East Notes: Grebenkin, Norris, Mateychuk

The Philadelphia Flyers have quite a few talented young forwards vying for a limited number of available NHL roster spots this preseason, and one player who has reportedly taken a lead in the race for an NHL job is winger Nikita Grebenkin. The 22-year-old Russian winger is “the clubhouse favorite” to earn an NHL role at this stage of the preseason, according to PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor.

Grebenkin scored in yesterday’s preseason loss to the Boston Bruins, and is reported to have had an impressive camp. Grebenkin arrived in the Flyers organization late last season as part of the team’s trade of Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 6’2, 220-pound winger scored 28 points in 50 AHL games last season and was recently ranked by Elite Prospects as the club’s 11th-best prospect. If he ends up claiming a spot on the team’s NHL roster, it could come at the expense of another young player vying for a role such as Alex Bump or Jett Luchanko.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

• Buffalo Sabres center Josh Norris appears to have a massive opportunity in front of him entering his first full campaign in Western New York, reports Buffalo Hockey Beat’s Bill Hoppe. Norris, who was traded to Buffalo in 2023-24 in a deal that included 2019 seventh-overall pick Dylan Cozens, is currently centering the Sabres’ top line alongside Zach Benson and Tage Thompson, as well as skating with the team’s top power play and penalty-kill units. It appears Norris has the chance to become an all-situations number-one center for the Sabres, something that was not entirely possible with his former team, the Ottawa Senators, due to the presence of star Tim Stutzle. Norris, who has dealt with persistent injuries (namely a shoulder issue) so far in his NHL career, scored 21 goals and 35 points last season and has a career high of 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games from the 2021-22 season.
• Team reporter Jeff Svoboda reports that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk did a full skate with the team this morning, something Svoboda calls a “very good sign” given Mateychuk has been dealing with a groin injury this preseason. Mateychuk, 21, is one of the Blue Jackets’ top young players and is coming off of a season where he was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie team.