'You Know My Benchmark'

Matvei Gridin didn’t feel the need to elaborate when asked about his expectations for the coming season.

“You know my benchmark,” the young Russian told media Saturday, following a brisk 75-minute skate as the Flames opened their 2026 Prospects Training Camp at the Scotiabank Saddledome. 

“I won't say it again, but you guys know what I'm talking about.”

Gridin is referring, though, to his exit meeting with Calgary Head Coach Ryan Huska, who explained following last season that Gridin, 20, told him he aims to lead the Flames in scoring this winter.

And for a guy that has no shortage of swagger, it’s the type of proclamation that is difficult to dismiss. But peering deeper into his progression during the 2025-26 campaign - one that saw him suit up for his first 37 NHL contests - there’s an undeniable trend. 

Gridin put up 14 of his 20 points over Calgary’s final 20 games of the season, a run that included a five-game point streak at the end of March and his second career NHL multi-point game April 4 in Anaheim.

But as he heads into his second pro campaign, Gridin isn’t getting ahead of himself, even though things just feel different this time around.

“Last year, I battled for a spot. This year, like, I would assume I have a spot on the team,” the winger said. “It’s a little different this year, but I’ve still got to prove that I belong here and do my best on the ice every day.”

That’s part of the reason for Gridin’s inclusion in this year’s Prospects Camp. As he goes, so too will go the young Flames, as things ramp up towards a NextGen Showcase Battle of Alberta Monday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. GET TICKETS

In this group, Gridin is being relied upon as a standard-setter, a leader. And according to Calgary Wranglers Head Coach Brett Sutter, who is putting the prospects through the paces, Gridin is buying in.

“Looking around that room, guys are probably looking up to him,” Sutter explained. "A guy that was in this camp last year as a first-year player, had a heck of a camp, had a good start to the season, found his way onto the Flames. So he's going to be a leader here. 

“He's gonna be a guy that look guys look up to, and I thought he did a good job of taking charge today.”

Gridin spent the summer preparing back home, training first with his father before taking part in a Moscow camp with fellow Russian NHLers in late June and early July. It was there that the young Flame rubbed shoulders with seasoned vets, including an encounter with Kings star Artemi Panarin that still resonates more than two months later.

“(Panarin is) one of my favourite players,” Gridin beamed. “He actually said I’ve got a nice sauce pass, and that's nice to hear from him.”

In five days’ time, Gridin will be back on the sheet with Calgary’s NHL squad, preparing for the regular-season opener Oct. 1 at the 'Dome, the first of 84 opportunities for him to fulfill his goal for the 2026-27 campaign.

But in the meantime, he’ll be the centrepiece of this weekend’s camp. The latest step in what’s already been a 2026 full of memories, and hard work.

“I took a couple weeks off, but that's about it,” Gridin smiled. “I trained pretty much the whole summer.

“(It’s a) big, big year for me.”