You can never have too many defence prospects.
One such prospect, Artem Grushnikov, was acquired before the 2024 trade deadline from the Dallas Stars. Selected by the Stars 48th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, the left-shot defenceman got his first taste of North American hockey early, joining the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs for the 2021-22 season.
That year, he scored five goals and 12 points in 56 games, including two assists in 19 postseason games as the Bulldogs won the J. Ross Robertson Cup. The following season, he scored eight goals and 17 points in 65 games, along with three goals and five points in six postseason games. He appeared in two games (one regular season, one postseason) with the American Hockey League’s Texas Stars.
Grushnikov’s first full professional season was in 2023-24, playing with the Stars’ AHL team to begin the year while scoring a goal and five points in 44 games. On Feb. 28, 2024, he was traded to the Flames along with the Stars’ 2024 second-round pick, which was used to select Jacob Battaglia.
Grushnikov had a solid showing with the Calgary Wranglers after the trade, picking up an assist in 20 games but being scratched in all of the Wranglers’ postseason games. In our prospect rankings before the 2024-25 season, Grushnikov ranked as our 17th-best Flames prospect.
According to Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis shortly after the trade, Grushnikov excels in his own end, is physical, and can skate well, but isn’t much of a threat offensively. Ellis believes the 21-year-old left-shot defenceman has the ceiling of a bottom-pairing defenceman.
Grushnikov has posted a similar line to what he had before the trade last season, scoring a goal and five points, but in 42 games, two fewer than he had before the trade. The left-shot defenceman should see more of an opportunity to end the season, as it was reported that Jarred Tinordi is out for the remainder of the season.
Over the past two games, he’s played on the top pairing alongside Hunter Brzustewicz on Saturday, dropping to the third pairing the following day. Having a shutdown defenceman who can be used as a seventh defenceman or a bottom pairing guy is never a bad thing, but hopefully, his offensive output will improve as he continues to play in North America.
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