MUSKEGON – When it came time for the dramatic overtime shootout last Friday, and the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Dubuque Fighting Saints each selected three players to go one-on-one with the opposing goalie, one Muskegon choice was a bit of a surprise.

It was 16-year-old rookie forward Matvei Gridin, who came into the game with only one goal this season.

As it turned out, only one of the six players scored in the shootout, and it was Gridin, whose goal gave Muskegon an exciting 3-2 victory on the road.

“It was a real nice goal,” Lumberjacks coach Mike Hamilton said about Gridin’s game-winner. “He came down the right side and beat the goalie low. We hope it boosts his confidence and gets him going.”

When asked why a rookie with only one goal was chosen for the shootout, Hamilton said there’s more to Gridin’s skill set than his stats suggest – a great deal more, in fact.

He said Gridin is a rare talent, along the lines of gifted Jacks forward Jake Richard, and when he finds his game, everyone will notice.

The comparison to Richard is noteworthy, because early last season Hamilton was telling everyone how good he was going to be, despite the fact that he did not score a single goal in the first two months of the season.

Of course Richard caught fire after scoring his first goal, finished with 18 in his rookie year, was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in last summer’s NHL draft, and currently leads the Lumberjacks with nine goals this season.

“Last year we spoke about Richard, and Gridin is like that,” said Hamilton, whose team will host Madison on Friday and Saturday night this weekend. “We’re going to be reading his name a lot. He’s young for our league, and he’s still learning the North American style, but nobody on our team can shoot and score like he does.

“I would say Richard is the purest scorer, but Gridin shoots the puck better than anyone on our roster, He can really hammer it. Any time we get to a shootout, if he’s dressed that night, he will be on the lineup card.

“He’s going to make a lot of noise in the future for the Lumberjacks. We’re hoping after Christmas he just really takes off.”

Gridin is the latest in a line of talented young Russians who have come to the Lumberjacks to begin their climb toward professional hockey. The most notable of them, Andrei Svechnikov, is now a star with the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League.

Gridin displayed his potential while playing high-level youth hockey in Russia last season, piling up 26 goals and 24 assists in only 34 games.

He came to the attention of Steve Lowe, the Lumberjacks’ president of hockey operations, and the team arranged to bring him here to play this season.

Moving halfway around the world was a pretty big challenge for a 16-year-old, but Gridin seems to be handling it well.

He’s a friendly kid with a quick smile and doesn’t seem to be carried away with the things people are saying about his talent.

That might be because he’s not always sure what people are saying. He has managed to learn just enough English to get by, but Gridin still has a long way to go before he can be considered bilingual.

Despite that, he was happy to sit down for an interview with MuskegonSports.com, with the help of the translator app on his cell phone.

He said it was exciting to get the game-winning goal in Dubuque.

“I can say thanks to my coaches for introducing me to the shootout,” he said, after looking closely at his cell phone.

He said it was fun to get mobbed by his teammates right after the game.

“They were saying, “Matty, yeah!’” Gridin said with a big grin.

Gridin said he’s starting to feel more comfortable playing in the United States Hockey League, where the rinks are much smaller than in Europe, but the game is much faster, and many of the players are between the ages of 18 and 20.

“First five games, I don’t understand what happened on the ice – lot of speed and big guys,” he said. “I want to score more goals, but it’s my first year here, first time in America.”

Gridin mentioned that his big move to America has been easier because his mother, Lena Gridin, came along to live with him for the season. The two of them share a house in Norton Shores, so Gridin gets to enjoy the comforts of a family home while he adjusts to everything new.

“It’s good,” he said about having his mom with him. “It’s easier, just for support, cooking, and I need a driver.”

When it comes to the language barrier, however, Gridin says his mom is not much help.

“She’s worse than me!” he said.

Gridin said his father, Andrei Gridin, is back home in Russia and plans to visit his wife and son when he can obtain a visa.

He said his dad was one of his youth league coaches and taught him a lot about hockey over the years.

“I think February,” Gridin said, when asked when his dad might arrive. “I miss him.”

Gridin says he’s been very impressed with his teammates and is already convinced the Lumberjacks have the talent to win the league championship this season.  

“I think we can win the Clark Cup,” he said. “I think we’re better than all the teams. We need our special teams getting better, and we win.”

Gridin said he expects to play two seasons for the Lumberjacks before moving on. Unlike most USHL players, he has no desire to play college hockey before signing a pro contract.

“I think I play here two years – this year and one more – then in 2024 I’ll try for the NHL draft,” he said.

Coach Hamilton has little doubt that Gridin will achieve his goal of playing big league hockey.

“We were lucky to get him,” Hamilton said. “He’s going to be a high-level NHL player someday.”