The Panthers help break the quarantine slumber with some news this morning that they have signed 2018 first-round draft pick Grigori Denisenko.
From Dale Tallon:
"Grigori is an exciting, dynamic and highly skilled young forward who has been a top player on the international stage and served as captain of Team Russia at the World Juniors. We are thrilled for his bright future with the Panthers for years to come."
A little breakdown from the Panthers website:
”Denisenko, 19, appeared in 38 regular season games with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), producing 12 points (6-6-12). The 5-foot-11, 180-pound native of Novosibirsk, Russia, tallied one goal over six KHL playoff games.
Serving as captain of Team Russia, Denisenko posted a team-leading nine points (3-6-9) over seven games, earning a silver medal at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.
In his career overseas, Denisenko registered 18 points (10-8-18) over 63 career regular season KHL games with Yaroslavl (2018-19 to 2019-20) and notched 47 points (19-28-47) over 63 career regular season games with Loko Yaroslavl (2016-17 to 2018-19) of Russia's junior league (MHL) where he won two MHL championships (2017-18, 2018-19).
On the international stage, Denisenko has earned a silver medal (2020) and bronze medal (2019) with Russia at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He led the 2019 tournament with nine points (4-5-9) over seven games.
Denisenko was originally selected by Florida in the first round (15th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.”
Checking out some scouting reports and they seem to all agree that he is a skilled skater, puck-handler and play-maker with potential to be a top-line guy. One site referred to him as “hard-nosed” (which is good to hear), but in the same line said, “but some risk as well.” Not sure if that’s referring to injury risk, skill/playing risk...
This clip demonstrates a little “hard-nosed” hockey with working out in front of the net for a nice reward:
Nice vision and passing ability in these:
Great shot...
I was hoping to find some clips of him skating/maneuvering around the ice, but wasn’t really able to.
Either way, I’m excited to see how this guy develops - as with all the prospects.
Missed Opportunity
As quickly as the news about a top KHL defenseman (Mikko Lehtonen) looking for an NHL home came out, is as quickly as he was signed.
Who knows what the Cats plan is when it comes to the blue line. Honestly.
I’m not saying Lehtonen would be a savior back there, but...his 49 points (17G, 32A) in 60 games with the KHL Jokerit, certainly sounds like he’s doing something right.
From The Rat Trick:
“The season was certainly one to remember for Lehtonen himself as he not only took a big, personal leap but he also attracted the attention of many NHL clubs. To put into perspective how fantastic his year was, Lehtonen was awarded KHL Defenseman of the Month three times (November, December & January), KHL Defenseman of the Week two times (Oct. 14 & Dec. 10), led the league in goals (17), assists (32), and points (49) by a defenseman while topping it off with an appearance in the All-Star Game. Quite the feats, if you ask me…”
I don’t know what kind of game Lehtonen brings. Looking at the numbers, I’m thinking it could be offensive-minded? Ill be curious to see him play, but he must be doing something right to have had multiple teams interested in getting his services. Will he have the same kind of success in the NHL? Who knows, we’ll have to wait and see.
What stings is that the Cats can really use help on the backend and this guy looked like a cheap ”show me” option to try out - especially when you see he said Ed a one-year, entry-level deal. It also stings because he went to a divisional rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Again, we have no insight into the front office and if he was even on the radar, but just from a fan perspective, it’s a bummer when you see someone who seems capable of helping in an area where it’s sorely needed, sign with a rival and for what looks like a great deal.
Again...who knows how he’ll do. He can be a bust, end up helping the Leafs tremendously, or just be mediocre. It will be interesting to see how he does.
In the meantime, we’ll continue to wait and see what the future plan might be for defense...
Game Night
Did you guys see this? Not really sure what it’s all about, but would like to tune in. Could be fun.
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