Ryan Greene exceeds all expectations in solid rookie season

When comparing preseason expectations to end-of-the-year results, nobody exceeded those more than Ryan Greene. His rookie season in the NHL may not have had the greatest stat line, but the 22-year-old worked above his pay grade for much of the season. He played very well with Connor Bedard on the top line and proved he belonged in the NHL. It certainly appears that he has a long-term role on the Chicago Blackhawks, but it likely won’t be where we saw him play most of this season.

“This year, for me, the biggest thing was the consistency,” Greene said during his exit interview. “Having to show up and play every second night or back-to-back nights. Obviously, it’s a lot different from a college season.”

Season Review

You could have made a ton of money betting people that Greene would play in 81 of the 82 Blackhawks games this season after the final preseason game. He was slated to start the year in the American Hockey League with the Rockford IceHogs, but an injury to Landon Slaggert changed those plans, as he was in the opening night lineup against the Florida Panthers.

Greene scored his first NHL goal during a nationally broadcast blowout of the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 15.

The offense came in spurts for Greene, but he seemed to consistently produce scoring chances when on the top line. He finished the season with goals in the last three games, but he could easily have had a 20-goal season if it weren’t for a few missed nets and pesky goalposts.

Greene earned a ton of playing time with Bedard and fit in well. The two young stars had instant chemistry together, as Green was on the same wavelength as the Blackhawks’ young star.

“He’s done a good job on Bedsy’s line in terms of he can make a play – he’s smart enough to play with Connor,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “Connor’s a really intelligent player, so you need guys who are smart enough to play with him to maximize Connor. He’s got a pretty good consistency about him defensively. With Greener, you don’t get, now this is a coaching term, ‘bat s&^t crazy.’ You kind of know what he’s going to do.”

The combination of Greene, Bedard, and Andre Burakovsky produced the most scoring chances of any line all season. He scored half of his goals and put up 16 of his 29 points playing with those two. Seven of his 10 assists on that line were primary, showing he has great vision and an understanding of where the puck should go.

“It was awesome,” Greene said of playing with Bedard. “He’s an unbelievable player and such a good teammate in the locker room. Just seeing the way he can drive the play and create plays out of nothing sometimes, it’s special and rare to see.”

Analyses & Final Grade

Season Stats

Games played: 81
Goals: 12
Assists: 17
Power-play points: 4 (1 G, 3 A)
Plus/minus: -14
Shots on goal: 109
Shot attempts: 200
Shooting percentage: 11.0
Average time on ice: 16:45
Penalty minutes: 14
Penalties drawn: 14
Blocked shots: 37
Faceoff percentage: 42.7
Individual scoring chances: 140
Individual high-danger chances: 67
Corsi for percentage (CF%): 43.27
Scoring chance percentage (SCF%): 40.70
High-danger chance percentage (HDCF%): 36.83

Greene showed during his rookie year that he could be effective as a top-line player. While it’s nice to know he has the versatility, I don’t feel that’s his long-term projection. He can play with Bedard, but his scoring finish needs to be better to play on that line when this roster has more top-end talent. I feel that his two-way game will eventually be best used on the third line. When the group that gets this team back into contention is finalized, Greene shouldn’t have to play on Bedard’s wing. He can be used in his more natural role as the center on your defensive shutdown line, while providing some depth scoring. But, ultimately, Green will decide where he fits in on this team. He exceeded all expectations this season, but still has plenty of room for growth. He gets a B+.

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