Blue Ridge Bolsters Blue Line, Signs Rugged Russian Defenseman Pavel Grishin

by Brett Wiseman

WYTHEVILLE, VA-

The Blue Ridge Bobcats, proud members of the FPHL, are pleased to announce the signing of defenseman Pavel Grishin for the 2026-2027 season.

The 6'4" 220lb blueliner will add a sizeable and imposing physical presence to the Bobcats back end, and comes to Blue Ridge with an impressive playing background.

The Moskva, Russia native represented his home country on the national stage at the amateur level, earning a selection to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) before spending his final two seasons of junior hockey in Russia's premier junior league, the MHL. The 23 year old has spent the past two seasons in Russia's second-tier professional league, the VHL.

“Pavel is a big, powerful defenseman with a very strong hockey background," said Head Coach and General Manager of Hockey Operations, Vojtech Zemlicka. "He was drafted into the QMJHL and has represented Russia at the national-team level, so he has already played in high-level environments. For a player his size, he is an excellent skater, and he has heavy release from the point. What we really like is that he takes a lot of pride in the defensive side of the game. He is strong, physical, closes gaps quickly and plays physical but smart. He gives us another defenseman who can make an impact at both ends of the ice, and we believe his combination of size, mobility, physicality and shot will translate very well to our league.”

Season tickets are still on sale to see Grishin and the rest of the Bobcats when they hit the #HitachiEnergyArena ice in just 39 days at blueridgebobcats.com/26-27-season-tickets