Wild second-rounder Jordan Greenway knows Minnesota well
Growing up in Canton, N.Y., Jordan Greenway became interested in hockey. Maybe that's not a surprise as the small upstate village wasn't far away from the Canadian border -- to the north was Ottawa, to the northeast was Montreal.
Greenway's future wouldn't take him north of the border. But he did begin to find out just what opportunities he would have in America for a hockey player. He looked around and found Shattuck-St. Mary's, the prep hockey factory in Faribault, Minn.
"I just wanted to go to a prep school," Greenway said. "I wanted to leave home and play at my own age group. I didn't really know a lot being from upstate. I didn't know a lot about the NHL draft. I didn't know a lot about anything. I was just getting out into better competition, things like that.
"I thought it would help my game a lot and it paid off. I went in eighth grade, so I was kind of limited with schools. Shattuck was one of those schools that offered me an eighth-grade education in hockey."
The move paid off, and Greenway might be spending more time in Minnesota.
Greenway was the second-round pick, No. 50 overall, by the Wild on Saturday in the NHL Draft. Greenway, surprisingly, will get another chance to return to the state where his hockey career accelerated.
The 6-foot-5 winger could play games in the same arena he visited as a prep player.
"I was fortunate a lot of the team was able to go there and watch them," he said. "I know the cities pretty well. We went there a lot. I think I'm pretty familiar with Minnesota, so that's good."
Greenway spent three seasons playing at Shattuck-St. Mary's before transferring to the U.S. National Team Development Program. He played on two bantam teams with Shattuck-St. Mary's before playing on the under-16 team in his final year. His brother, James, eventually followed him to Faribault and the U.S. development team.
"Shattuck was great for me just like the NTDP was a stepping stone in my career," Greenway said. "They're pretty much the reason I ended up at the NTDP. I give them a lot of credit and can't give them enough thanks."
Back in Canton, Greenway might not have foreseen where he'd end up. But two years of development in Ann Arbor, Mich., with the U.S. development program led him to being drafted Saturday.
Focusing on forwards early, Minnesota was pleased to add Greenway to its pool of prospects. He's a big, power player but is also considered to be a good skater.
"He's a power forward -- tall, powerful skater, big shot, tough kid, plays a physical game," Wild assistant general manager Brent Flahr said. "He's a little raw, but he's got tremendous upside."
Greenway is committed to Boston University for next season. In two seasons with the national development team, Greenway had 23 goals and 55 assists.
"Just a big power forward, hard to play against, so hard to take the puck from him," said defenseman Nicholas Boka, who played with Greenway in Ann Arbor and was drafted by the Wild in the sixth round. "I think he made me better in practice just in the corners and stuff. He battles hard and he's an unbelievable player. I'm excited to be drafted with him, as well."
Joining Alex Tuch and Louis Belpedio last year, Greenway and Boka make four players drafted from the U.S. National Team Development Program by Minnesota in the past two drafts.
"It was great," Greenway said of his time in the program. "It was just a milestone in my career. It helped me out a ton. We do a lot of NHL video. They kind of help you establish an NHL game. Overall I couldn't have asked for anything more. They did a great job with me, for sure."
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