News:Evgeny Grachev was recalled Saturday from AHL Peoria.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev scored 26 points, including 11 goals, 76 games for Peoria this season. He played 26 games with the Blues last season, but this is his first stint in St. Louis this year.
News:Evgeny Grachev was recalled Friday, the Blues' official Twitter page reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev, just 22 years old, played in 26 games for the Blues this season. He posted four points (1G, 3A) in those contests. It's uncertain if he'll dress for Saturday's Game 5 against the Sharks.
News: The Blues have assigned Evgeny Grachev to AHL Peoria, the team's official site reports.
Analysis: In 26 games for the Blues this season, Evgeny Grachev's fantasy impact has been minimal, as he has posted just four points and two PIMs in that span.
News:Evgeny Grachev, who was recalled from AHL Peoria in time for Thursday night's game, played 11:50 in St. Louis' shootout win over New Jersey. He had minimal impact with one shot and one hit in the game.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev opened the game on the second line, essentially taking the role of Matt D'Agostini, who was out with concussion symptoms. "What we wanted [Grachev] to do down in Peoria he did. We wanted him to be more assertive offensively rather than be a guy that deferred to other people. We wanted him to kind of put the puck in his hip pocket and really drive to the net and he did that," Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. We suspect Grachev will stick with the Blues as long as it takes D'Agostini to get himself back into shape.
News: The Blues have recalled Evgeny Grachev from AHL Peoria, the team's official site reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev's fantasy impact has been minimal to date, as the big forward has recorded just four points in 24 games for the Blues this season. For now he's back to giving the Blues some added depth and size up front.
News:Evgeny Grachev has been assigned to AHL Peoria, NHL.com reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev was sent down in order to make room for Cade Fairchild, who was recalled by the Blues.
News:Evgeny Grachev scored a goal and had three shots on net in St. Louis' 5-3 win over Dallas on Monday.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev was moved up to the second line with T.J. Oshie out for two games with a left wrist injury, and made the move pay off with his second point in as many games.
News:Evgeny Grachev will skate on the second line Monday night, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev had himself a pretty good game Friday night before the holiday and gets a promotion due to a wrist injury to T.J. Oshie, who will miss the next two games at least.
News:Evgeny Grachev was activated for Friday night's game against Phoenix, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis: It was just the second time in the last 14 games Evgeny Grachev has been active. He skated on a reconstituted third line with Matt D'Agostini at center and Jamie Langenbrunner at right wing. He showed nice determination in the second period when he assisted on D'Agostini's goal. After losing the puck in the offensive zone, Grachev back-checked and reclaimed the puck, leading to the rush that resulted in the marker.
News: The Blues have recalled Evgeny Grachev from AHL Peoria, the club's official site reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev was merely sent down to get minutes in a back-to-back-to-back stretch for the AHL club. He'll return to his fourth-line, limited-minutes role, in which he's managed just two assists in 17 NHL games.
News: After being activated from injured reserve Tuesday, Evgeny Grachev was assigned to AHL Peoria later that day, St. Louis Post Dispatch reports.
Analysis: With the Blues' roster full at 23, Evgeny Grachev was bumped down to the AHL where the Peoria Rivermen have three games in three days. The coaching staff would rather have Grachev skate than be a healthy scratch. Grachev will be ready for a callup when the Blues need him.
News: The Blues activated Evgeny Grachev (eye) from injured reserve Tuesday, according to the team's official Twitter page.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev has appeared in 17 games with the Blues this season; and though he has recovered from his eye injury, he remains one of the final couple forwards on the roster and will be a healthy scratch Tuesday night.
News:Evgeny Grachev has been placed on injured reserve with an eye injury sustained when a puck him in the face during practice, Jerry McDonald of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev was playing a minimal role for the Blues, averaging fewer than 10 minutes of ice time per game and settling into a healthy-scratch role.
News:Evgeny Grachev (eye) did not dress for Tuesday night's game against Washington.
Analysis: After getting some ice time earlier in the season, Evgeny Grachev has fallen into a healthy-scratch role of late.
News:Evgeny Grachev did not practice Tuesday after being hit by a puck near the eye in Monday's practice, Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev will not be evaluated again until Wednesday, so it appears highly unlikely he will suit up for Tuesday's game against the Capitals.
News:Evgeny Grachev will replace the suspended Chris Stewart (three games) on the second line in Thursday night's game against the Panthers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis: Not that the Blues want to be without Stewart, but his three-game suspension does give head coach Ken Hitchcock an opportunity to evaluate Evgeny Grachev in a top-six atmosphere. The Russian forward, who has impressed coaches while skating mostly on the fourth line, will line up with Matt D'Agostini and Patrik Berglund.
News: Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock has been impressed with Evgeny Grachev on the team's fourth line and plans to give him more minutes on the special teams, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis: "Start him off on PK and get him out there, then we'll see if we can get him on the PP," said Hitchcock, who added that it's obvious Evgeny Grachev has been coached well in his development. Grachev did see some top-six forward minutes in preseason, but Hitchcock doesn't feel he's ready for that kind of action just yet. Not until he proves he can score on a regular basis in practice. "Haven't see that yet. He shoots it hard and fast, but he wears out the crest a little bit," said Hitchcock.
News:Evgeny Grachev skated a season-high 12:43 in Saturday night's 2-1 loss to the Wild.
Analysis: He's still primarily a fourth-liner, but Evgeny Grachev is picking up extra shifts here and there, a sign of confidence from the coaching staff. He's not ready for prime time fantasy work, but if the Blues continue to struggle scoring goals, he may be in line for a promotion.
News:Evgeny Grachev skated 12 shifts for 8:38 of ice time in St. Louis' win over San Jose on Saturday.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev was making his regular-season debut for his new organization, replacing the injured Andy McDonald (head). He didn't step into McDonald's first-line role, however, skating on the Blues' fourth line.
News:Evgeny Grachev will make his debut in a St. Louis uniform Saturday night against the Sharks, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis: Blues head coach Davis Payne is choosing to roll with Evgeny Grachev and Chris Porter against San Jose in place of Andy McDonald (head injury) and Ryan Reaves (healthy scratch). Both Grachev and Porter will skate on the fourth line with center Scott Nichol. "(Grachev) has some offensive ability, he's got some good size, good pace to his game," Payne said. "But like any situation, you've got to work your way in and continue to take every opportunity and make it count."
News:Evgeny Grachev is expected to replace Andy McDonald (possible concussion) on the active roster for Saturday night's game in San Jose, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis: This would be our first regular-season look at Evgeny Grachev, who led the Blues with three preseason goals. Whether Grachev will skate on the Blues' top line, as McDonald does when healthy, has not been determined. He did skate with McDonald's linemates, David Backes and Jamie Langenbrunner, during the preseason, so there's some level of familiarity there.
News:Evgeny Grachev has made the Blues' opening-night roster, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev tied for team-high scoring in the preseason with five points (three goals, two assists) and generally impressed head coach Davis Payne with his energy while playing the full sheet of ice. With the news that B.J. Crombeen suffered a broken left shoulder, Grachev may see regular duty on the fourth line.
News: Blues coach Davis Payne said Evgeny Grachev, who scored his third goal of the preseason Friday night, is "helping himself every time he puts the jersey on," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev has been playing the whole rink and that impresses a coach like nothing else. In addition to his goal Friday, he also had one sequence on the penalty kill where he stole the puck from Colorado's Matt Duchene and set up a scoring chance. "I'm not even thinking, I'm just trying to play the game as it comes," said Grachev, who was acquired from the New York Rangers for a third-round pick this summer. "In this league, you can't just be a scorer, or do one thing. You've got to do everything. It's a two-way game."
News:Evgeny Grachev scored his third goal of the preseason Friday night in St. Louis' 3-2 win over Colorado.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev is playing like someone who's happy to be out of the Rangers' organization. He's making an early push for one of the available forward spots on the Blues' roster and, if this keeps up, he could find himself playing a larger role than anticipated.
News:Evgeny Grachev scored two goals in Tuesday's preseason win over the Lightning.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev is on the fringe of making the Blues' roster out of camp, but got a favorable lineup Tuesday night, skating on a line with David Backes and Jamie Langenbrunner. This was the preseason opener for both teams, so while this was encouraging for Grachev, don't read too much into one game.
News: Blues coach David Payne was pleased with Evgeny Grachev's performance in Tuesday's preseason opener, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Analysis:Evgeny Grachev's two goals are what jump from the box score, but after the game Payne was talking about other aspects of the forward's game. "His fore-checking, feet moving, reach... I thought he created some plays. He pulled us into some offensive-zone play, and that's exactly what he needs to do. He was solid defensively toward the end of the game." There's one or two forward spots up for grabs on the roster, and Grachev put his best skate forward Tuesday.
Blues Acquire Grachev In Deal For Third-Round Pick
News: The Blues acquired Grachev from the Rangers on Saturday in exchange for the 72nd pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, which the Rangers used to select forward Steven Fogarty.
Analysis: Grachev appearently requested a trade, which makes the move a bit more understandable from the Rangers' side of things. He has been pretty awful since he turned pro two years ago, but he's just three years removed from scoring 40 goals and being named the OHL rookie of the year. He isn't the prospect he once was but it's shocking that this is all the Rangers could get for him. It's a great deal for the Blues.
News: Grachev was sent to the AHL on Tuesday, Newsday writer Steve Zipay reports.
Analysis: Grachev had no points and skated to a minus-3 rating in eight appearances for the Rangers.
News: Grachev has been recalled from Connecticut of the AHL, the New York Post reports.
Analysis: Grachev will take the roster spot formerly occupied by Dale Weise. Grachev has failed to record any points or penalty minutes in his six appearances with the Rangers this season, skating to a minus-2 rating.
News: Grachev was sent back to Hartford on Monday, Steve Zipay of Newsday reports.
Analysis: Derek Boogard is nearing a return to action, so Grachev will head back to the minors to collect regular ice time until the Rangers need an extra forward again later on this season.
News: The Rangers recalled Grachev from AHL Hartford on Thursday, the New York Daily News reports.
Analysis: Derek Boogaard has an infection on one of his fingers and will be a game-time decision Friday, so the Rangers recalled Grachev as insurance. As soon as Boogaard is ready to go, Grachev will likely be sent back down.
News: The Rangers have called up C Evgeny Grachev from the AHL.
Analysis: Grachev was the Rangers third-round selection, 75th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Last season, he captured the Emms Family Award as the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Rookie of the Year, while leading all OHL rookies in goals (40) and points (80), and ranking sixth in assists (40). Grachev is a solid prospect, but it's unclear right now just exactly how much ice time he'll get on his first trip to the NHL. Keep an eye on his stats Thursday against the Capitals and then snag him in deeper leagues if he makes enough of an impact. If not, just leave him for keeper leagues.
