Greenway using prospects tournament to make case with Wild

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. --Jordan Greenway might seem a little out of place at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament after an eventful 2017-18 season when he helped Boston University win the Hockey East championship, represented the United States in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, made his NHL debut with the Minnesota Wild, and played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 21-year-old forward doesn't look at it that way. Regardless of all he did last season, Greenway said he realizes nothing is guaranteed for him, and this tournament is the first step toward earning a spot on the Wild's opening night roster.
"I think it's part of the process," Greenway said. "All if not most of the [NHL] guys have done this, so I think it will be good for me. I came into this tournament with a positive outlook. It will allow me to kind of get some kinks out from summer and really sharpen up my game for main camp."
Greenway's understanding of the importance of the tournament was evident during his standout performance in Minnesota's opening game against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. He had two assists and was a physical force, utilizing his imposing 6-foot-6, 226-pound size and strong skating in a 4-2 victory. On Saturday, he scored in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers.
"I definitely want to have a great showing here and it's very important for me to do well," he said. "But I think if the team is having success, winning games, that will make me look good too. So my focus is just helping the team out and getting some wins here."
Make no mistake: Greenway, Minnesota's second-round pick (No. 50) in the 2015 NHL Draft, plans to begin the season with the Wild. But he knows an NHL job won't be handed to him.

"I expect myself to be there," he said. "I can't settle for anything short of that. I would just be cheating myself. So I'm going into camp doing everything I can to make the team."
Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said Greenway is ahead of some other forwards on the depth chart heading into training camp, which opens Sept. 14, but stopped short of saying he'll be definitely be in the NHL.
"He's in the mix," Boudreau said. "I'm counting on him to be the player he was in the last few games of the playoffs."
Although the Wild lost the Western Conference First Round to the Winnipeg Jets in five games, Greenway distinguished himself with his strong play and had two points (one goal, one assist) in the best-of-7 series. That came after Greenway left Boston University following his junior season, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Wild on March 26, and had one assist in six regular-season games.
Greenway said he learned a lot in those 11 NHL games he believes will help him this season.
"It's a different game than college, obviously," he said. "It's a lot quicker, a lot faster pace. That was probably the biggest adjustment for me. But I think as the games went on, I got a little bit adjusted to it."
There is more for Greenway to learn about being a pro, and Boudreau said he thinks playing in Traverse City will help him with that. While Greenway was in college, he was not eligible to play in prospects tournaments, so this is a new experience for him.
"You have to understand he played 11 games professionally last year, and coming out of college now this is getting him more into the grind of what the pro life is like," Boudreau said. "I think he'll get a lot out of it."
Then, when Greenway is skating with NHL veterans in training camp, he'll learn more.

"Like I told him the other day after the captains' practice, 'You've only played 11 games,'" Boudreau said. "You can't be resting on your laurels. I just watched and some of these veterans are backchecking harder than you. That should never happen at your age. You have to earn your stripes here. And [the next day] he was so much better in practice for it. But there's so many things you have to learn when you're a young guy. Even though he's got the tools to be a good hockey player, to become a good hockey player you have to continue to work on it."
Greenway said he is prepared to do that.
"There's a reason I'm here, there's a reason I played at the end of the year, and I've just got to keep working hard to keep pushing myself to continue to get better," he said. "I was there, I'm here, but I don't want to stay here. The work has just started."