Steve Zipay of Newsday has a quote from top draft prospect Matt Duchene about his Brampton Battalion teamamte and Rangers prospect Evgeny Grachev.

“I lined up against him in Russia it seemed like every shift (in the 2008 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Kazan),” said Duchene, who has since befriended the big forward, and “helped him acclimate to North America and the Canadian lifestyle. I’ve helped him learn more English. We’re friends. My mother had a photo of him and I on the screen of her computer when he was picked by us (Battalion). After the 8-0 game, (when Canada won the gold medal for the Under-18s), I went over to him and said, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’re gonna be a great player,’ and he will be. He’s caught on real fast. He started playing the Russian style, trying to bull everybody over, but he’s learned to use his size and speed and reach and is becoming a star.”

Rotter: I am so intrigued/excited about Grachev. He is a big guy who scored 80 points last year for Brampton, one more then Duchene, and says he wants to be like Evgeni Malkin. The only thing about Grachev is the expectations of him, he is so young and will most likely play next year in Brampton again, unless he can get to Hartford, before he comes to the Rangers. He still needs time to adjust to North America, but when that happens……

Monzo: For a 3rd round pick, the hype surrounding Grachev is crazy.  Considering Artem Anisimov is the Rangers top prospect, people almost forget he is likely to be on the team next year because of Grachev.