Camping With Grigs

It would appear that the Sabres’ top prospect, Mikhail Grigorenko, who is coming off of a very impressive run in the WJCs is on his way to Buffalo for training camp. Like Tyler Myers back in his rookie year, Grigorenko has two options: go back to the Remparts and finish out the year in juniors after playing up to nine games with the big club or stay in Buffalo after game #10.

In the pre-Pegula era, it probably would have been absurd to discuss having Grigorenko burn his first year of his ELC, especially in a 48-game season, but with the kind of financial resources the organization has now, that shouldn’t be any concern. The Sabres definitely could use some more dynamic talent on the team and getting Grigorenko a head start on his pro development should be a no-brainer as long as he doesn’t look out of place. A shortened season could actually really benefit him since it’s only giving him a small taste of the pro game, which should reduce the learning curve for next season.

As far as who I’d like to see play with Grigorenko if he is ready, I think Leino and Pominville are great fits. Both are very good at puck possession and Pominville is capable of taking on the defensive responsibilities of a center (thus taking a load off of the rooks’ shoulders) while being a very reliable scoring option at right-wing.