For Jet Greaves, the journey is more important than where it leads.
It just so happens, though, that the path has taken the CBJ goalie to the highest level, and now the world stage.
Greaves entered the season as a promising young netminder, one who took the NHL world by storm at the end of the 2024-25 season but still had to prove he could stand up to the rigors of a season against the best players in the world.
The 25-year-old showed he could do that and then some this year, playing 55 games and starting 53 of them, while being one of the most consistent and effective goaltenders in the NHL. That has paid off on the international stage, as Greaves has been named to Team Canada for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, his first-ever appointment to a Canadian national team.
“It’s been awesome,” Greaves said Tuesday from Switzerland, where the team is preparing to begin tournament play Friday. “I think so many kids in Canada playing hockey growing up have the same two dreams – you want to play in the NHL and you want to play for your country one day. It’s been an amazing experience so far.
“I think that first time you come in for even for practice and you see that Maple Leaf on the jersey, and you come in for the game, you see the red jersey with the Maple Leaf on it, it’s so special. It’s such an experience. I’m so grateful for it and I’ve really been enjoying it.”
It harkens back to Greaves’ roots, when the Cambridge, Ontario, native watched the 2007 World Junior Championship, saw Carey Price in the Team Canada net and decided he wanted to be a goalie. That journey took the long route, as Greaves was unsigned after his OHL career before inking a minor league deal with Cleveland (AHL) that also included a stint in the ECHL with Kalamazoo.
After putting in the work during four seasons with the Monsters, Greaves successfully made the full-time jump from the minors to the NHL this past season. But to him, this year wasn’t about showing the world that he could play consistent minutes against the best; it was simply another chance to grow as a player on a journey that never ends.
“I don’t know if prove is necessarily the word, but it’s definitely a new experience,” Greaves said. “I think for me, any experience, whether it’s a different season or a different game, it’s always a new experience. I just want to be at the highest level I can be, so that was a new challenge, absolutely. A full season here, it was important.
“I think there was so much that I learned throughout the year that helped, and I think there was also a lot of things I learned that, 'OK, next time I can do this better, I can do that better.' I really enjoyed that process. I think it’s such a fun part of this game, is that continuous process of trying to improve and trying to learn new things. So I enjoyed that step.”
If you’ve paid attention to Greaves at any point over the past few years, none of those words would come as a surprise. Putting in the preparation both physically and mentally – and being where his feet are at all times, to use one of Greaves’ favorite sayings – has been one of the reasons he’s risen from an undrafted free agent to one of the league’s top young netminders.
He never gets lost in the big picture, focusing on what he has to do each day to get better. His pregame routine never wavers, his work the same day in and day out. His curiosity is endless, whether it’s how to hone his craft or popping into college classes while visiting his brother, Kai, at Princeton.
That all translates to the ice, where the netminder never seems panicked or chasing the game.
“I love how calm he is in the net,” CBJ head coach Rick Bowness said. “He doesn’t get rattled. When he comes to the bench during those timeouts for water, I’m looking at his eyes, and his eyes are always very calm. So I love that about him.”
After entering the season with just 21 games played over three seasons, Greaves received the majority of the starts this year for the Jackets and finished 26-19-9 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 save percentage as well as two shutouts. His win total placed 10th in team history and his 55 games played tied for 10th, while he just missed the top 10 in goals-against average.
Those numbers are even more impressive considering how goaltending stats have gone down across the league in recent seasons, and his GAA placed 12th and save percentage 11th among NHL goalies who started at least 30 games this season. In addition, per MoneyPuck.com, Greaves’ goals saved above expected per 60 minutes placed 13th among NHL goalies with at least 30 games played. Per Hockey-Reference, his quality start percentage of .660 was 10th among goalies with at least 30 appearances.
Not bad for a first go-round in the league, and Greaves – who topped 40 appearances three straight years in Cleveland before reaching the NHL – said he felt good about how he handled the workload as the year went on.
“I felt comfortable,” he said. “I always like to play as many games as I can. I love to be in the net and I love to play games. The schedule here is a little different with how the games are lined up, so that was a learning experience for me, learning what it takes to manage that every night physically and mentally. But I enjoyed that experience. It’s fun going through that process and learning those new situations, but I enjoyed it. It felt good.”
As the season went on, he clearly earned the trust of Bowness, who turned to the netminder in 11 of the Jackets’ last 13 games as they chased a playoff spot. In those 11 games, Greaves turned in a 2.55 GAA.
“If a guy can’t stop the puck, you’re not gonna win,” Bowness said. “You have to have the goaltending. Jet played outstanding for us. Jet did the job we needed him to do. The goalie’s job is to give you a chance to win every game, and he did his job that way.”
Now, Greaves will take what he learned from the season and try to put it in use at the World Championships. He’s enjoyed the experience so far, as Canada’s pre-tournament camp was in Paris, allowing him to see such attractions as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Roland Garros, home of the upcoming French Open tennis tournament.
His family will join in Switzerland as the two-week tournament goes on, and the adventure should be a memorable one both on and off the ice.
“It’s a new experience, playing in a new place, playing with new teammates, against new players, and I’m super excited about that opportunity,” Greaves said. “It is that balance. I think both are super important – first of all, enjoying it. It’s such a blessing to be able to play this game every day, so just really enjoying every day, every experience that’s part of this. It’s such an amazing opportunity to learn in all these new situations that I’ve never seen before.
“A lot of things are similar as far as the hockey and everything like that, but there’s so many new experiences in there that I think it’s an amazing opportunity.”
