RED DEER—A.J. Greer lives in a hockey world where elite prospects have many cards to play.
And he has surely played them.
Greer, quickly emerging as one of the more intriguing figures at this year’s MasterCard Memorial Cup, has taken a jagged path to be in the lineup of the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, the No. 1 team in the country until they were blasted by the host Rebels on Sunday night.
Greer grew up just outside of Montreal and decided the NCAA was where he would set his sights. After initially committing to Penn State, he changed his mind and chose Boston University when the school said it would allow him to enrol a year early. In 2014, he became, at 17, the youngest forward in college hockey that season.
The six-foot-three power forward was part of the school’s Frozen Four effort last season alongside future Buffalo Sabres centre Jack Eichel, playing on the second line towards the end of the season.
"My intention was to one day be a captain for that school," he said.
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He was drafted in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft by Colorado, but as his sophomore season at BU began and he found his playing time not to his expectations, other choices began to beckon for Greer. The Huskies, he knew, held his CHL rights, and he also knew Rouyn-Noranda had a strong club with a good chance to possibly play for the Memorial Cup.
"A.J. is one of those kids who don’t want to be too patient," said his agent, Peter Fish. "They want to get to where they’re going."
After 18 games, Greer decided to quit the Terriers and head north. Unfortunately, the news of his decision leaked out before he could first tell his coach, David Quinn, and his teammates. He made the decision on a Thursday, and then awoke to dozens of texts from friends on the Friday who had caught wind of his decision.
With a four-hour exam to write, he didn’t get to explain himself to his teammates until later in the day.
"I felt like a jerk," he said. "Some of them understood, some didn’t."
Greer isn’t alone in making choices that to some, go against the traditions of the sport:
—Auston Matthews spurned both U.S. colleges and Everett of the WHL to go play in Switzerland this season.
—Jakob Chychrun, born in Boca Raton, Fla., and a likely first-round pick next month, applied to play in the USHL as a 15-year-old. When that league denied his request, he headed north, played in the Toronto area for a year then joined Sarnia of the OHL. It’s now expected he will play internationally for Canada, not the U.S.
—Tyson Jost also spurned Everett to play for the Penticton Vees of the B.C. Hockey League. He’s committed to the University of North Dakota, but persistent rumours suggest the Silvertips will trade his rights this summer and he could end up playing in the WHL next season.
—Matthew Tkachuk committed to play for the University of Notre Dame after playing for the U.S. National Team Development program, then based in Ann Arbor, Mich. He changed his mind, and instead went to the OHL to play for London and is part of the Knights squad here at the Memorial Cup.
—Jeremy Bracco, a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, left Boston College after five games this season to join the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers.
—Clayton Keller, like Tkachuk a product of the St. Louis minor hockey system and expected to be a first-round NHL pick next month, played for the U.S. program this year and is committed to Boston University. But the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires own his rights, and with that city set to host the Memorial Cup next season, speculation is that Keller may opt to join the Spits instead.
—European players are also exercising their choices. Ivan Provorov left Russia to play midget hockey in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., then joined Cedar Rapids of the USHL, and now is in his second year skating for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings after being picked in the first round by Philadelphia last summer.
—Finnish youngster Eeli Tolvanen, eligible for the 2017 NHL draft, played for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL this season, while Detroit draft pick Evgeny Svechnikov’s younger brother, Andrei, is expected to be a top NHL pick in ’18 and recently agreed to join Muskegon of the USHL for next season.
Layered on top of all of this was the decision by Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey this season not to accept a contract with Nashville and a spot on the Predators playoff roster, instead enraging the Preds and many in the hockey world by opting for unrestricted free agency in August.
In this week’s edition, Jeff is joined by Sam Cosentino, Joey Kenward and Timo Meier for a wide-ranging MasterCard Memorial Cup preview.
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Players, it’s clear, have more choices than ever and opportunities to change their minds, and fewer seem beholden to more traditional ways of building their hockey careers.
Greer, meanwhile, flourished with Rouyn-Noranda after a slow start with BU. He had 16 goals in 33 regular season games, then added another 12 in the QMJHL playoffs.
"At the start of this year I had lost the confidence I’d had in the Frozen Four, and I wasn’t playing as much. I wished it hadn’t happened the way it did," he said of his departure from Boston University. "But since I came (to the Huskies), I feel like I’ve changed completely as a hockey player."
Greer has been a central figure in Rouyn-Noranda’s first two games at the Memorial Cup, but for different reasons. In the opener against Brandon, he scored a nice goal and was a pest in front of Wheat Kings goalie Jordan Papirny all night.
Against Red Deer, meanwhile, he found himself in conflict with the officiating staff all night, took three minor penalties and was ultimately booted out of the game.
"He’s an emotional kid, and he wears it on his sleeve," said Fish. "When he decided to leave school, he followed his heart. And I encourage kids to follow their hearts. I think he’ll come out of it better as an all-round player after all these experiences."