The Philadelphia Flyers have finally added size on the wing with their most recent addition of Nikita Grebenkin to their already stock-piled prospect pool. A potential fellow Russian to aid in the development of Matvei Michkov, Grebenkin has been a highly touted 21-year-old who brings grit and finesse to his game.
Seeing as though the Flyers' forward corps includes Travis Konecny, Bobby Brink, and Jakob Pelletier, a power forward is greatly needed to reinforce the offense at the moment. He's also shown he's not afraid to drop the gloves, as he notched his first NHL fight on September 25th, 2024 vs the Ottawa Senators.
"As soon as we started talking to Toronto, one of the names that our pro scouts were salivating over was Nikita Grebenkin. It was important that Nikita was part of that package to close out the deal. I keep hearing good things about him and our scouts are really excited. He’s going to start in Lehigh Valley for us but we hope we can give him a few games before the end of the year with the Flyers as well. " Danny Briere said about Grebenkin after the trade.
So Grebekin will start his tenure in Philadelphia with the Phantoms. Although, as Briere mentioned, it doesn't seem to be outside the realm of possibility that he makes an appearance for the Flyers before the conclusion of the 2024-2025 season. Who knows, maybe Nikita will be the media's new favorite player to interview after seeing his apparent sense of humor.
Heck, the Flyers fanbase could use some comedic relief from just about anyone at the moment. Plus, who doesn't love another Russian to potentially create a dynamic duo with fan-favorite and fellow countryman, Michkov?
As far as statistics go, Grebenkin doesn't exactly stand out. He played seven games for the Maple Leafs this year and earned zero points while averaging 8:45 of ice time. However, he did rack up 21 points (9 G, 12 A) in 29 games with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL.
Grebenkin made his Phantoms debut on March 16th vs the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Although the Penguins emerged victorious over Lehigh Valley by a score of 5-2, Grebenkin recorded a powerplay goal and skated on the first line. Yes, you read that correctly! A player in the Philadelphia Flyers organization scored a powerplay goal!
Nikita Grebenkin scores in his Phantoms debut 🔥🔥#Flyers pic.twitter.com/9YvmPWEOnM
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) March 16, 2025
He'll have some more time to get adjusted to his new team as Sunday's game was his first experience with the Phantoms in any capacity. Which makes scoring a goal even more impressive. Hopefully this is a sign of positive, exciting developments to come from the electric Russian.