Flames Send First Round Draft Pick to QMJHL

The Calgary Flames have announced they have assigned two of their top prospects to the juniors, one of them being QMJHL prospect Matvei Gridin. The forward will report to the Shawinigan Cataractes for the 2024-25 season.

The Cataractes already beat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada by the score of 7-3 and followed it up with a 7-2 win against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens last weekend to start the season with two wins. Despite this, they will gladly take another offensively gifted forward on the team.

But in this case, both the player and the team welcome each other with open arms.

Gridin was selected first overall in the 2024 CHL import draft by the Val d'Or Foreurs but forced the team to trade him to Shawinigan. In return, the Foreurs received 17-year-old import defenseman Eduard Bondar as well as a third round pick in 2026.

The right winger was selected 28th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2024 NHL draft, having just come off a 38-goal, 83-point season with the Muskegeon Lumberjacks in the USHL. He is known to be able to create a lot of space on the ice and has impressed with both his goal scoring and playmaking abilities.

Gridin will join a core of solid forwards including Louis-Philippe Fontaine, Felix Lacerte and Vince Elie, who currently leads the team with three goals and four assists. The team will look to remain undefeated as they play the Saguenéens on Friday and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Saturday.

It's likely we'll get a first look at Gridin in a Cataractes uniform in these games.

Related: Flames First Rounder Gridin Traded to Shawinigan

Related: Mercer, Elie Make QMJHL Team of The Week (Week One)