Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Update re: Grigorenko
By Luke Lapinski/Victoria Matiash
UPDATE: According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres has made a decision regarding the fate of his 2012 first-round draft selection.
"Darcy Regier announces Mikhail Grigorenko will stay with the Sabres."
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According to the Buffalo News, Mikhail Grigorenko could be a healthy scratch when the Buffalo Sabres hit the ice in Washington today. And, if that's the case, it could buy the 18-year old a little more time at the NHL level.
Grigorenko was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2012 draft, and many scouts had him projected to go much higher than that before the names started coming off the board. In other words, the Sabres may have gotten a steal when they landed him -- especially considering the fact that he fills a major need on their roster as a big center (6-foot-3, 200 pounds already) with skill. It's tough to tell just how quickly he'll be able to make an impact at the NHL level though, and Lindy Ruff only gets one more game to find out. At that point, Buffalo either needs to send him down or keep him up with the big club.
With that in mind, they may opt to sit him today, get him a little more practice time, then re-evaluate before Tuesday's tilt with Toronto. The Sabres have dropped two straight and Grigorenko only saw 6:48 of ice time in their last outing, so it makes sense that they may want to leave him out of the lineup for a day or two, rather than burning through his last game.
