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Grigorenko happy with fresh start in Colorado 21 января 2016 года. Vogl, John. Buffalo News DENVER - Mikhail Grigorenko's excitement Wednesday was twofold. He was clearly happy to get the chance to play his old team. First and foremost, he was thrilled just to get another chance. Grigorenko, scratched in Colorado's previous three games, was back in the lineup when the Avalanche hosted Buffalo in the teams' first meeting since June's blockbuster trade. He joined teammate Nikita Zadorov in taking on Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn. "I'm really excited and really happy that coach is putting me in," Grigorenko said in Pepsi Center. "Hopefully, I'll make the most of this opportunity. "You want to show that you can play hockey, especially against Buffalo, the team that drafted me and I started my career with. Now it's a new chapter." On the surface, the new chapter is reading like the previous one for Grigorenko and Zadorov. Grigorenko has struggled to score goals and find consistency. Zadorov, sent to the minors for 28 games, is still growing as a person. "We made that trade for the future," Avs coach Patrick Roy said. "It's not for today. It's for tomorrow." Underneath the benchings and demotions, the players seem happier. Though they had nothing but good things to say about their time in Buffalo, they're excited about their chances with a new organization. "I'm on the same team the whole year, so that helps," said Grigorenko, who bounced from Quebec to Buffalo to Rochester and back again during his three seasons with the Sabres. "If you play or not, if you play big minutes or you play little minutes, it helps being in the same team with the same group of guys the whole year. That's probably the biggest difference." Grigorenko, who centered for future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, entered the night with two goals and 10 assists in 40 games. The 21-year-old was skating 11:14 per game, including 47 seconds on the power play and 43 on the penalty kill. "He has to be consistent," Roy said. "He has to continue to be good in his one-on-one battles. That's the thing we've been watching. He's been up and down in that area." The Avs sent Zadorov to San Antonio after 11 games. The defenseman excelled in the American Hockey League, recording eight goals and 18 points in 28 games, to earn a spot alongside veteran Francois Beauchemin in the four games since being called back up. Immaturity, including failure to show up on time, marked Zadorov's tenure in Buffalo. "You're always growing every day, pretty much learning new stuff every day," said the 20-year-old. "I would say I matured in some things, some not. I'm still working on that. But it was a great experience over there. Now it's a new step in here." Both said they were surprised but happy about the trade. "It was nice to get a new start, especially in Colorado where Patrick knows me, especially being in the trade with Nikita and also O'Reilly coming back," Grigorenko said. "He's such a great player. It's an honor to be involved in that big of a trade. It was exciting." |
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