Grachev makes good first impression
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Russian import Evgeny Grachev checked into the Brampton Battalion’s Ontario Hockey League training camp Friday and renewed acquaintances with former foes Cody Hodgson and Matt Duchene.
Hodgson, who captained the Canadian entry, and Duchene faced Grachev twice at the World Under-18 Championship at Kazan, Russia, in April. Grachev scored the winning goal in a group game before Canada defeated Russia 8-0 in the final.
Grachev, who turned 18 on Feb. 21, arrived from New York, where he trained with the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers for several weeks. A third-round pick of the Rangers in the NHL Entry Draft in June, he was tabbed four days later by the Battalion in the Canadian Hockey League’s Import Draft.
“The guys were good,” said the six-foot-three, 202-pound Grachev, who scored for Team Green in an intrasquad game. “It’s a nice arena. I felt comfortable. I didn’t think I played too badly. I had a lot of shots but only got one goal.”
Head coach Stan Butler was happy to get Grachev into camp, which opened Wednesday.
“We need to get him acclimatized,” said Butler. “He has to get more comfortable with the language, he needs to learn the style of play in our league and he needs to get used to the guys on the team.”
Grachev is to leave Sept. 10 for New York’s prospects camp at Traverse City, Mich.
“All the reports I’d been given by the Rangers said he was a big, strong guy who can really shoot the puck,” noted Butler. “He showed that today.”
Grachev and Duchene played several shifts as linemates.
“He’s unbelievably skilled,” said Duchene. “You could see that the way he played today. When he has the puck he makes things happen.”
Grachev, a left shot who played on the wings Friday, scored two goals and added three assists for five points in six games as a centre in the under-18 tournament, going head-to-head with Duchene on a number of occasions.
“I saw how good he was pretty much every shift when we played Russia,” said Duchene. “It was tough to play against him. It’s better to be with him. He’s really good in his own end, really strong on the puck. I’m really excited at the idea of him being on the team this season and being able to play with him.”
GAME RECAP
LINEUPS
TEAM GREEN
Yannick Guilbeault, Brandon Foote, Justin DaSilva, Ben Alavie, Conor McLoughlin, Brad Albert, Sam Nyberg, Michael Sullivan, Matt Duchene, Ryan Wiley, Scott Tanski, Thomas Stajan, Michael Hasson, Stephon Thorne, Sasha Molotkow, Craig Moore, Alex O’Neil, Daniel Vernace, Evgeny Grachev, Nicholas Halkidis, Chris Beauchamp, Luke VanMoerkerke.
TEAM WHITE
Patrick Killeen, Real Cormier, Ken Peroff, Cameron Bernier, Robert Comeau, Kyle Pereira, Cameron Wind, Josh Shalla, Curtis Watson, Sam Carrick, Branden Eden, Jason Dale, Alex Guptill, Cody Hodgson, Shane Kinsella, Michael Lucifora, John Hughes, Kyle DeCoste, Dillon McGough, Ian Watters, Brayden Abraham.
RECAP
Luke VanMoerkerke scored three goals to pace Green to a 10-7 win. VanMoerkerke had three goals in a 9-7 victory Thursday.
Green goals: VanMoerkerke 3, Halkidis 2, Stajan, Moore, O’Neil, Vernace, Grachev.
White goals: Guptill 2, Hodgson 2, Shalla, Abraham, Pereira.
BATTALION NOTEBOOK: OHL officials Dave Thiffault and Dave Pfohl worked the game, which featured three 25-minute, stop-time periods … Green went 2-for-6 on the power play. White scored on its only man-advantage situation… Thiffault waved off a would-be goal by Nicholas Halkidis at 24:32 of the first period, ruling the puck had been knocked into the net with a high stick … Starting goaltender Yannick Guilbeault of Green allowed five goals in 37:49. Brandon Foote gave up two in 37:11 … White starter Real Cormier surrendered six goals in 37:49, while Patrick Killeen allowed four … Alex O’Neil and Michael Lucifora squared off in a first-period bout, and Stephon Thorne battled Dillon McGough in a third-period fight … Killeen made a sliding left-pad save to deny Thomas Stajan at the lip of the crease in the first minute of the third … Grachev fired a shot off the post in the 14th minute of the second … Robert Comeau, who left the game Thursday after taking a stick in the mouth, returned to action, while fellow White blueliner Chris Raguseo left camp after suffering a groin injury and didn’t play … John Evans, the Battalion’s Ottawa-area scout, coached Green. Jason Day, the club’s southwestern Ontario scout, handled White … Assistant coach Kelly Harper ran both squads through one-hour practices … The final intrasquad game is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, after which cuts are to be made.
