Mikhail Grabovski
Mikhail Grabovski was playing hockey in Russia when he was drafted 150th overall in the fifth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He was born in Potsdam, Germany and moved to Belarus when he was three years old. He played with numerous Russian hockey teams, including Minsk, Nizhnekamsk and Dynamo Moscow until the end of the 2005-06 season. He represented Belarus at the 2005 Men’s World Ice Hockey Championships, where he scored four goals in a game against Austria. He signed a two-year contract with Montreal in July 2006, playing in three games with the Canadiens and spent the rest of the 2006-07 season with their AHL team, the Hamilton Bulldogs. He created controversy in Montreal when he flew to Los Angeles before the rest of his team in order to speak to his agent after being a healthy scratch in the previous game. He was then traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in July 2008 for Greg Pateryn and a 2010 second round draft pick. He spent the 2008-09 season solely with the Maple Leafs, where he finished with 48 points in 78 games, leading all Eastern Conference rookies in points. He was suspended for three games in January for shoving an official during a confrontation with fellow Belarusian Sergei Kostitsyn of the Montreal Canadiens. The feud has been ongoing since Grabovski played with Montreal. He also played for Belarus at the 2009 World Championships, contributing 3 goals and 6 assists in 7 games. Toronto re-signed him in the off-season to a three-year contract. He is an excellent playmaker and offensive forward, along with demonstrating great speed and agility. But at 5’11, he lacks in size and needs to adapt more to the physical aspect of the game.
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