Blackhawks prospect Ryan Greene makes his NHL debut at Montreal
MONTREAL (AP) — After a whirlwind couple of days, Ryan Greene made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.
Greene skated for almost 13 minutes in a 4-3 shootout win at Montreal. Greene, who centered a line between captain Nick Foligno and rookie Oliver Moore, went 3 for 9 in the faceoff circle.
He also is expected to play when the Blackhawks (24-46-11) close out their schedule at Ottawa on Tuesday night.
“You see his skating, right?” interim coach Anders Sorensen said. “It’s first game, tough building to come into, but I thought he handled it really well. But his skating’s noticeable. Just keep encouraging him here for the last game to hang onto pucks, too.”
Greene said he felt really good after he settled into the game.
“Decisions are made quicker,” he said when asked what he learned in his debut. “You got to know your next play before you get the puck, so it took me a little bit to adjust to that.”
Greene had 13 goals and 25 assists in 40 games for Boston University this season. The Terriers lost to Western Michigan in the Frozen Four final in St. Louis on Saturday night.
A day later, the Blackhawks announced they had agreed to a three-year contract with Greene, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft. He skated with the team on Monday ahead of the matchup with the Canadiens.
“Tough loss there on Saturday,” Greene said after the morning skate. “But had to sleep that one off and then get up pretty early on Sunday morning and drive down here. So a lot of emotions, for sure. Happened really quick, but just excited to be here.”
Greene described himself as a responsible player who can be used in a variety of situations.
“I’ve just been able to round out my game the last three years at BU,” he said.
The Blackhawks are closing out another difficult season. They are 4-11-3 in their last 18 games.
Greene is the latest prospect to join the team as it continues to look to the future. Defenseman Artyom Levshunov made his NHL debut on March 10, and Moore and defenseman Sam Rinzel played in their first game with Chicago on March 30.
“It’s cool to see. I mean the vibes are really good in here,” Greene said. “It’s a really young group. … I’ve known some of the guys now from just meeting them and playing with them at development camp. So that made the transition a little bit easier for me.”
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