Summer Spotlight: Greaves made a big jump in 2023-24

In the leadup to training camp in September, BlueJackets.com is featuring CBJ players each weekday this summer. 

How he got here: Greaves didn’t just fall out of the sky, but in some ways it feels like he did. After two seasons with Barrie of the OHL, Greaves did not play organized hockey in 2020-21 because of COVID, but he had caught the eye of the Blue Jackets organization and was signed to an AHL contract in summer 2021. He also took part in the Traverse City Prospects Tournament in September of that year, and with strong performances, Greaves worked his way into signing with the Blue Jackets in February 2022. Since then, he’s become AHL Cleveland’s all-time leader in career wins (61) and a bona fide NHL prospect.

The 2023-24 season: Greaves was one of the top netminders in the AHL, finishing tied for second in the league with a Cleveland single-season record 30 wins and posting an excellent postseason campaign (8-5-0 record, 2.17 GAA, .926 save percentage) to lead the Monsters to the precipice of the Calder Cup Finals. He wasn’t bad at the NHL level, either, earning his first career win – and two more along the way – while showing he can be a calm, cool, collected netminder in the heat of battle no matter the level of play. Greaves got to another level this year, and he's taking steps to become a full-time NHLer at some point.

Top moment: Greaves earned his first career NHL win in his opening appearance of the season, and the rookie turned in an impressive performance to do it. Greaves stopped 41 of 43 shots against – a save percentage of .953 – as the Blue Jackets earned a 5-2 victory over visiting St. Louis on Dec. 8. It was one of two 40-plus-save performances in the NHL on the season for Greaves.

Fun fact: We’ve noted this before, but "Jet" is not actually Jet’s legal first name. His actual first name is Calvin, but his father, Gerry, is a fan of Jet Li and made “Jet” his son’s middle name. Of course, it’s not a huge surprise that Jet would go by that name, as it just rolls off the tongue. Away from the rink, Jet is also quite talented, as he enjoys chess and played baseball growing up.

Stat to Know: Greaves had plenty of noteworthy performances a season ago, but maybe his most impressive showing came in the last weekend of the regular season. The Monsters needed a strong weekend to finish the regular season to clinch a playoff berth and have a chance at a division title, and Greaves started three games in a 48-hour span at Rochester and Toronto (twice). All he did in those three games was stop 97 of 103 shots against (.942 percent) and earn all three wins as Cleveland clinched the North Division crown. Add in the fact he topped a .920 save percentage in nine of 13 playoff games for Cleveland and it’s clear he excelled in the clutch.

Expectations for 2024-25: Greaves enters the season as the Blue Jackets’ No. 3 goalie behind Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He showed a year ago he has NHL talent, but there’s not a ton of great goalies in the league at age 23, so there’s nothing wrong with him returning to Cleveland to keep working on his game. Greaves’ preparation and mental focus are the biggest strengths of his game, not to mention his quick reflexes, and if he can keep honing those skills, he’ll get called up when the need arises this season while continuing to work toward a full-time NHL role in the future.