MONTREAL — In a three-day span, Ryan Greene played in the NCAA championship game, signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, drove four hours from St. Louis to Chicago to catch a flight with the team to Montreal and made his NHL debut Monday night at Bell Centre.
“It happened fast,” the 21-year-old forward said Monday after his first morning skate. “I’m really excited that I’m getting an opportunity to play in the lineup, and (I’m) just going to try to make the best of it.”
Greene found out that things move just as fast once the puck drops.
“Probably just decisions are made quicker,” he said after the Hawks upset the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout clinched by Frank Nazar. “You’ve got to know your next play before you get the puck.
“So it took me a little bit to adjust to that.”
It took a minute for the Hawks, not just Greene, to adjust to the Habs’ first-period ferocity, but everyone survived.
Hawks interim coach Anders Sörensen said, “It’s his first game, tough building to come into. But I thought he handled it real well.
“But his skating is noticeable. Just keep encouraging him here for the last game to hang on to pucks too.”
“You've been dreaming of it your whole life, and the fact that it's here, it's pretty nerve-racking.”—Blackhawks F Ryan Greene on making his NHL debut tonight against the Canadiens
— Phil Thompson (@philthompsontrib.bsky.social) 2025-04-14T17:01:35.531Z
That took nothing away from Greene’s excitement for his first NHL experience.
“It was super cool, especially in this rink,” he said. “It was jumping in there.
“I’m happy that the boys brought me in and welcomed me in. It took a little bit to get settled in, but once I got settled in, I felt really good.”
Greene was on the ice for puck drop, centering a line with Oliver Moore and Nick Foligno.
“First of all, great kid,” Foligno said. “Thrilled that his family got to be here, especially close to home. I didn’t know he was a New Founland boy. But really encouraged to have him here and see what he’s all about.”
The Hawks drafted Greene in the second round (No. 57) in 2022. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound forward signed a three-year, entry-level contract Sunday that carries a $950,000 salary cap hit.
Green admitted before the game, “It’s really nerve-wracking.”
“It’s highly anticipated, you’ve been dreaming of it your whole life,” he said. “But it’s also really exciting. Even just being in the locker room with a lot of these guys is, like, so cool. I’m just honored to be here and to be a part of it.
“I’m just going to try to enjoy it, soak it all in.”
It figured to be a charged atmosphere at Bell Centre — and it was.
Montreal forward Ivan Demidov — the No. 5 pick in last summer’s NHL draft — made his debut, and the Canadiens could’ve clinched a playoff spot with a win.
“They’re right there,” Sörensen said before the game. “They’re going to come out with a lot of urgency in their game. Matching that energy is going to be crucial for us.”
Greene predicted, “It’s definitely going to be loud in here.”
That’s an understatement.
Demidov posted his first assist and first NHL goal in the first period, the decibels threatened to blow the roof off.
But the Hawks settled down in the second and third periods.
“You knew they were going to push. That was exciting for us,” Foligno said. “That’s probably the most momentous game that we’ve had, like a game that mattered. It was nice to be a part of it and not see our guys get overwhelmed by the moment.
“Obviously, they have a push at the beginning, but we just stay with it and we have some big power-play goals (by Tyler Bertuzzi and Nazar) and then get another one (by Lukas Reichel).”
Talk about a high-stakes introduction to the league for Greene, but he just had a similar moment with his final college game.
His Boston University Terriers lost 6-2 to Western Michigan in the Frozen Four final, which he didn’t get a lot of time to process.
“A lot of emotions,” Greene said before the game. “Tough loss there on Saturday, but had to sleep that one off and then get up pretty early on Sunday morning and drive down here.”
His 6 a.m. wakeup came after staying up late with his Terriers teammates.
“Spending the last night with the boys, so, yeah, had to enjoy it a little bit,” Greene said.
In his final 40 games at BU, the team captain posted 13 goals and 25 assists.
“Reliable, good skater,” Sörensen said before the game. “He killed a lot of penalties for BU. A little power play. Really good skater and really reliable defensively; guy that errs on the defensive side more than anything.”
Greene added: “I’ve been able to round out my game the last three years at BU. I see myself as a 200-foot player who is responsible and can be relied on in a lot of situations. So that’s just something I’m trying to bring here.”
