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Jordan Greenway has played a top six power forward role with the US National Team Development Program this season. The massive winger had just nine goals during the season, but he did have a respectable 44 points in 53 games on the year. He also added a goal and seven points in seven games, helping the US team to win gold at the IIHF Under 18 World Championships. He was also part of the team that won the January 2014 Under 17 World Hockey Challenge Gold Medal. Greenway is committed to Boston University starting in the 2014-15 season. Should he change his mind in the interim, his OHL rights are owned by the Flint Firebirds (formerly the Plymouth Whalers). Prior to joining the US NTDP he played for the world famous Shattuck St. Mary’s prep school team. His younger brother James played on the US NTDP Under 17 team this year.
Jordan Greenway
Left Wing — shoots Left
Born Feb 16 1997 — Potsdam, NY
Height 6.05 — Weight 222 [196 cm/101 kg]
Jordan Greenway is a decent skater for his size. He is especially strong on his skates and shows excellent balance making him very difficult to knock off of the puck. This gives him the ability to control the puck in the cycle game, creating time and space for his linemates to find open spaces on the ice. He also uses his strength and balance to win board battles and get loose pucks out of the corners. With Greenway’s powerful stride, he can fight through checks and quite literally bowl over defenders on his way to the front of the net. Greenway also has very good speed and acceleration for his size, generated by a fluid stride. His agility and edgework can be improved, however.
Jordan Greenway makes great use of his 6’5″ frame by playing a physical and gritty game in the offensive zone. He creates offence for teammates by winning battles in the corners, forechecking hard, and creating havoc in front of the net. He has a very hard and accurate wrist shot. His release is decent, but needs to really be improved if he wants to score goals with it on pro goals. One advantage is that he does have some soft hands and can make tips in the crease, or good passes to set up teammates. Its a bit concerning that despite the good tools in close he doesn’t seem to finish and score as many goals as he should. A bit of a tendency to over pass could be an issue here.
Greenway plays a defensively responsible game. He doesn’t leave the zone early and maintains his support for the passer on breakout plays. He also gets back quickly to provide back pressure and support for his teammates on the blue line. Greenway uses his size and long stick to cut down on passing lanes, and block shots. He is willing to use his size and physical play in his own end of the rink as well.
Jordan Greenway has the potential to be a second line power winger, and his size makes him an intriguing prospect. Concern about his lack of goal scoring has me ranking him a bit lower than most of the other services, and gives me some question of how likely it will be that he can reach that top six upside. The good news is that even if he doesn’t develop into a top six winger, he has the defensive skills necessary to still have potential as a bottom six forward. In terms of a player comparison, its very hard to find one for Greenway, but the best bet is that his game resembles a mix of an Andrew Ladd and Kyle Okposo, without the excellent wrist shots.
Below are some videos of Jordan Greenway in action.
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Main Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images
