Acquired at deadline, defenseman has made most of opportunity

BY ANTHONY RIEBER

When the Islanders made their trade-deadline deals, most people focused on the players who left. Now, with 19 games left, the focus turns to the players who arrived and whether they'll be here when the Islanders get to where they want to be.

One such player is 22-year-old Russian defenseman Denis Grebeshkov, who came over on Thursday from Los Angeles in the Mark Parrish-Brent Sopel deal. A 2002 first-round pick of the Kings (18th overall), Grebeshkov has impressed interim coach Brad Shaw in his first two games as an offensive defenseman who can run the power play.

"I thought he moved the puck with poise and saw the ice very well," Shaw said yesterday at Iceworks in Syosset. "For a young player, he's got his head up as much as any player I've ever seen. To step in and run a power play at this level as well as he's done is not an easy job."

Grebeshkov was plus-two in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Bruins in Boston. His previous NHL experience consisted of eight games with the Kings earlier this season. He was in Manchester, N.H., with the Kings' AHL team when he heard he had been traded.

"I was pretty excited," he said. "Now I get a chance to play in the NHL."

Said Shaw: "He certainly has the skills. He has the vision and the mobility with his feet and the ability with his hands to make plays, so I can't wait to see this guy in two or three years. He should be quite a hockey player."