New Jersey Devils sign top prospect Arseniy Gritsyuk
Gritsyuk has spent the last few seasons playing in the KHL, where he's steadily become more productive.
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The wait is finally over.
Arseniy Gritsyuk, the best and most dynamic forward prospect in the organization, has put pen to paper on an entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils.
It is a one-year deal – due to age, Gritsyuk cannot sign for longer – and Gritsyuk will become a restricted free agent upon its expiry.
Gritsyuk, 24, has spent the last few seasons playing in the KHL, where his production has steadily increased.
He produced 40 points in 66 games during the 2022-23 campaign with Omsk Avangard.
His outputs jumped further following that season as he joined the iconic KHL team SKA St. Petersburg.
Gritsyuk managed 38 points in 50 games (0.76 per) his first season with SKA and followed that up with 44 points in 49 games (0.90 per) this past year.
Gritsyuk posted an NHLe of 50 in 2023-24 and 59 this year, according to Dobber Hockey’s tool.
For those not familiar, NHLe – aka NHL equivalent – is used to weigh production and league strength to help create a rough baseline for what outputs would translate to over a full 82-game schedule in the NHL.
It’s not an exact science by any means. However, it’s certainly encouraging Gritsyuk is coming off back-to-back 50+ NHLe scores.
If not anything else, it’s a pretty good indication there’s a player in there and he’s worth fans getting excited about.
Gritsyuk possesses a quick but powerful release that can help him beat goaltenders from range, as well as the hands to change angles in tight. He is a left-shot who has a dangerous one-timer he likes to use from the right dot on the power play.
He’s not just a scorer, though. He’s a capable playmaker who sees the ice well, has good touch, and can get the puck through tight windows.
He’s also comfortable carrying the puck and making plays off the rush with speed, which should come in handy whenever playing alongside the elite centers on the roster.
Gritsyuk adds another scoring threat – and more dynamic offensive ability – to a team that doesn’t have enough of it on the wing after Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier.
Getting him signed, and officially making him part of the team, is a nice way to start the off-season.
2 more speedy scoring wingers and perhaps a real 3C and we're chilling
He seems to be a right winger.
Since we've got bratt, timo and noesen on right wing, who moves to left wing? Bratt seems like the obvious choice, as he's done it successfully before, but what do you think?