Big Jordan Greenway dazzles with skill again

PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- United States forward Jordan Greenway (Minnesota Wild) said he's no basketball fan, but his goal in a 4-3 win against Sweden at USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp on Wednesday looked like something out of an NBA center's instructional video.
The play started when linemate Jeremy Bracco (Toronto Maple Leafs) threw the puck at the net from the top of the Sweden zone. Greenway corralled it in the slot, spun and fired a shot that Sweden goalie Filip Gustavsson (Pittsburgh Penguins) stopped but couldn't control. Greenway spun the other way and swept a backhand shot into the net to tie it 3-3.

"I've never been a big basketball guy," Greenway said. "I can't even hit the backboard. That's why I picked hockey."
At 6-foot-6, 226 pounds, Greenway has the build of a power forward who could play on the court or on the ice.
"I think my biggest asset is my body," he said. "It's hard to find someone who's 6-6. My game is really in the corners, getting the puck, protecting it, bring it to the net as much as I can and having a net presence. Giving the puck to the more skilled guys, creating space for them and having more of a physical side."
But his tying goal, like the breakaway goal he scored Monday against Sweden, had an element of skill to it, and that's what the Wild, who picked him in the second round (No. 50) of the 2015 NHL Draft, are looking for out of him.
"He's learning how to use that body," Wild scout Craig Channel said. "Down low, even in the college game (at Boston University), you can't get the puck off him. He protects it so well. Now he has to learn to make something out of that."

U.S. shows its resilience-- U.S. coach Bob Motzko said he was most proud of how his team never panicked despite being down 3-0 after the first period.
He gave a lot of the credit to goaltender Joseph Woll (Toronto Maple Leafs), who allowed three goals on eight shots in the first period but made 18 saves in the second and third, including 15 in the second.
"There's some character and there was some grit in there, no panic," Motzko said. "Our goalie bounces back. That was a shaky first period, and we weren't playing all bad in the first, but you find yourself down. Give our guys credit. They didn't get shaky and neither did the goalie. He stayed strong the rest of the way."
Troy Terry (Anaheim Ducks) sparked the comeback with a goal 3:17 into the second, and then Erik Foley (Winnipeg Jets) made it a one-goal game when he redirected a pass from Jack Roslovic (Winnipeg Jets) past Gustavsson at 13:49. After Greenway tied it with 5:20 left in the second, Logan Brown (Ottawa Senators) scored the game-winner at 15:33 of the third, muscling through a Sweden defender to bang in a centering pass by Alexander DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks).

"We started Terry as the extra forward and he gets the first goal," Motzko said. "Then Foley, we started to use him as the extra forward, he kept missing shifts, then he gets a goal and an assist [on Brown's goal]. Then we sat DeBrincat for a while and he makes a heck of a play on the game-winner. A little story that maybe guys were getting a little desperate after taking some shifts off."
Sweden loses game, top forward -- Carl Grundstrom (Toronto Maple Leafs) missed most of the game after sustaining an upper-body injury on an attempted hit.
"He hit himself out of the game," Sweden coach Tomas Monten said. "He went for a hit and missed it and went into boards. Got a little shook up, a little bruised. He's feeling a little bit better now. Hopefully he can play Friday (against Canada, 1 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN)."
Monten said he thought Sweden ran out of gas against a bigger, strong opponent.
"We got caught having some long shifts," he said. "Forwards not helping the [defensemen] to change, forwards staying too long so they don't have the juice to backcheck. We got beat in the defensive part of the game. We came back a lot better in the third. Think the first six, seven minutes we created some good chances. We need to put those in."
Jens Looke (Arizona Coyotes) scored two goals, and Sebastian Ohlsson (2017 draft eligible) also scored.
Gustavsson, playing his first game of the camp, made 48 saves.
"I think he was solid," Monten said. "The goal we let in in the third was not easy. We gave up a lot of tough scoring chances. We didn't take the sticks away in front. They had some easy deflections, and I think he battled hard. It's his first game in the under-20s, and he's going to learn from this and get better."

Konecny rounding his game -- Forward Travis Konecny's dynamic offensive ability got the Philadelphia Flyers to select him with the 24th pick of the 2015 draft, but he knows it won't be enough to get him to the NHL.
That's why Konecny took as much pride in killing penalties for Canada in a 2-1 overtime loss to Finland on Wednesday as he did in scoring its goal.
"I really enjoy it," he said. "Guys get excited when you block shots. It's a big part of winning. If you look at teams that win, the penalty kill and the power play is probably No. 1 or No. 2 in the tournament. Always important to have those two near the top."
It's also important to score goals, and Konecny's was a nice one at 14:53 of the first period.
"It came over from [Lawson] Crouse (Florida Panthers)," Konecny said. "He chipped it up, and I whacked it down with my glove. I looked up and was shooting far pad for a rebound. I guess I fooled him, and it went in low blocker."
Sitting behind the goal was Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, who appreciated it but has liked the continued maturation of Konecny's all-around game just as much.
"It's taking the high-risk out of the game," Hextall said. "To me, it's always the risk/reward. If you're going to make a play through a guy's stick or a dangerous play that might go the other way, you better have a high chance of a scoring chance going for you rather than it's an 80 percent chance of going back the other way in a 2-on-1. … He's clearly gotten better. I've seen him play myself, talked to our scouts, talked to his coaches, and there's no question he's done a better job of it."
Tolvanen continues to excel -- Finland forward Eeli Tolvanen is expected to be a high pick at the 2017 draft, in part because of goals like the one he scored in the third period against Canada.
Tolvanen got a breakaway at 12:41 of the third period and beat goalie Evan Cormier (New Jersey Devils) to tie it 1-1.
"I just closed my eyes and shot," Tolvanen said.
Tolvanen will play a second season with Sioux City in the United States Hockey League this season, and that familiarity with playing on North American ice has given him an advantage on some of his teammates.
"He's a very talented player," Finland coach Jukka Rautakorpi said. "Everyone has seen that day by day he's playing better and better with how he has to play here. Today, he was a good player."
Tolvanen was on NHL Central Scouting's Futures List, and Sioux City likely will be a popular destination this season.
"He's a skilled little player," an NHL scout said. "He's already showed some good ability. He's gotten used to the pace and his size (5-11, 181) isn't an issue because of his skill."
Arrtu Ruotsalainen (2017 draft eligible) scored at 1:22 of overtime to win it for Finland.