In December 2022, Malcolm Subban had a front-row seat to watch an intriguing young goalie prospect named Jet Greaves.
Subban’s Rochester squad was in Cleveland to play the Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets, when Subban was the backup and Greaves started in a 4-3 win for the Monsters.
A first-round pick in the 2012 draft and a veteran of the game at both the AHL and NHL levels, Subban left impressed with the then-21-year-old Greaves. As division rivals, the two would face off four more times that season, and before one of the games, they were stretching at the red line when the veteran delivered a quick message.
“I watched his game, I played against them, and I was like, ‘He’s pretty good,’” Subban remembers now. “Just talking to him on the red line, I just told him to keep going, and I’m a fan of your game.”
It’s a pregame conversation Subban has probably had plenty of times – as a proud member of the goalie fraternity, the 30-year-old can be found before most games chatting with an opposing netminder during warmups – but it’s one that stuck with Greaves
“It was cool because he was obviously a guy I remember watching him for Canada in the World Juniors when I was a little kid,” Greaves said. “It’s cool to meet different guys around the league. He’s obviously a great guy, and I really appreciate what he said then. Even now getting to know him more, he’s an even better guy getting to know him one on one.”
As fate would have it, the two became teammates this March when the Blue Jackets acquired Subban to add goaltending depth to the organization. Subban joined Greaves in Cleveland for a few weeks, and now the two have made it to Columbus thanks to the injuries suffered by Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov.
“It’s been awesome,” Greaves said. “It’s been a lot of fun. He has a lot of experience and he’s seen a lot being on different teams. It’s always great to play with a guy like that and hear about his experiences, pick his brain. He’s just a great guy to be around.”
Subban has played on five NHL teams, amassing 87 games over nine seasons, not to mention five more AHL squads since turning pro in 2013-14. He's seen a lot in his tenure, and while he still has some good years ahead of him, he’s reached the point of his career where he can embrace being a mentor to young goalies like Greaves.
“I think it’s awesome,” Subban said. “You don’t take that stuff for granted. I’m to the point now where I can use my knowledge to help the younger guys. I think this year with Vadim Zherenko and Colten Ellis in Springfield before I got traded and now here, I just try to help them as much as I can.”
When looking at Greaves, Subban sees someone who can excel at the NHL level. The young Blue Jackets netminder has posted a 3.18 and .906 save percentage with the NHL club this year and was leading the AHL with 27 wins when he was summoned because of injuries.
“Honestly, I think he has all the tools on and off the ice,” Subban said. “Obviously his work ethic and what he’s like as a person and his dedication to the game, it’s very important. But I think also he has the skill as well to back that up. He can make saves a lot of guys can’t. It’s a huge plus to have those attributes, and his quiet as his hands are especially at this age, it’s really impressive.”
There’s also one more component to the story that makes the duo stand out, and it’s that both are part of an exclusive club at the NHL level. The two are the only Black goaltenders currently in the league, and when they first played together last Saturday vs. Philadelphia, they became the first tandem of Black goalies in the league since April 2000 when Calgary dressed Grant Fuhr and former CBJ goalie Fred Brathwaite.
Both said they hoped their partnership can serve as a bit of inspiration for kids who want to get into the game.
“I think it’s really cool,” Subban said. “It’s something you don’t see every day. Hopefully we can set a good example and be good mentors and role models, and hopefully we can inspire some kids. It would be awesome.”
“It’s a cool thing, and it’s something kids might be able to look up to,” Greaves said. “It’s fun to be doing it with a good person.”
