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FN’s mid-season Flames prospect updates: Artem Grushnikov
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Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Mar 9, 2026, 12:30 EDTUpdated: Mar 9, 2026, 00:13 EDT
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Artem Grushnikov came to the Calgary Wranglers as a mid-season addition in the 2023-24 season. He spent the majority of the year with the Texas Stars, then was included as part of the Chris Tanev trade in late February 2024. When he made it to Calgary, he joined the Wranglers for the last 20 games of the regular season. He’s been with Calgary’s AHL squad ever since as he works on furthering his development.
He’s a left shot defensive defenceman who doesn’t usually put up a bunch of points, but does make room for his teammates to work. This season, he’s been quite happy with his progress and wants to keep things going.
When asked about his season up until this point, he said:
“I’m really positive about my season. I think this season is going well for me. I feel like I’m growing my game throughout this year. So, even like more defensively, find a better position, stick on puck, how to go in a battle, take a right position too, like that.”
Grushnikov plays in a relaxed but steady way. He can win the puck battles along the boards and hold his own on the physical side of things. He can take a beating from some of his opponents and still stay upright on the ice. The physical part of his game is something he’d especially like to bring out more. He put up arguably the hit of the year in a recent home game against the Abbotsford Canucks and this type of hit is reminiscent of his junior days. 
This is probably one of the biggest hits Grushnikov has put up as a Wrangler, but it isn’t a new part of his game. When he was asked about it he said:
‘When I was playing junior, I used to do it, like almost every game. Hip check was kind of my thing in junior, but when I came to the AHL, like my 1st year, I tried a couple times to do that, and the forward just passed me a couple times. After that, I’m like, okay, it’s a different level, find a different moment. I think I need to try to do more big hits like that because it’s kind of a big part of my game.”
Artem is not completely unaware of the fact he can be doing more on the scoring side of things either. He has come close to his first goal of the season in multiple occasions but just sits at one assist in 49 games. Last season, he had one goal and four assists in 61 games. His professional high in points was his rookie season with six points. Before that, he was playing with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, where his point totals finished up at 17 and 12.
Grushnikov slots into most games but sometimes can be the odd one out. Lately, he’s come in to give Etienne Morin some playing time or skates as the seventh defender when they run 11 forwards. When he’s playing the typical six defenceman system, he’s been on pairings with mostly Daniil Miromanov, and a few others with Gavin White, Nick Cicek and Etienne Morin.
Grushnikov talked about that next gear he’d like to see in his game and said:
“I think I can grow all my game, like even offensively. Like, I’m not getting a lot of points, but I think if I learn how to play that, grow my offensive game, it will help to my team as well.” 
Grushnikov’s entry level contract expires this summer, when he’ll turn into a restricted free agent. Until then, he still has up to 15 possible games to show anything else he’d like the organization to see before they make a decision on his contract.
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