Blackhawks sign prospect Ryan Greene, who's expected to make NHL debut Monday
Blackhawks forward prospect Ryan Greene’s college season ended in heartbreak Saturday, but he’ll have to move on quickly.
Greene signed an entry-level contract with a $950,000 salary-cap hit with the Hawks on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Boston University team he co-captained lost to Western Michigan 6-2 in the NCAA title game.
The 21-year-old Greene, a second-round draft pick in 2022, is expected to play in the Hawks’ last two games: Monday against the Canadiens and Tuesday against the Senators. His contract is technically a three-year deal, but this week will burn the first year of it.
The Hawks tried to sign Greene after his sophomore season ended last spring, but he chose to return to college. He told the Sun-Times this season he was glad he did so.
‘‘It’s been very enjoyable for me to be able to step into a leadership role and have a different perspective throughout the whole year,’’ Greene said in February. ‘‘My game has continued to grow, which is what I wanted to achieve coming back to school here — to mature a little more and continue to round out my game.’’
He finished with 38 points in 40 games, two points more than last season. He projects to be more of a defensive center in the NHL, although Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson has been careful not to put him into too tight a box.
‘‘With players [such as Greene], it’s easy to say [he’ll be a] third-line center, right?’’ Davidson said in February. ‘‘But when you’ve got a player with pace, reliability and hockey sense, who knows if they can play up with skilled wingers and fill a nice role up the lineup? And be that reliable player that can distribute, that can be a safety valve defensively [and] also bring some offensive production.’’
Fellow Hawks center prospect Sacha Boisvert, a first-round pick last year and a freshman standout at North Dakota this season, is in the transfer portal and is expected to transfer to Boston University, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Saturday. Boisvert essentially might replace Greene in the Terriers’ depth chart next season.