Kyle Dubas and the Leafs getting better early return than expected from 2022 5th round draft pick
The Maple Leafs are finally starting to reap the benefits of Kyle Dubas' smart drafting. Dubas has been GM since 2018 and , excluding his first round picks, which are normally locks to make the NHL, his best work has been done in the later rounds. He's found Pontus Holmberg in the 6th round, Ty Voit in the 5th, Topi Niemela in the 3rd, and Sean Durzi, Matthew Knies and Fraser Minten in the 2nd. In the 2022 draft, he may have found another hidden gem in the 5th round.
The KHL announced their 4 nominees for Rookie of the Year honours last week, among them. 2022 135th overall pick Nikita Grebyonkin. In 45 games with Amur Khabarovsk in the second best league in the world, Grebyonkin tallied 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points. The numbers may seem low, but it's important to remember that the KHL rarely plays rookies, and especially NHL draftees, big minutes. His 2022-23 season was the 4th best all-time for a U20 KHL rookie, trailing only Pavel Buchnevich, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Kirill Kaprizov. Names below him on that list include Artemi Panarin and Vladimir Tarasenko. He's definitely found himself in impressive company.
The 20 year old has some size to go with his scoring touch, standing 6'2 and weighing in at 176lbs. For the time being, Grebyonkin remains without an Entry Level contract with the Leafs. That will change very quickly if his impressive play carries on through next season. Like Dennis Hildeby and Topi Niemela this year, we may see Grebyonkin join the Toronto Marlies after his next KHL season ends.
| POLL | ||
MAI 11 | 17 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas and the Leafs getting better early return than expected from 2022 5th round draft pick Will Grebyonkin be a Maple Leaf within the next 2 years? | ||
| Yes, great mix of size and skill | 8 | 47.1 % |
| No, he'll stay in Russia | 2 | 11.8 % |
| Dude, the playoffs are on! | 7 | 41.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
