Flyers winger Nikita Grebenkin won’t be an option for at least the next four games as Philadelphia aims to keep its slim playoff hopes alive. The team announced Thursday that he’ll be out at least seven to 10 days before being reevaluated.
Grebenkin was scratched for the first time in two months when the Flyers suffered a hugely damaging 3-2 regulation loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. It’s still unclear if he was hurt or sustained his upper-body injury separately.
The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Maple Leafs in 2022. He suited up seven times for Toronto last year, making his NHL debut, before being sent to the Flyers in the deadline deal that brought Scott Laughton to Toronto.
After finishing out last season in AHL Lehigh Valley, Grebenkin broke camp with the Flyers last fall and hasn’t looked back. The 6’2″, 210-lb always projected as a depth checking forward with a bit of a scoring touch and has already lived up to his billing less than five years after being a fifth-round pick.
In 55 outings this season, the Russian has a 4-10–14 scoring line with a -7 rating. He’s averaging 11:17 per night and ranks seventh on the club with 86 hits.
Shot generation is something Grebenkin will look to improve; he has only 32 shots on goal for a 0.58 shots-per-game rate, which is nearly the worst figure on the team. Nonetheless, his defensive impacts have been strong – a relative Corsi for percentage of +1.1% at 5-on-5 grades out well.