has three pre-season goals in Anaheim, one off the pace set by Sonny Milano.
Martin Pospisil was in vintage form, drawing penalties and the ire of Vince Dunn (once again) on a night when he was in the fray regularly.
For the record, Kirkland used his signature move in the shootout, but hit the post.
The Flames shooters were Frost, Kirkland, Coronato and Gridin.
Gridin – Frost -Coronato
Farabee – Kerins – Klapka
Lomberg – Kirkland – Pospisil
Honzek – Morton – SunievÂ
Bean – PachalÂ
Kuznetsov – Brzustewicz
Solovyov  – CicekÂ
Flames host Vancouver Wednesday
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