Mikhail Yuryevich Hrabowski (
Belarusian: Міхаіл Юр'евiч Грабоўскі; born 31 January 1984), better known as Mikhail Grabovski (
Russian: Михаил Грабовский), is a German-born
Belarusian professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
coach and former player. Grabovski serves as an assistant coach for
HC Dinamo Minsk in the
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Prior to his coaching career, Grabovski played as a
centre in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) for 10 seasons.
Early life
Grabovski was born in
Potsdam,
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
, where his father, Yury, worked in construction for the Soviet military. The family returned to their native Belarus (then a
Soviet Socialist Republic) when he was three years old.
Playing career
Grabovski was drafted by the
Montreal Canadiens 150th overall in the
2004 NHL entry draft and played his first NHL game with Montreal on 6 January 2007 against the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
. He played three games in the NHL before being sent back down to Montreal's
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
(AHL) affiliate, the
Hamilton Bulldogs. He helped them win the
Calder Cup as AHL champions in the
2006–07 season. Grabovski was called up to play in a few games with the Canadiens during the
2007–08 season but did not see much playing time due to his low position on the team's depth chart. Grabovski recorded his first NHL assist on 20 October 2007, against the
Buffalo Sabres and his first goal two days later against the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
.
On 3 July 2008, Grabovski was traded to the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
in exchange for the draft rights to
Greg Pateryn and a second-round pick in the
2010 NHL entry draft. As a 25-year-old, Grabovski went on to finish his first full season in Toronto with 20 goals and 48 points, leading all
NHL Eastern Conference rookies in scoring. The Maple Leafs rewarded Grabovski for his rookie season performance by re-signing him to a three-year, $8.7 million contract carrying an average annual cap hit of $2.9 million. His 58 points in the
2010–11 season was the highest among Maple Leaf centres since
Mats Sundin's 78 points in the
2007–08 season. On 6 March 2012, Toronto re-signed Grabovski to a five-year, $27.5 million contract carrying an average annual cap hit of $5.5 million.
On 25 September 2012, due to the
2012–13 NHL lockout that cancelled the first three months of the
2012–13 NHL season, Grabovski signed with
CSKA Moscow of the
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). When NHL play returned, following a 2012–13 season in which he recorded only 9 goals and 16 points in 48 games, on 4 July 2013, Grabovski was unexpectedly placed on waivers and listed to be bought-out by the Maple Leafs.
On 23 August 2013, as a free agent following his buy-out, Grabovski signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...
. In his first regular season game with the Capitals on 1 October 2013, Grabovski scored a
hat-trick in a 6–4 loss to the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...
. Grabovski completed the
2013–14 season with a respectable 35 points in 58 games as the Capitals failed to reach the
Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in seven seasons.

On 2 July 2014, as a free agent, Grabovski signed a four-year, $20 million contract with the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
. His tenure with the Islanders was largely affected by injury, with a lingering concussion ruling him out for the entirety of the
2016–17 season. Grabovski joined the Islanders along with his Maple Leafs linemate and friend
Nikolay Kulemin, making it known to teams during free agency that they wanted to sign together.
On 21 June 2017, the
Vegas Golden Knights selected
Jean-François Bérubé from the Islanders in the
2017 NHL expansion draft. Bérubé was selected with the condition that Grabovski's final year of contract be traded to the Golden Knights along with a first-round pick in the
2017 NHL entry draft, a second-round pick in the
2019 NHL entry draft and prospect Jake Bischoff. On 14 September 2017, Grabovski attended his physical for the
Vegas Golden Knights with the desire to play for the team. However, he did not appear in a single game for the Golden Knights.
In June 2019, Grabovski announced his retirement, stating "I decided for myself that staying at home is not the best option. I need to do something. As a player I can no longer participate in games, so I want to try myself as a coach."
Coaching career
On 15 June 2019, Grabovski was announced as an assistant coach with
HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL.
Controversies
In March 2008, after being a healthy scratch for a game against the
Phoenix Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...
, Grabovski left the Montreal Canadiens and flew to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to consult with his agent. The incident prompted his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs that summer.
In January 2009, Grabovski was involved a scuffle with fellow Belarusian
Sergei Kostitsyn during a game between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. The two had been in a feud since Grabovski's days with the Canadiens. Prior to the
2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, the head of the Belarusian national hockey program had to intervene in order for the two players to be able to coexist on the same team.
In 2010 Grabovski was sued for allegedly punching a woman in the face and hospitalizing a man.
Grabovski inadvertently ended
Chris Pronger's career when he accidentally hit him in the side of the eye with his stick.
On 9 February 2013, Grabovski was accused of biting
Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens during a scrum along the boards. The NHL conducted a telephone hearing with the players involved, but could not determine conclusively if Grabovski had indeed bitten Pacioretty. However, on 20 May 2013, more than three months later, Grabovski admitted that he did bite Pacioretty, stating in an interview, "He was choking me and I bit him. Don't stick your hands where you shouldn't."
On 3 July 2013, after learning that his contract was being bought-out by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Grabovski was very critical of Toronto's head coach at the time,
Randy Carlyle, in an expletive-filled interview with
TSN. "I play in the fucking Russian KHL, I make lots of fucking points and what's going to happen? He make me fucking play on the fourth line and he put me in the playoffs on the fourth line and third line again," said Grabovski. "I don't feel any support from this fucking idiot."
International play
Grabovski has represented
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
in international play. He scored four goals and was the first star in one game (against tournament hosts
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
) in the
2005 IIHF World Championship. Grabovski was selected to play for his country at the
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, he did not play due to injury. However, a few months later, he participated in the
2010 IIHF World Championship for Belarus. Grabovski was named captain of Belarus's roster on the eve of
2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. In total, Grabovski has played in seven major international tournaments for Belarus.
Personal life
Grabovski and his wife Kate Van Alstyne had their first child, a daughter, on 30 December 2010.
He missed the Maple Leafs' game against the
Columbus Blue Jackets that night to be present at the birth. They had their second child, a son, on 6 December 2011.
Grabovski and his wife called their son Jaeger after
The Rolling Stones frontman
Mick Jagger.
A third child was born 13 December 2017 named Charlie. A fourth, named James, was born on 16 April 2025.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabovski, Mikhail
1984 births
Living people
Belarusian expatriate ice hockey people
Belarusian expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Belarusian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Belarusian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Belarusian ice hockey centres
Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players
HC Dynamo Moscow players
HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players
Montreal Canadiens draft picks
Montreal Canadiens players
New York Islanders players
Sportspeople from Potsdam
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Washington Capitals players