The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler is ranking prospect pool for all NHL teams and has pegged the Blackhawks at #5. Here are his comments about three Terriers on his top 15 list for Chicago.
4. Ryan Greene, C, 19 (Boston University)
A top prospect out of Eastern Canada growing up, Greene, a Newfoundland native, committed at a young age to BU and has followed through with it, passing up the opportunity to be a top pick into the QMJHL and playing instead first for South Kent School’s Selects Academy (where he won the 16U national championship) and then Green Bay in the USHL after they drafted him with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 futures draft. Greene’s 51 points in 59 games led the Gamblers in scoring last year to follow up on a strong season the year prior, and he has continued upon a steady progression with a strong freshman season as a near point-per-game player and all-situations forward for the Terriers as a freshman.
He’s got a pro frame, a lean build to fill out, a smooth and fast (though not explosive) skating stride, and a well-rounded, always-in-the-mix game that gives him value on both special teams (he has been prolific on the power play in the USHL and the NCAA now). The strength of his game offensively rests in his ability to handle to the interior and then use crowds to make soft little plays to teammates, or to drift to the perimeter and feed pucks into space. I’d like to see him look to attack into his own looks a little more (he actually has a very accurate wrister), but that will come with some muscle. Off the puck, he’s also going to apply pressure, work to get open, track back to support the play in all three zones, and quietly influence play. He projects as a contributing middle-six (though more likely third-line) player.
7. Drew Commesso, G, 20 (Boston University)
After a .915 freshman year at BU, Commesso climbed back to a .914 sophomore season with the Terriers following a slow start (for him and the team in front of him, which was banged up and not at its best out of the gate), and has done the same again this year as a young (he’s still just 20) junior after he gave up six goals in his second start of the year and has played well ever since.
I see a mature makeup as a kid and goalie. At 6-foot-2, he’s not big by today’s standards for a goalie, but he blends a studious approach to the position with sharp angles, sound technique, and a calming, poised demeanour to keep shots in his chest, control rebounds, settle down plays and hold firm to his edges. And while he’s not a dynamic athlete, he can fall back on his athleticism when the play does break down, he’s efficient in his movements, he’s quick on his feet and he doesn’t put himself into many scrambles because of the way he reads the play. Commesso reliably makes the saves that he should and plays the same game-to-game. He doesn’t steal a ton of starts and I wouldn’t say he’s got any A-plus tools that really pop, but there’s not a lot in his game that you can nitpick either. I’m not convinced he’s going to be a starter at the next level, but I — and the rest of the hockey world (including USA Hockey, who’ve already brought him to men’s worlds and the Olympics) — fully expect him to become an NHL goalie.
13. Alex Vlasic, LHD, 21 (Rockford IceHogs)
Vlasic’s size and above-average relative mobility have long garnered him a lot of respect despite a statistical profile that doesn’t suggest NHLer. His skills of dexterity (his handling of pucks and touch, primarily) haven’t progressed like you’d hope, but he has been really steady for Rockford this year and has driven results there. I worry that there’s a little too much sloppiness to his game with the puck to offset his strengths without it and become more than a No. 5-7 defenseman, but there are some who still believe in him as a potential complementary, hard matchups defenceman in an NHL top four and penalty kill in the medium term. I think it’s easy to look at a player like Vlasic, who relies on making the simple, easy play at the college level, and think “he’s got good habits.” Will those good habits become bad habits against more talented players, or is the rest so strong that he’ll make it work even if his hands/processing never quite get there? He’s going to make for an interesting case study, because he really can defend.
