We knew before the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2025-26 season started that numerous young prospects would be given opportunities to prove their worth, and get a taste of the NHL. General manager Kyle Davidson made it abundantly clear during development camp that “there’s going to be a much larger contingent of young players that could be here for a very long time breaking camp with us this year.” At the time, we didn’t really know what that would look like.
But as we head into the final stretch of the season after the Olympic break, 13 of the Blackhawks’ 23-man roster are 24 years old or younger. That’s even before a few veterans might be lost at the trade deadline on Mar. 6, and before other Blackhawks’ prospects get their “cup of coffee” in the NHL at the end of their respective college or junior seasons.
One rookie that has certainly had an impressive campaign so far is 22-year-old center Ryan Greene. This young man went from being on the bubble at the beginning of the season to playing in 58 of the Blackhawks’ 59 games to date. Not only that, but he’s often-times been deployed alongside Connor Bedard on the top line. Today we’ll look at Greene’s trajectory, and what he brings to the team both now and in the future.
Greene Makes the Team Out of Training Camp
I remember standing at the United Center outside of the Blackhawks’ locker room back on Oct. 4. ahead of the last preseason game on Oct. 4. For a handful of bubble players (Greene included), that night would be one last chance to show the coaching staff what they could bring to the table. The rest of the lineup would be comprised of players from the Rockford IceHogs, who hadn’t arrived. The Blackhawks who had made the team were practicing later that morning, so most of the media wasn’t there yet.
Greene was one of about six players who had just finished a mini-practice session, and I had a chance to speak with him one-on-one. I asked about things we’d learned about him from training camp, and his previous stops with Boston University and The USHL Green Bay Gamblers. We discussed his pride in being a two-way player, and his affinity for winning faceoffs. But we both knew he would likely be sent down to Rockford after the game. After all, that’s usually the natural trajectory of a late second round pick (57th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft). There was no dishonor in it whatsoever.
Alas, Greene was originally cut and assigned to the IceHogs. But that very same day he was recalled to the Blackhawks due to injuries to both Landon Slaggert and Joey Anderson. No matter the circumstances, Greene had made the team! He proceeded to take his opportunity and run with it.
Greene’s Evolution With the Blackhawks
The Newfoundland native started the season on the fourth line, but his two-way play and affinity for winning faceoffs impressed head coach Jeff Blashill. Not only that; he built some chemistry with Bedard, who was often double shifting on Greene’s line.
By the end of October, Greene was playing wing on the top line alongside Bedard and Andre Burakovsky. When Bedard went out with his shoulder injury and the Blackhawks lost Frank Nazar just four games later, Blashill was forced to experiment with what could be optimal lines without his two star players.
Related – Ryan Greene Making Most of Opportunity With Blackhawks
After a few games of shuffling, Greene found himself playing top line center. Yep, bubble player to No. 1 center within the span of a few months. It sure is funny how these things work! In six games with this deployment, the 6-foot-1, 195 pound forward averaged a healthy 18 minutes of ice time and contributed 15 shots on goal, 27 shot attempts and three assists, two of them being primary. He also won 52-of-96 faceoffs, for a 54% success rate.
Even after Bedard returned, Greene took all the faceoffs while Bedard refrained, due to precautionary measures while his shoulder healed. When Nazar returned, Greene moved to centering the second line for a bit so Nazar could play up with Bedard. The long and the short of it is that Greene can be trusted with top-six deployment, either at center or wing. That flexibility is a huge asset. Coach Blashill complimented him on that fact back in early January.
He’s a very capable center, and I think a good center. He’s definitely a good faceoff guy. I think the one thing with him is his versatility. He doesn’t look any necessarily better or worse at center than wing, and so that’s a positive thing, to be able to then move him to different lines. Some guys play exponentially better when they play center. Ryan kind of plays the same regardless of playing center or wing … I think that versatility is going to really help him.
Fast forward to the Blackhawks’ mini training camp at the end of the Olympic break in mid-February. I had a chance to sit down with Greene again, and the first thing I did was congratulate him on making the team, as well as staying up in Chicago and the entire length of the season thus far.
That brought a great big smile to his face. He’s obviously very proud of this accomplishment. I asked him to what he attributed his success. “Yeah, I think just sticking with it. I mean, obviously was on the bubble there, and then got to stay up. And I feel like I took advantage of the opportunity in front of me. And yeah, just haven’t looked back since”.
This young man that wasn’t really on anyone’s radar at the beginning of the season has actually thrived. In 58 games to date, Greene boasts seven goals and 21 points while averaging 16:28 minutes on the ice. Not bad for a rookie!
Facing Off With a Childhood Idol
I had another little tidbit for Greene. On Jan. 19 the Blackhawks hosted the Winnipeg Jets at the United Center. If you recall, this game was a big to-do because it was the first time former Blackhawk Jonathan Toews was in town since making his comeback from health issues. I asked Greene if he realized he won 6-of-9 faceoffs (67% success rate) against Toews on that night. (Another big smile). “I didn’t, but I will take that!”
Toews is one of the best in the business at the faceoff dot. In 16 years in the NHL, he has a career faceoff percentage of 57.4%. He’s at 61.1% so far this season, which ranks at the top of the league. Greene isn’t exactly on that level just yet; his faceoff percentage is currently 45.1%. But on this night, he had Toews’ number. Said Greene:
He was one of my idols growing up, so that is sweet. I mean, that’s pretty insane that you say that. I had posters of him in my in my basement growing up; one of my favorite players. That’s crazy. That’s a cool stat.
For those of you that are thinking this was a righty/lefty advantage thing, Greene is a righty and Toews is a lefty; so they basically evened each other out. I further asked Greene is we make too much of a big deal about faceoffs. After all, there’s just as many people who think it’s not all that important than those that do. “No, I think it’s definitely a big deal. Yeah, with more possession you have better chance to win. So I think it’s a big thing, for sure.”
Related – Blackhawks’ Center “Dilemma”: Who Fits Best Down the Middle?
For the record, Greene is second on the Blackhawks behind Jason Dickinson, having taken 636 draws to Dickinson’s 661. He’s also second in defensive zone faceoffs (299 to Dickinson’s 322). It’s safe to say Greene is relied on heavily in this department.
Greene’s Healthy Scratch
Just when we all thought everything was going swimmingly for this young center, Greene was made a healthy scratch when the team faced the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 4, the last game before the Olympic break. Many were confused why this would be the case, since he’d been playing so well. Said Blashill on the subject,
Greener has played good hockey for us. He’s gonna play good hockey again for us. He’s a good player. There’s a couple things we want him to correct. So, just gives him a chance to kind of have urgency, to make sure that he’s making the corrections that he needs to make. He’ll get back out there soon, when the breaks over here.
It sounds like this is more of an attempt to help Greene improve than anything else. It should also be noted that the rookie suited up for every single game before that. Meanwhile, Colton Dach has been a healthy scratch numerous time. Slaggert, Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis have all been back and forth between Chicago and Rockford. With that in mind, one healthy scratch doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. For his part, Greene didn’t really want to get into any details.
They just thought it would be beneficial for me to take a day off. I guess, obviously we played a lot of games there towards the end of the stretch. I can’t really speak on what they said. But it was Coach Blashill’s decision, so got to live with that and just try to be better.
This embodies a pretty common mindset with hockey players; to focus on what they can control and let the rest go. No matter what the situation, Greene is going to embrace the concept of getting better.
True to his word, it was one night, and Blashill is playing Greene in the lineup now that the break is over. Not just playing him, but deploying him once again in that coveted spot on the top line, alongside Bedard. Greene proved his worth with this deployment the first game back on Feb. 26, against the Nashville Predators. While many of the Blackhawks came out rusty, Bedard was in top form and Greene had a solid night alongside him. A prime example was Bedard’s tally in the second period. The goal wouldn’t have happened without Greene doing the dirty work along the boards to get Bedard the puck.
Connor Bedard with a snipe for his 24th goal of the season, which is a new career-high.
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 27, 2026
He immediately pointed to Ryan Greene, who won the board battle and made it all happen. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ZDCvbDLf6h
Greene has responded well this entire season, showing positive growth and improvement.
Greene’s Role Moving Forward
It’s fair to say Greene could be playing a little bit beyond his skates right now. The Blackhawks are a rebuilding team that’s going through a lot of growing pains. On a more well-rounded team, would Greene be on the top line, much less playing with one of the most talented young players in the league?!
Probably not. He was originally projected as a solid two-way centerman in the bottom-six, not really the top-six. One knock on Greene throughout the season has been his lack of finish. Considering all the opportunities he’s had, seven goals is kind of a low number.
But he is playing on the top line right now, and that experience is only going to help him moving forward. No matter where he’s deployed in the future. Coach Blashill recently spoke about this experience.
Every game that you play as a young player, you’re kind of starting to build what your resume is. Good and bad, and that’s just reality … He’s (Greene) getting an opportunity to play on the top line with one of the elite players in the league. The more he can prove that he’s a guy that can add value to that line, the better off it is for him. Especially as we continue in the future, and there’ll be different options that we’ll have. And he wants to make sure, if I’m him, that he wants to show he’s the best option.
Highly touted prospects such as Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov will likely be joining the team next season, or even as early as this season depending on when their current team’s seasons end. They are just of few of the “different options” Blashill refers to above.
Before this season started, Greene seemed more like someone who could replace a veteran such as Dickinson. Both have a strong two-way game, but leaning towards defense first. Greene is also valuable in the faceoff circle, just as Dickinson is in his shutdown role.
But the circumstances called for something different this season, and like Greene said, he “took advantage of the opportunity in front of him and didn’t looked back.” Whatever the opportunity is moving forward, Greene has an excellent head start.
Related – 3 Things for Blackhawks Fans to Look Out for in the Second Half of the Season
The Blackhawks are a team that’s going through their growing pains as they embrace the process of getting better. A lot of players have struggled and gone through their ups and downs. But Greene is an example of a success story in his rookie season, one that surpassed even his expectations.
He has a bright future ahead of him.
