Igor Debut's This Season: Scouting Report

Ansar Kahn posted his scouting report on one of the more curious and highly touted future Red Wings in recent years, Igor Grigorenko. For those who do not know, Grigorenko was one of the Wings highest rated prospects before a near fatal car accident. After rehabbing in Russia and getting back to playing hockey at a competitive level, he is still highly ranked in the Wings system and is set to make his professional debut this year for the Red Wings. We've been hearing a lot about this kid for many years. The curiousity builds and about a month from know, we'll get to see Grigorenko in action. If he turns out to be what I expect, the Wings will have unearthed another diamond amid a plethora of coal.

Scouting Report: Igor Grigorenko
by Ansar Khan
Tuesday August 28, 2007, 3:50 PM

Igor Grigorenko may be anywhere from a top-six NHL forward to a player who won't be on the roster next year.Wings rookie forward Igor Grigorenko will be the most closely watched player in training camp and the preseason. A top prospect before his near-fatal car accident in May 2003, the team needs to find out what it has in Grigorenko. He could be a top-six NHL forward right off the bat, or he could be hopping a plane back to Russia in November.

The injuries from his accident (broken left femur and two fractures in his left tibia) have affected his skating ability, which was never a strong part of his game. But because he's a shifty skater who plays close to the net and will be skating on the smaller NHL ice surfaces, speed might not be that big an issue.

Grigorenko, 24, was the club's top pick in the 2001 entry draft (62nd overall). He was named the best forward at the 2003 World Junior Hockey Championships. He played on the same line as Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk at the 2003 World Championships. He has been described as a highly skilled player with tremendous hockey sense. He's built like a tank (5-10, 209), likes to drive to the net and shouldn't be deterred by physical play. He has good hands and knows where to go to score goals.

Grigorenko will see plenty of action in the preseason and, in all likelihood, early in the regular season. The Wings have the option of sending him to Grand Rapids at the start of the season, but he has a clause in his contract that enables him to return to Russia (where he can make around $1 million, as opposed to about $70,000 in the AHL) after Nov. 1 if he's not on the NHL roster. That probably won't be an issue, however. He should earn a place on the Wings' roster.

He's scheduled to arrive in Detroit on Sunday and participate in the Wings' prospects camp in Traverse City from Sept. 6-11, prior to the main camp.