Ryan Greene poised as early pick in NHL draft

Draft prospect Ryan Greene projects ‘as a top-six forward in an NHL lineup’

Interviewing with 27 teams at the NHL draft combine, Ryan Greene met face to face with a veritable who’s who of NHL scouts and executives.

A few of those hockey personalities stood out most and widened the sharp eyes of Greene, an 18-year-old forward from Paradise who is projected to be chosen in the early rounds of the NHL entry draft July 7 and 8 in Montreal.

“Steve Yzerman was pretty cool to meet, obviously an NHL legend,” Greene said of the former Detroit captain who’s now the Red Wings’ executive vice-president and general manager.

“Danny Briere was in there for the meeting with the (Philadelphia) Flyers.

“It’s really cool meeting some of those guys. Both of those guys had great careers.”

It was a career day of sorts for 85 top prospects who were invited to Buffalo in early June for the combine, a week of interviews and physical testing at the Keybank Center, home of the Sabres.

“It’s been going really well,” Greene said at the time. “Obviously, with the long days, it gets super busy at times. I’m just trying to enjoy it and soak it all in, because it’s only going to happen once.

“I’ve really liked the experience. I’ve gotten to meet with a lot of teams. Every one of them has been full of good guys. I’ve gotten to meet some ex-nhlers, which has been cool as well. They’ve all been great people, very welcoming and professional.”

GREW UP AS FLYERS’ FAN

Greene even got to interview with Philadelphia, “which was pretty cool” because the Flyers have been his favourite NHL team since his childhood.

“I think I got brainwashed as a kid,” he joked. “Some of my family are Flyers’ fans — my uncle and a few of my cousins. At a young age, I saw them cheering for (Philly) and I guess I just hopped on with them and followed along. It’s always been the Flyers for me.”

When he begins his NCAA Division I freshman year at Boston University this fall, Greene enters his fifth straight season of playing in the U.S., including the past two and a half years with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. The six-foot-one, 179pound cerebral centre previously skated at South Kent prep school in Connecticut.

Greene scored 19 goals and 51 points in 59 games this past season as a leader with the Gamblers in Green Bay, WI., but NHL teams who met with him at the combine naturally wanted to learn even more about his game and his personal background.

“I’ve voiced to them the type of player I think I am,” he said. “They ask questions about your personality, too, so I just try to be as honest as I can and be myself and let them get a better feel for who I am as a person and what my character is like.

“I think I’m a 200-foot centreman, someone that likes to be good offensively but also good defensively, and somebody that likes to play fast and use my vision to create a lot of my offence.”

Dressed in business-casual attire for his interviews in the arena suites, Greene was asked multiple times to compare his playing style to current NHL players.

“I’ve just said I really like watching Elias Lindholm on Calgary. He’s a great player and I’ve gotten to watch a lot of video and a lot of Calgary’s games this year.”

Greene has also likened his game to that of Washington Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom.

“Yeah, players that vision usually drives their game are the guys that I like to watch the most,” he said. “I’ve always been a player that likes to play smart and use my head to make plays and make the right plays. My vision is probably my best strength.”

Eyeing a career in pro hockey, Greene was listed 46th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting draft rankings. That would slot him in the middle range of the second round.

‘DECEPTIVE PLAYER’

“Ryan is best described as a complete package with decent size, good smarts and skills, and being a strong skater capable of being a deceptive player,” said Central Scouting director Dan Marr.

“Physical maturity will come and his strength and conditioning levels will improve at the NCAA level. As with most players, it’s the consistency to his play/game that needs to be fine-tuned so that he is consistently generating chances and delivering results.”

In TSN’S final rankings released June 28, draft guru Bob Mckenzie listed Greene at No. 59 overall.

After his Gamblers missed the USHL playoffs this year, Greene had a strong spring in the gym and he showed well in the physical testing at the combine.

Soon after the draft, he plans to report to the Boston University campus this summer to work with the Terriers’ strength and conditioning coach and to begin his college studies.

“The development path chosen by Ryan will be beneficial to his game in that it will allow him to physically mature, gain confidence and develop at a measured pace, versus an accelerated pace,” Marr said.

“Ryan would be projected as an offensive centre who can control the play and generate offence as a top-six forward in an NHL lineup.”

TEAM CANADA CANDIDATE

Greene’s summer schedule became even busier in mid-june when Hockey Canada named him to the 44-man roster for the national junior team evaluation camp from July 23 to 27 in Calgary. Vegas Golden Knights first-round draft choice and Gatineau Olympiques forward Zach Dean of Mount Pearl, N.L., was also invited to Canada’s camp.

Dean and Greene were most recently teammates in 2019 with Newfoundland’s entry in the Canada Games. Otherwise, all of Greene’s hockey since 2018 has been outside of Canada.

“I’m used to it down in America now, for sure, and it’s going to make the transition going into Boston University a little bit easier,” he said. “I know a few guys on the team, so it’s definitely an exciting time.”

Greene is most familiar with two of the Terriers in former Gamblers teammate Nick Zabaneh and Detroit draft pick Ethan Phillips, a Dartmouth, N.S., native.

“Both are great guys,” Greene said. “I’m excited to be teammates with them next year.”

One of his latest Green Bay teammates, Cam Lund, was Greene’s roommate at the combine. Lund, a forward committed to Northeastern University, is ranked 40th among North American skaters on Central Scouting’s prospective draft list.

“Yeah, we both seem to be in the same range,” Greene said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to go through the process with him. I’m really close with him.”

With his traditional No. 27 taken, Greene will wear No. 9 on his jersey next season at Boston University, which overhauled its coaching staff this spring. Stanley Cup champion and former Terriers captain Jay Pandolfo is the new head coach, with Joe Pereira as associate coach and Kim Brandvold as assistant coach.

“I’ve had talks with them and they all seem like great guys who have each player’s best interest in mind,” Greene said. “So, I’m really excited to get in there and play for that coaching staff and a top-notch program.”

Greene chose the NCAA path over the QMJHL route even before the Charlottetown Islanders selected him in the fourth round of the 2019 Q draft. His brother Kyle, a 15-year-old forward on the prep-school track, is a prospect for this year’s QMJHL draft July 4 and 5.

“I do think we play very similar,” Ryan Greene said. “Kyle is a player as well that his vision drives his game. Likes to use his smarts and he has unbelievable hands. Those are probably his best attributes. I think he’s going to be a really good player. I’m excited to see how he develops.”