LEWISTON – Another day, another 20-year-old skater signed by the Lewiston Maineiacs.

One week after trading for enforcer Brett Gallant, the Maineiacs went after some high-end skill Friday, acquiring sniper Maxime Gratchev from the Rimouski Oceanic.

“He was a young man we’d identified and tried to acquire in the past, and things didn’t work out,” Maineiacs’ GM and Head Coach Ed Harding said. “Rimouski knew I might be interested in him. This was something a long time in the works.”

Gratchev was hurt most of last season, putting up just 29 points in 39 games, but in 2006-07, he led Rimouski with 77 points in 70 games played.

“He’s very versatile,” Harding said. “He can play in all situations for you. he’ll go down and block a shot for you, then go out on the power play and score some goals.”

A fourth-round pick by the New York Islanders in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Gratchev is expected to play a full season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season due to his injury last season.

“They’d like him to play in major junior, they’d kind of like him to be the big fish in a small pond, per se, and get a lot of ice time in different situations,” Harding said. “That’s what he’s going to do here.”

In the past, the Maineiacs have been reluctant to trade anything for anyone early in the season, and with the exception of the team’s first season, they have never traded for a 20-year-old player.

This year, with two weeks left before the drop of the puck on season No. 6, Lewiston has already picked up two.

In addition, the deal to acquire Gratchev will make the competition in training camp for the final remaining 20-year-old position much more intense. The Maineiacs began camp with three 1988-born players. With Gallant and Gratchev added to the mix, and both of those players presumably safe, there remains one position for three players.

“We’re trying to do what’s best for our team,” Harding said. “It’s a wake-up call for them. They’re going to have to battle for the next week, week-and-a-half and show us they want to play on this hockey team.”

Forwards Lucas Labelle and Raphael Joly and defenseman Tom Michalik are those three players. With just two weeks before opening night, time is short to prove their worth.