I find it interesting that Grachev is getting the start on the 2nd line and Stewart stays on the 3rd.
From JR's morning skate:
"He was really good when we had him from a checking standpoint," Hitchcock said. "What we wanted him to do down in Peoria he did. We wanted him to be more assertive offensively rather than be a guy that deferred to other people. We wanted him to kind of put the puck in his hip pocket and really drive to the net and he did that. We had the coaches and some of our pro people with work him down there and he was very good, and they played him anywhere and everywhere.
"For us, he's a trusted player, but he's a trusted defensive player. We think there's a lot more offensively he can do if he uses his body to take the puck to the net. So we're curious to see if the stuff he was doing in Peoria that made him a good player comes here and he shows us what he can do. Even when he was here before, we used him to kill penalties. He's been good that way but we think there's an offensive upside we haven't seen yet. His last three games there he really started to do it and hopefully he brings it tonight."
He's a big boy and you can see there is a lot of room to grow skillwise with him. At times though he looked a little half assed and lost but he never really had any NHL experience and I guess didn't think he would get some so soon. Hopefully working with him and giving him a bigger role will bring out the best in him.
Being on a line with Langs is probably the best thing for him. Langs will make sure he stays aggressive and not just defer. Langs is essentially a coach on the ice.
Being on a line with Langs is probably the best thing for him. Langs will make sure he stays aggressive and not just defer. Langs is essentially a coach on the ice.
He's a big boy and you can see there is a lot of room to grow skillwise with him. At times though he looked a little half assed and lost but he never really had any NHL experience and I guess didn't think he would get some so soon. Hopefully working with him and giving him a bigger role will bring out the best in him.
These are typical problems for a big young forward like Grachev. They don't put it together till they're 24 or 25. He does need to put up more offense though but not like he's gotten offensive minutes in the past. I'd also expect him to be more likely to actually use his size and strength to score goals at this point compared to Stewart.
Grachev has some decent potential, IMO. Good to see him get a chance. It'd be great if he can do something with it. He's got both size and skill, and if he can stick with the roster he could help Tarasenko acclimate to North America next season.
Being on a line with Langs is probably the best thing for him. Langs will make sure he stays aggressive and not just defer. Langs is essentially a coach on the ice.
Never seen it like that. Good point. Having him on a line with Nichol and Reaves likely wouldnt have been better.
Grachev has some decent potential, IMO. Good to see him get a chance. It'd be great if he can do something with it. He's got both size and skill, and if he can stick with the roster he could help Tarasenko acclimate to North America next season.
This sums up my feelings about Grachev pretty well. He makes mistakes (like all young players do), but the guy has the tools, and he works hard, as evidenced here.
He made the turnover in the first place, but he hauled ass back to take the puck away again and set up Dags' goal. That says a lot to me. He didn't give the puck away and skate back to the bench with head hanging, while worrying about getting sent back to Peoria. Instead, he worked his ass off and did his best to correct his mistake. That kind of effort shouldn't go unnoticed.
Also, spectr, you are my favorite person. I have your youtube channel bookmarked. Thanks for keeping a record of the season and the team like this.
This sums up my feelings about Grachev pretty well. He makes mistakes (like all young players do), but the guy has the tools, and he works hard, as evidenced here.
He made the turnover in the first place, but he hauled ass back to take the puck away again and set up Dags' goal. That says a lot to me. He didn't give the puck away and skate back to the bench with head hanging, while worrying about getting sent back to Peoria. Instead, he worked his ass off and did his best to correct his mistake. That kind of effort shouldn't go unnoticed.
Also, spectr, you are my favorite person. I have your youtube channel bookmarked. Thanks for keeping a record of the season and the team like this.
can't remember which game, but there was a game at the start of the year where he had a huge shot block in the last few minutes. that and the video you posted are the 2 biggest things that have impressed me about grachev this year. he obviously has some offensive talent, but being responsible in his own end is a must if he wants to stick on the blues.
IMO Grachev really should be in the minors but is up here both because we lack anyone much better to call up from the AHL (McRae just as raw, Sterling,Cracknell, Hensick are all marginal NHLers) and because the blues are afraid Grachev might jump back to Russia if he is stuck in the AHL for the rest of the season.
Grachev still has to prove to me that he can be a pro level scorer. He really hasnt scored that much in the AHL over the past two seasons since coming off of a 40 goal season in the ohl playing with Matt Duchene. I think he has a NHL quality shot but he has had trouble getting separation to use it,and Im not sure he is that great of a playmaker. His defense was pretty good when it was up here, too.
Dont get me wrong, I think he could turn into a brad winchester type with perhaps more scoring ability, but I think if we want to see his scoring ability develop further he needs to show it in the AHL first.
Am I alone in noticing that Grachev seems to have terrible balance issues? He ends up on his ass quite often, even when he's on the right end of a hit. He seems to flop around out on the ice at times; not in a diving sense but in a "my skating needs work" sense.
Maybe I have a selective memory though, because I also noticed some times when he has done a good job hustling back to break-up opposing scoring chances.
Grachev is a pretty good prospect, IMO. He has the hands, vision, and shot to score at the NHL level. His positional/system play is fairly advanced from someone his age. His speed and agility is fairly strong for someone his size. He uses his body well to protect the puck. He's not afraid to initiate contact, he doesn't lollygag on the backcheck, and his effort level doesn't seem to be a problem.
With all that said, I think he's a prospect that's going to take a significant amount of organizational patience and development time (multiple years) before he begins tapping his true potential. He was able to dominate in juniors simply because of his size and skill level relative to other kids, but using those skills to score against men where the physical playing field is a bit more levelled is obviously a different story. It's a transition problem that's not uncommon for kids his size, and in many ways I think Grachev is ahead of that curve.
The main reason why I think he's a long-term project is because his play with the puck on his stick lacks the cocky assertiveness that's usually common in talented youngsters. Most youngsters are holding onto the puck too long, or attempting to dangle too much, or making too many high-risks plays when there are safer options, or find their aggressiveness taking them out of position, etc. and they need to have those traits tamed a bit at the professional level in order to maximize their effectiveness.
I see the exact opposite in Grachev. He plays a very safe, relatively passive game with the puck relative to his skill level. His current style is fine for a bottom 6 player, and I think he would fit in well with the Blues in that role right now if needed, but to elevate his offensive game to a level that's appropriate for his abilities he's going to need to become more aggressive at dictating the play (especially when he has the puck). That might develop due to any number of things (coaching, experience, confidence, maturity, etc.), but it's not something that's likely to be learned overnight. It's going to take years...but if the Blues can wait it out, I think they'll be extremely pleased with the results.
