Denis Grebeshkov

The Edmonton Oilers have obtained defenceman Denis Grebeshkov from the New York Islanders in exchange for defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron and a third round choice in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Grebeshkov, a 61", 200 pound native of Yaroslavl, Russia, is currently playing with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian Super League. Signing as a free agent with his hometown team on July 10, 2006, the 23-year-old defenceman has scored six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 39 games and is +3, while registering 65 penalty minutes.

View Grebeshkov's bio and career statistics

The 2006-06 season is his third season in the Russian Super Leauge as he previously played for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in 2001-02 and 2002-03. He has scored 7-16-23 with 101 PIM in 114 games.

Originally Los Angeles first choice, 18th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Grebeshkov made his NHL debut with the Kings in 2003-04. He scored one assist in four games with Los Angeles and averaged 18:29 minutes of ice time.

He began the 2005-06 season with Los Angeles, splitting time between the Kings and the Manchester Monarchs, their American Hockey League affiliate. He scored two assists with 12 PIM in eight games with Los Angeles and had 2-25-27 in 48 AHL games before being traded to the Islanders on March 8, 2006.

Following the trade to New York, that also saw the Islanders obtain Jeff Tambellini in exchange for Mark Parrish and Brent Sopel, Grebeshkov tallied three assists with 8 PIM in 21 games. He averaged 17:11 of ice time with the Islanders. He has scored 0-6-6 with 20 PIM in 33 career NHL games.

Prior to beginning his NHL career, Grebeshkov played four seasons in Russia and made three appearances at the IIHF World Junior Championships. He was a member of the Russian National Junior Team that won gold medals at the 2002 and 2003 tournaments in Pardubice, Czech Republic and Halifax, respectively. In 20 career tournament games, Grebeshkov has scored 3-5-8 with 6 PIM.