BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — JD Greenway has a cool, unflappable presence about him that you can see when the freshman defenseman for the Wisconsin men's hockey team goes to work.
Some of that can be traced to his on-ice awareness.
"His knowledge of the game is NHL high," UW associate head coach Mark Osiecki said.
Some of that can be tracked to Greenway's attitude.
"I definitely have confidence out there," he said.
Some of that can be linked to Greenway's high-end skating ability, temperament and two-way instincts, which are wedged into an athletic 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame.
"His talent level is so high," Osiecki said. "I think his progress has been outstanding."
So it was a bit strange to hear Greenway admit to some uneasiness as the Badgers (2-2 overall) prepared for non-conference road games with 18th-ranked St. Lawrence (3-3) on Friday night and Clarkson (3-2-1) on Saturday night.
The trip to St. Lawrence County in upstate New York to face the two Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association entities brings Greenway back to his roots.
He grew up in Canton, which is where the St. Lawrence campus is located and which is just down Hwy. 11 from Potsdam, where the Clarkson campus can be found.
"I'm actually nervous," Greenway said. "I've never played in front of this many people that I actually know."
Greenway's mother, Shannon Sullivan, and sister, Maria, are expected to be on hand for the games as well as numerous family friends.
"No idea how many," Greenway said.
It's a rare opportunity for Greenway's entourage to see him play, given that his development track in hockey took him from Shattuck St. Mary's (Minnesota) High School in 2013-14 to the U.S. National Team Developmental Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 2014 to '16.
Greenway had his eye on going the Major Junior route, but signed with Wisconsin in the spring after the school made a coaching change. Former NHL player and coach Tony Granato brought in Osiecki and Don Granato, an associate head coach by way of the NTDP, who helped mold Greenway's older brother and current Boston University winger, Jordan, into a second-round NHL draft pick of Minnesota in 2015.
When JD got his first look at the UW schedule, one weekend was quickly circled. It's not often the Badgers venture to that part of the college hockey world. They've never taken part in a regular-season game at Clarkson — they played NCAA tournament games in Potsdam in 1981 and '91 — and their only trips to Canton to face St. Lawrence were national tournament assignments in 1988 and '89.
"I'm just glad to be going home," Greenway said, "playing in front of the family and friends."
JD, a third-round NHL draft pick of Toronto in June, has gotten a lot of ice time during the first six games — including two exhibitions — and made his presence felt in a variety of ways for the Badgers.
Greenway has a goal and three assists in the four outings and is one of four UW players with a positive plus-minus rating (plus-2).
Osiecki has an extraordinary track record for not only identifying blue line talent, but developing it. While serving as recruiting coordinator for former UW coach Mike Eaves from 2004 to '10, Osiecki landed and cultivated 10 prospects into NHL defensemen.
Osiecki said it's hard to find a true comparison for Greenway among those projects, but Osiecki kept coming back to Ryan McDonagh, a 2014 U.S. Olympian and NHL standout who serves as captain for the New York Rangers.
Osiecki said Greenway has the same high-grade hockey IQ as McDonagh and the potential to be a two-way defender in the NHL.
"No one had his size," Osiecki said of Greenway and his UW predecessors. "He's a hybrid of some of those guys."
Hearing his name in the same sentence with McDonagh brought a small smile to Greenway's face.
"It shows what (Osiecki) knows and what he can teach me," Greenway said.
"I'm doing everything I can to play at the national level. I know it's not going to be an easy and fast transition, but with our coaching staff and over the years, I'll be able to improve my game to where I'll be able to stay at that level."
If there's a knock on Greenway, it's that he doesn't yet grasp how good he can be. Once that happens — once he develops a consistent approach to every shift, every drill, every situation — "he's going to sky rocket," Osiecki said.
For now, the lack of consistency stands out.
Asked earlier this week about Greenway's progress, Tony Granato noted that his attention to detail fades in and out.
"He gets some of it, and some of it he gets back on his heels and puts himself in a position that we're not looking to have him in," Granato said.
It's a matter of Greenway's mental presence being equal to his physical presence on each shift.
"A higher level of assertiveness," Osiecki said. "We'd like to see a little more urgency in his overall game.
"His hockey IQ is so high he knows what he wants to do at all times in every situation. Now it's just a matter of maybe doing it in a timely manner where he pushes himself. He sees it, but just make that play happen faster rather than wait for it."
In many respects, Greenway is like many 18-year-olds on campus in that he's figuring things on his own for the first time.
"I have to manage my schooling, hockey and my social life," he said. "There's nobody baby-sitting me anymore."
That process is going well, Greenway said, in part because he understands the end game, especially when it comes to hockey.
"We're just trying to get him to understand what level he can get to and do it consistently," Osiecki said.
