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Matvei Gridin’s early projections of AHL time this season may be more and more unlikely
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Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Paige Siewert
Oct 13, 2025, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 12, 2025, 23:20 EDT
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Outside of Zayne Parekh as a close second, Matvei Gridin was the most fascinating story to come out of Calgary Flames training camp this fall. He was immediately thrown into the fire (pun not intended) and placed on the top line to show his skill and comfort level among NHLers.
His pre-season performance earned him a spot on the Flames’ opening night roster when some thought his season might start in the AHL.

Meets expectations

For Gridin, we just don’t know him well enough to know how long he can keep up with the Flames. That being said, he is expected to stay up as long as possible, but being waiver exempt makes it easy to assign him to the Wranglers as a fallback option. If it’s between benching him or getting games in the AHL, it’s better to keep him playing.
The way things are going so far, Gridin is elevated in the Flames lineup and not at risk. He may get a handful of games with the Wranglers, especially if the end of the year comes and the Wranglers are playing in the post-season and the Flames are not. 
With the Flames, the expectations are to continue to stay on the puck and be hard to play against. He’s already run circles around some talented players in the league and shows his capabilities to get tight in the zone and put up high danger chances. Gridin goals are anticipated and hopefully, he keeps them coming. 

Exceeds expectations

If Matvei Gridin’s talent is no fluke and he’s fully developed to be a regular NHL forward, he could surprise some and spend the whole season with the Flames. A high-achieving Gridin year would include consistent and impressive scoring. If he’s able to keep up with some of the top third of the goal scorers on the team, the thought of putting a Wranglers jersey on will be a non-factor. 

Below expectations

Gridin has shown so much in such a small pocket of time that for him to fall below expectations, his game would need to take a significant drop off. He’s already earned an NHL shootout appearance and scored in his first game in the league. If this is just a case of “beginner’s luck,” or he faces injury, it could turn into a development year at the AHL level.
Even in the AHL, Gridin should still be a top one or two liner and get plenty of opportunities to elevate his game to NHL readiness. As long as he keeps his confidence, he shouldn’t be letting anyone down. The story of Gridin continues with the Flames for now and hopefully it stays that way. 

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