While there’s been a lot of attention on the hot start Connor Bedard has had to the season and Artyom Levshunov being among the leaders among rookie defensemen this season, they’re far from the only young Blackhawks carving out a role on the roster this season.
Coming home from a six-game, 12-day road trip, the team had a lot of time to bod on the road. Sometimes that can lead to awkward moments when older players want to chill and the young guys want to be… young guys. But the Blackhawks appear to have developed some terrific chemistry on and off the ice early this season.
After the Blackhawks’ first practice in Chicago in almost two full weeks, I spoke with rookie center Ryan Greene about his evolving role with the Blackhawks and the vibes around the team. He confirmed that the kids are having the times of their lives being in the NHL, but the camaraderie on the hockey team is legit.
“There’s a bunch of kids hanging out and then you got your older guys who bond so well with the group, too,” Greene said. “It’s just a perfect mixture. But it’s definitely young energy. It’s really good to be a part of.”
Matt Marton-Imagn ImagesBonding Blackhawks
One of the things I’ve written about frequently here is the success the Blackhawks are starting to see in their plan to take their July development camp off the ice three years ago. College players like Greene, Landon Slaggert, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar and Sam Rinzel didn’t get to be part of NHL training camps, so the development camp was their only time to build relationships with the other prospects in the pipeline.
Greene echoed what I’ve heard consistently from other young players joining the Blackhawks in the NHL room. The bonds they have spent time building in the summers transcended the different leagues they played in during their respective seasons. And they’re all legitimately friends who are rooting for each other to succeed.
“You have a lot of guys that you came up through development camps with,” he said. “We’ve become really good friends throughout the last three, four years and the fact that we’re here now and we’re actually doing this together and playing well as a team is awesome. And that we have each other to kind of lean on and days off, hang out together, shoot the shit, is special”
Cheering for each other has built an excitement in the room for whenever a young guy succeeds. It’s especially noticeable whenever a young player is recalled from Rockford to join the Blackhawks, either for a brief taste in the league or for good.
It looks and feels like Greene is in the NHL to stay. And other young players are being developed through the Rockford IceHogs well. When new guys get called back up, there welcoming committee is hyped.
“The boys were fired up when [Oliver Moore] Morsey came back,” Greene said. “We went down to Rockford together and then obviously he played unbelievable in Rockford and got the call up. So me and Rinz [Sam Rinzel], we’ve been hanging out with him for the last two months. To see him come back up, we were fired up. We got dinner right away and spent the night together and he got back. So it’s been great having him back.”
That doesn’t mean there isn’t friendly competition in the room. A couple years ago, when the young guys in the room were Bedard, Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro, there was some friendly chirping between OHL and WHL players in the room. As more college players come up, that back-and-forth has continued between colleges and conference rivalries.
“We [Boston University] beat Rinz and Morsey [Minnesota] in regional finals my sophomore year [2024], so I give them shit about that all the time,” Greene pointed out with a smile. “A lot of [the chirping] is the Big Ten better than Hockey East debate. We’ve had a couple heated ones for sure.”
Greene was happy to share that Hockey east is the better NCAA conference.
Jeff Curry-Imagn ImagesComfortable Greene
I also spoke with veteran forward André Burakovsky on Tuesday about how young guys are moving up and down the lineup seemingly without missing much of a beat this season. He was impressed with how the Blackhawks have been able to bring players up and slide them into a number of roles while looking like they’re ready for professional hockey.
Greene has seen his own role evolve frequently this season. He’s gone from a fourth line center to skating on the wing with Bedard. With Jason Dickinson injured, he’s been relied on more in the faceoff circle. And, with Nazar out of the lineup for a couple games, he’ll see more time at his natural center position.
Head coach Jeff Blashill has talked about Greene being a reliable player in different situations, whether it’s on the bumper on the power play, killing penalties or skating with different forwards.
That might look and feel easy for a young player through a television screen or from the seats at the United Center, but it isn’t. Greene said the more games he plays, the more comfortable he’s getting in the NHL. And he’s in a really good place right now.
“I feel like I’m the most comfortable I’ve been since I’ve played in the league for sure. … I’m comfortable in all situations. It’s kind of the type of player I try to be — someone that can be reliable in all situations all over the ice. All the opportunities I’ve gotten, I’ve just tried to make the best of it.”
Greene is establishing himself as an every-night NHL player. And he’s doing it surrounded by young Blackhawks who are loving their role in turning the franchise around.
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