In the market for a big, scoring winger? Matvei Gridin might be your guy.

The Russian forward has picked up where he left off in the second half last year when he scored 16 points in 22 games after the holiday break. 

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Gridin made a significant statement at the 2023 USHL Fall Classic, where he opened the season with a remarkable four-point effort, including a hat trick in the Muskegon Lumberjacks’ dominant 6-2 victory.

The 17-year-old has been a force to be reckoned with, scoring points in nine of his first 10 games this year and closing the first half with an impressive 14 goals and 30 points, making him the second-highest point-producer in the league.

Gridin’s meteoric rise from the end of last season, and carrying over to this season, caught the attention of several renowned college hockey programs. 

After doing his due diligence comparing a number of schools, he finalized his commitment to the University of Michigan in November, a program with a rich history of producing NHL-ready talent.

Congratulations to Matvei Gridin on his commitment to play NCAA DI Hockey at @umichhockey!#GetJackd #ChopChop pic.twitter.com/zhcnzYeENW

— Muskegon Lumberjacks (@MuskegonJacks) November 6, 2023

The young forward is an undeniable talent, and his ability to generate a lot of points in his NHL Draft-eligible season has impressed many scouts. As a result, he has been projected as a second-round pick, with the arrow trending upward.

However, his full potential was almost never realized.

A native of Kurgan, Russia, Gridin set his sights on playing in the NHL and knew that coming to the United States would help him achieve his goal. He quickly realized the USHL was the best path to get there, given the league's solid track record of producing picks for the NHL Draft every year.

In the 2022 USHL Phase II Draft, the Lumberjacks boldly chose Gridin in the 15th round, 223rd overall. This was the first step toward reaching his ultimate goal of playing in the NHL.

“I was so glad to accept (the draft selection),” Gridin told FloHockey. “The USHL is one of the best junior hockey leagues.”

Like any European player coming over to North America, Gridin faced the nuisances of playing against bigger competition, skating on a smaller ice surface and learning the English language.

During his rookie season, he played sparingly in the first half, and his mistakes on the ice kept him buried on the line chart or as a healthy scratch all together.

Amid Muskegon’s change in ownership in early December, Parker Burgess stepped in as the team’s new head coach. Burgess, who had been hired as an associate head coach less than four months prior, found a way to get Gridin on the ice. 

He did it by making sure the young forward played more and had more opportunities to learn from his mistakes in live-game scenarios.

“I think it was pretty evident, right off the bat, that Matvei was tremendously talented and skilled and could make plays,” Burgess said. “He was offensively driven.

“When I did take over, I felt in order to get the most out of him, and the most out of his development, we had to play him and allow him to kind of work through those mistakes on the ice and show him in film, instead of just being in the stands because of (the mistakes).”

Gridin took on a more prominent role with the Jacks after collecting just two goals and five points in 18 games. The team began to sell off its assets to playoff contenders, and Gridin's expanded ice time saw his production explode, while playing in a first- and second-line role.

19:18-1st | Matvei Gridin converts on a 2-on-1 chance after taking a feed from Sacha Boisvert. 12th ? of the year for Gridin makes it 3-0 @MuskegonJacks at the end of the first. pic.twitter.com/MgTU30suID

— USHL (@USHL) December 1, 2023

After the holiday break, Gridin came out with a bang, scoring three points in his first four games. 

He continued to dominate in the second half of the season, finding the scoresheet in 13-of-22 games, including two three-game point streaks and three multi-point efforts. He never went more than two games without recording a point and emerged from the 2022-2023 season with a new confidence.

Gridin used the offseason to get bigger and stronger. 

He spent a lot of time in the weight room and working on his shot with his dad, who is an Olympic cross-country skier, a hockey coach and his personal trainer. The dedication to fine-tuning his shot came from being utilized in a relatively new role on the power play at the end of last year.

“Coach (Burgess) told me, ‘I want to try you in this spot on the downhill,’” Gridin said. “During the summer, I worked a lot on shots from that spot.”

 “And, thanks to my teammates on the power play, who pass me the puck,” he said with a big smile.

The winger's explosive first half of the 2023-2024 season owes itself to the hard work put in over the summer. He already has seven multi-point games, and carried an impressive six-game point streak into the holiday break. His six power-play goals ranks second in the USHL.

During the break, Gridin will have the opportunity to reflect on his performance in the first half and identify areas where he can improve. However, his main focus in the second half of the season will be consistency, as he continues to climb draft boards.

The Muskegon Lumberjacks recognize his potential and will continue to give him every opportunity to achieve his goals.

“You want the puck in the hands of the guys who can make plays and score goals,” Burgess said. “That's why he’s having this success.”