The Vegas Golden Knights traded prospect forward Grigori Denisenko to the Nashville Predators for future considerations, the Predators announced Tuesday.
Denisenko, 24, is a highly skilled Russian forward who was drafted 15th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2018 NHL Draft. Spending two years in the KHL after being drafted, Denisenko made the leap to North America in the 2020-21 season but has yet to stick at the NHL level.
In the last five seasons, the newest Predators forward has managed to play in just 33 NHL games, recording zero goals and seven assists.
Denisenko has, however, proven to be a prolific player at the AHL level, recording 56 goals, 87 assists, and 143 points in 208 games. The former Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ace struggles with discipline, too, as he’s piled up 135 penalty minutes and a minus-61 rating in his AHL career thus far.
It is unclear if or when Denisenko will see NHL minutes with the Predators; he played one game with Vegas this season back on Nov. 13, taking one penalty in 8:27 of ice time.
With Gustav Nyquist injured and Jeremy Lauzon done for the year, Barry Trotz and the Predators could do worse than to take a flier on a 24-year-old former top draft pick for free.
Some of Nashville’s lone bright spots this season have been their young forwards. Youngsters like Fedor Svechkov, Zach L’Heureux, and Luke Evangelista have nailed down NHL roster spots, while prospects like Ozzy Wiesblatt and Joakim Kemell have factored in as well.
As it stands, Denisenko, Vitali Kravstov, and Ty Dellandrea are the only players chosen in the top 15 of the 2018 draft to have played fewer than 200 NHL regular season games. With Kravtsov (64) nearly doubling Denisenko’s career NHL appearances, the Predators’ latest trade acquisition is comfortably at the bottom of that list.
Now, it’s up to the Predators and the Milwaukee Admirals’ coaching staff to see if they can coax out some of the talent that made Denisenko a top draft pick seven years ago.
If not, Denisenko, a Group 6 unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season, could instead opt to return home to the KHL.
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