The Curious
Case of Михаил Григоренко
There is a
huge debate going on about Grigorenko and his decline in the rankings and
criticism by everybody. But we have to see the big picture, one of a Russian
that was born in Khabarosvk, a city completely east of Russia, near the China
border where his dad was only a car dealer. He moved to Moscow with his mom and
big brother at the age of 7 so he could have a better development in the game
of hockey and a better future as a hockey player.
The kid came
to Canada at the age of 17 years old, not knowing a single word in English and having
his translator when he first walked into the Quebec airport. He was so overwhelmed
to see all the people from Quebec that was welcoming him as he makes his first
steps on our continent. What most people don’t know is that Patrick Roy, coach
and general manager of the Quebec Remparts, actually played Grigorenko in
defensive situations such as penalty kills most of the nights. He finished the
year with 40 goals and 45 assists for 85 points in only 59 games, grabbing
along the CHL rookie of the year award.
At the World
Junior Championships, Mikhail was playing very well for Russia along Gusev and
Kucherov, and never once on the same line as tournament leading scorer Yevgeni
Kuznetsov who played with Yakupov. Then came the turning point of his season,
the downfall. He was playing against Latvia in the 1st period when
the score was still tied at 0-0. Coming from an unbeaten record and Latvia with
crushing defeats of 4-9 and 1-3 against Sweden and Slovakia, the Russians knew
they would have an easy game. However, they were dominated in the 1st
period till 9:30 when Mikhail Grigorenko raised his game and create offense as
he scored the 1st of 14 Russian goals in a 14-0 devastating win over
Latvia. However, in early 2nd period, Grigorenko got hit really
badly by Latvian defenseman Arturs Salija, injuring his ankle and falling
painfully on the ice. At that moment, Grigorenko just had his 1st
injury in his young career, as he never had to fight through such injury.
It was also since that particular moment, that his draft ranking would fall. He
played the rest of the tournament with a high sprained ankle finishing with 5
points in 6 games. Instead of being called a hero, a catalyst for Russia for
playing with an injury, he was criticized for all the wrong reasons.
Coming back
from a Silver medal win with team Russia, Grigorenko has decided to rest and
heal his ankle. He came back and wasn’t as dominant as before he left the
Remparts for the WJCs. Scouts started to doubt his physical implication, his
thrive and his play away from the puck. He was starting to be criticized of
being lazy, lacking effort, being a KHL bound player, etc. Towards the end of a
season, a certain scout told TSN that he wouldn’t even take Grigorenko at 22nd
overall. Absurd as it may seem, as of today, Mikhail Grigorenko is being touted
as a mid to late 1st round pick. His decline wasn’t stopping there,
as the Remparts and him lost the QMJHL 2nd round playoff series against
Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin and the surprising Halifax Mooseheads
while having a 3-0 lead in the series. Guess what happened, the media and the
scouts were starting to have fun downgrading Grigorenko.
It was only
later after the CHL season ended, it was made public that Mikhail had
mononucleosis that he started to feel symptoms before Game 6 of that same
series against the Mooseheads. With that being said, he was called of not
showing when it matters most, but finished with 10 pts in 11 playoffs games.
He decided to
attend the NHL Combine in Toronto while not participating in any physical test.
He went there to prove the 30 NHL teams that he is a person who persevered in
his life and not a person that will not face an obstacle in his way. He was
present to show his personality, his desire to play in the NHL, and most
importantly, his dedication to this sport that he practiced since 6-7 years
old. Funny story, he had around 26 interviews and during which he wore a
Lacoste red and white polo shirt with the Canadian Maple Leaf on it. We can see
throughout his interviews, Grigorenko is a person with education and head on
his shoulders. He speaks fluently English in only a year. He loves being in
Canada and was even getting thoughts of taking University classes in physical education
at distance. It shows that he knows where to put his priorites and wants to
become a better hockey player, a better person.
