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Vlad The Impaler
Registered User
denphis said:
Plain and simple (and for years) Matt Greene has been a ****ing beast. This guy hits really hard and often. He's got good size and he's one of those guys who almost takes it as an insult when you enter his zone. That's what I love about him.
I actually think he shines when paired with skilled guys and plays inside a team concept but by himself I don't think he can do all that much.
I have been a fan for many years. This year, I didn't feel he improved like I hoped he would. I have read that he takes many penalties because his rugged style is too much for college but I disagree. He is captain of his team, which is good, but many of the penalties I saw him take this year were just dumb penalties, unfortunately.
As far as I'm concerned, he is one of the prospects least talked about who I am pretty excited about. I don't know how much his play can translate to the NHL. If it does, this guy will be talked about as a solid stay-at-home. He's not going to develop in a two-way player in the NHL but could be a fan favorite because he's so tough.
While there's still a chance he will not become a NHLer, I think he is a fairly safe bet to develop into a 3rd pairing guy. And with some work, could be a hated NHLer who can play on a second pairing and do a good job. I hope he doesn't lose his edge at this level if he makes it. Some players just can't translate the roughness to the NHL but I think he has it in him. If he can control his emotions a little more, he could be splendid but I think his mean game really comes from emotion. So I don't think he'll ever be as great as I think he could be. Still a good prospect, though.
Blue Bullet
Registered User
Took this from Guy Flaming's Top 20 Prospect List. It gives you most of the info you need.
6. (7) Matt Greene (D) – 21 – North Dakota Fighting Sioux (NCAA)
Draft: 2nd Round, 44th 2002 Grade: 7B Projection: Top 4 Defensive Defenseman Similar to: Jason Smith/Adam Foote
No one is saying that Matt Greene made a mistake by opting to return to college rather than turn pro this past fall, at least not directly. However, hearing about the trials and tribulations the powerful defenseman is going through in North Dakota this year, a person couldn’t blame Greene if he was having second thoughts.
“I think the minute Dean Blais left the school he probably was second guessing himself, but that was the commitment he made to the players on that team, to go back there and he’s now the captain,†Prendergast suggested. “Matt’s an honorable kid and he’s going to stand behind the decision he made and we’re going to stand behind him too, but, he’s in a tough situation. The rules are different in college hockey and when you play the way that he plays, he’s going to spend a lot of time in the box.â€
“Unfortunately the college rules are just killing him, the NCAA has gone to zero tolerance for any obstruction and college is full of 5’8, 5’9 and 5’10 guys buzzing around and he’s so big that when he goes to hit somebody he gets called for contact to the head and roughing and stuff and he ends up in the penalty box,†sighed one college scout. “I saw him against Boston College and he was just wrecking guys, running over everybody and moving the puck well.â€
The fact that Greene is the captain of the Fighting Sioux this year should not be discounted though. The leadership experience that the Michigan native is gaining will undoubtedly help him at the next level, which everyone expects will come next year as a pro. Greene is one of those players that the Oilers really expect to be a better pro than collegiate player simply due to the fact that as a pro, the kid gloves can come off. Many feel that when it comes to toughness, Greene will come out ahead of better-known NHL prospects like Calgary’s Dion Phaneuf.
“I think Phaneuf’s offensive ability makes him a better player, but I know if I were playing, I’d rather battle Phaneuf in front of the net than Matt Greene,†declared one scout. “I think I could handle Phaneuf but Greene would end up crosschecking the back of my head off!â€
Expect Greene to sign an Amateur Tryout Contract and join the Road Runners the first day after North Dakota’s season officially comes to an end.
Another article:
Matt Greene
Age: 21 Draft: 2nd Round 2002 College Year: Junior Outlook: Excellent
Matt Greene’s six points further emphasize the level of disappointment for players like Brenk and Murphy in regards to their stats. They are forwards while Greene is the stereotypical, and perhaps prototypical, defensive defenseman.
To say that the Oilers are high on Greene would be a major understatement. This is a player they are seeing as one of the future cornerstones on their NHL blueline, perhaps even the anchor of the cornerstones. Along with Jeff Woywitka, Doug Lynch, Eric Brewer, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Alexei Semenov and Roman Tesliuk, Greene figures to be the most defensively reliable of them all.
As the captain of the Fighting Sioux, Greene has lead North Dakota to the second best record in the conference at the holiday break. With a team consisting of Travis Zajac (NJ), Drew Stafford (BUF) and Brady Murray (LA), North Dakota is a team packed with big time players. It’s not unlike the situation would have been with the Road Runners had Greene decided to turn pro.
“If he was playing in the AHL right now he’d be in that top 4 mix going up against Woywitka and Lynch and those guys,†said one scout.
Quotes:
“I think part of the problem for him is that he’s so strong and a lot of the kids in college are 5’8 or 5’9 and when he hits them they fall down.â€
- Kevin Prendergast about Matt Greene’s physical dominance in college.
“Three of the four penalties he took in the first half of the game I thought were unwarranted, but it’s something that he’s going to have to live with for the year. They sort of have his number; they know the way he plays. He’s frustrated by the way it’s going, but he’s committd to the school for this year so he’s got to make the best of it.â€
- Prendergast again describing the lockdown the refs have on physical players like Greene.
6. (7) Matt Greene (D) – 21 – North Dakota Fighting Sioux (NCAA)
Draft: 2nd Round, 44th 2002 Grade: 7B Projection: Top 4 Defensive Defenseman Similar to: Jason Smith/Adam Foote
No one is saying that Matt Greene made a mistake by opting to return to college rather than turn pro this past fall, at least not directly. However, hearing about the trials and tribulations the powerful defenseman is going through in North Dakota this year, a person couldn’t blame Greene if he was having second thoughts.
“I think the minute Dean Blais left the school he probably was second guessing himself, but that was the commitment he made to the players on that team, to go back there and he’s now the captain,†Prendergast suggested. “Matt’s an honorable kid and he’s going to stand behind the decision he made and we’re going to stand behind him too, but, he’s in a tough situation. The rules are different in college hockey and when you play the way that he plays, he’s going to spend a lot of time in the box.â€
“Unfortunately the college rules are just killing him, the NCAA has gone to zero tolerance for any obstruction and college is full of 5’8, 5’9 and 5’10 guys buzzing around and he’s so big that when he goes to hit somebody he gets called for contact to the head and roughing and stuff and he ends up in the penalty box,†sighed one college scout. “I saw him against Boston College and he was just wrecking guys, running over everybody and moving the puck well.â€
The fact that Greene is the captain of the Fighting Sioux this year should not be discounted though. The leadership experience that the Michigan native is gaining will undoubtedly help him at the next level, which everyone expects will come next year as a pro. Greene is one of those players that the Oilers really expect to be a better pro than collegiate player simply due to the fact that as a pro, the kid gloves can come off. Many feel that when it comes to toughness, Greene will come out ahead of better-known NHL prospects like Calgary’s Dion Phaneuf.
“I think Phaneuf’s offensive ability makes him a better player, but I know if I were playing, I’d rather battle Phaneuf in front of the net than Matt Greene,†declared one scout. “I think I could handle Phaneuf but Greene would end up crosschecking the back of my head off!â€
Expect Greene to sign an Amateur Tryout Contract and join the Road Runners the first day after North Dakota’s season officially comes to an end.
Another article:
Matt Greene
Age: 21 Draft: 2nd Round 2002 College Year: Junior Outlook: Excellent
Matt Greene’s six points further emphasize the level of disappointment for players like Brenk and Murphy in regards to their stats. They are forwards while Greene is the stereotypical, and perhaps prototypical, defensive defenseman.
To say that the Oilers are high on Greene would be a major understatement. This is a player they are seeing as one of the future cornerstones on their NHL blueline, perhaps even the anchor of the cornerstones. Along with Jeff Woywitka, Doug Lynch, Eric Brewer, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Alexei Semenov and Roman Tesliuk, Greene figures to be the most defensively reliable of them all.
As the captain of the Fighting Sioux, Greene has lead North Dakota to the second best record in the conference at the holiday break. With a team consisting of Travis Zajac (NJ), Drew Stafford (BUF) and Brady Murray (LA), North Dakota is a team packed with big time players. It’s not unlike the situation would have been with the Road Runners had Greene decided to turn pro.
“If he was playing in the AHL right now he’d be in that top 4 mix going up against Woywitka and Lynch and those guys,†said one scout.
Quotes:
“I think part of the problem for him is that he’s so strong and a lot of the kids in college are 5’8 or 5’9 and when he hits them they fall down.â€
- Kevin Prendergast about Matt Greene’s physical dominance in college.
“Three of the four penalties he took in the first half of the game I thought were unwarranted, but it’s something that he’s going to have to live with for the year. They sort of have his number; they know the way he plays. He’s frustrated by the way it’s going, but he’s committd to the school for this year so he’s got to make the best of it.â€
- Prendergast again describing the lockdown the refs have on physical players like Greene.
Last edited:
vlad
who would be a solid comparison, not so much how he'll end up but who does he play like. i'm visioning a marchment or maybe stevens are these close or is it more jason smith-ish?
who would be a solid comparison, not so much how he'll end up but who does he play like. i'm visioning a marchment or maybe stevens are these close or is it more jason smith-ish?
Vlad The Impaler
Registered User
denphis said:
He's more of a battler than sneaky-smooth open ice hitter. Don't get me wrong, he can hit you any way, but his skill level is not high enough to do it consistently and "elegantly".
The guy is just big, thick with one nasty mean streak. He's pretty scary. He gets to you once you close in and just begins pounding at you any way he can. Sometimes clean, sometimes not. A good balance will be needed to see what he can get away with. Remove Derian Hatcher's skills and the way he battles defensively sometimes look like that. He's less skilled (especially offensively), a bit less hockey sense too. But if he makes it he will be a fan favorite in Edmonton and a most hated everywhere else. Purely stay-at-home IMO, so not a Hatcher clone.
The articles above describe him well, except I don't agree that his penalties are simply due to him being too strong for college. He really takes dumb penalties at times, no way around it. And I like him regardless.
dafranchz
Registered User
Now, let's hope God gets tired of Richard burning him in scrimmages in heaven and sends him down to give Greene his hands and offensive prowess. Phaneuf will look like Soules in comparison!
Greene is quite a lot bigger and more fearsome than Hale, but he doesn't have Hale's smooth skating stride. Neither are fabulous with the puck. I think Greene will be a better pro than college player.
Double O Soul
Registered User
Oilers Chick
Registered User
Vlad The Impaler said:
Excellent description, Vlad. I agree with pretty much everything you said. While the Oilers staff may be raving about him, many people (particularly those who don't follow UND hockey) rarely talk about him. Pity too because I think he's an outstanding defenseman with some real NHL potential.
Vyse64
N64
Most of us Oilers fans liken him to Jason Smith. Super solid defensively, mean as hell, not too useful in the offensive zone. Should be a solid stay at home D-man.
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