The Toronto Maple Leafs made their annual trip to Gravenhurst for a team-bonding trip earlier this week – a good way to get new teammates accustomed to their new team and to strengthen the bond between each other before the grind of an 82-game season plus playoffs begins.

One player who’s been wasting no time getting in the good books of his eventual new teammates and coaches is Nikita Grebenkin, the team’s fifth-round pick from the 2022 NHL Draft. Head coach Craig Berube has had great things to say about him all throughout training camp, beginning with his first impressions of him in practice, and he’s started to win over his colleagues off the ice too.

Grebenkin has soared in the Leafs’ prospect rankings after two strong back-to-back seasons in the KHL following his selection – he took home rookie of the year honours in 2022-23 and improved his totals last year, tallying 19 goals and 41 points in 67 games. As it always is with European prospects, it’s worth noting that Grebenkin had to work for that ice time – European pro teams do not care about developing younger players for the NHL teams that hold their rights, they’re going to ice the best possible roster. So the fact that he was getting top-six minutes with Metallurg Magnitogorsk speaks volumes about how he’s been able to improve his game in the past two years.

Berube also touched on his development following the team’s practice on Wednesday.

“You know, he’s close. He’s impressed me just with his play and he’s a good player obviously and has some ability with his puck skills and strength and skating. But he’s quite a character off the ice, pretty funny guy, really enjoyed being around him.” he told reporters.

Grebenkin won over fans in his first preseason game, when he dropped the gloves with Ottawa Senators forward Adam Gaudette and threw his hands in the air to fire up the home crowd, impressing his teammates as well. While he’s more than likely going to start in the AHL in order to get more ice time as he gets accustomed to North American ice, it’s safe to say that he’s skyrocketed up the team’s call-up list, and it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll see him make his NHL debut at some point this season.