[mile]

https://calgaryherald.com/sports/he-...rious-prospect

“I haven’t seen him live — we’re not going to Russia this year — but I have probably watched him play 10 regular-season games,” said Ray Edwards, the Flames’ director of player development. “The last one, he only had an assist, but I think I counted him for, like, six quality scoring chances.

“So he’s been really good. He’s a big body, a natural centreman. And once he gets stronger, he could be a force.”

Matveiko marked a career milestone toward the end of January, logging his pro debut in the VHL, which is Russia’s equivalent to the AHL. He had an assist in that game, too.

“He’s a seventh-round pick, so you don’t know what you’re getting,” Edwards said. “But today, I’m really excited about this pick. Because he checks a lot of the boxes that we need.”

“You’re kind of excited and nervous at the same time,” said Grebeshkov, reflecting on those draft-day dealings. “There is nothing you can do besides just saying, ‘I want that guy. I want that guy. Just please believe me.’ And thanks to our management that they believe in me and they actually made a trade at the end of the draft to get an extra pick for us and drafted Yan.”

Why was Grebeshkov so keen on Matveiko, who was in his second year of draft eligibility after being overlooked in 2024?

“He’s a good-sized centreman. That’s what we were looking for,” Grebeshkov told Postmedia during the Flames’ mid-season scouting meetings. “He’s a really smart guy, solid, can skate, does have some skills, can make plays.

“In our junior league, he plays in any situation — the penalty-kill, the power-play. Right now, he’s on the top line for his team and he’s doing really well point-wise, too. I guess for him, the biggest thing is just to get heavier, to get stronger. He’s got every tool to be an NHL player one day.”

“I don’t know where they got that from,” Edwards said with a chuckle. “He is definitely not that now. He is probably 6-foot-3, and he’s pushing 195 pounds.”

When Edwards watches video of Matveiko, he is often reminded of Wranglers left-winger Willam Stromgren, saying they are similar in both body type and “in the way they skate.”

That’s an encouraging comparison since Stromgren’s size and mobility helped him to earn his first career call-up earlier this season.

“He is competitive. He’s just light,” Edwards said of Matveiko. “And when I say light, his body has to take another step from a strength standpoint.

“That’s typical for a lot of these young guys but because he has sort of sprouted in the last couple of years, the body has gotta catch up with his height. He’s gotta get the muscle mass to go with it.”

“All he needs to do is get stronger, get bigger,” Grebeshkov agreed. “He’s got everything else to be a pro player.”

The Flames are already working on the necessary paperwork to bring him to development camp this summer, and this 19-year-old pivot prospect is represented by Gold Star, an agency that has several of the Calgary’s current players on its client list.

Asked if Matveiko has NHL aspirations, Grebeshkov replied: “Oh yeah.”

“I texted him right away, right after we picked him, and I think he was asleep,” said Grebeshkov, whose own NHL journey started as a first-round selection in 2002. “He told me as soon as he woke up, he read the message and he started calling his relatives and saying ‘Thank you’ to everyone. He was pretty happy in that moment.”