{"id":630203,"date":"2026-07-24T18:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T18:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/630203\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T18:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T18:00:16","slug":"what-stands-out-about-rangers-prospect-liam-greentree-plays-full-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/630203\/","title":{"rendered":"What stands out about Rangers’ prospect Liam Greentree: ‘plays full game’"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York Rangers News<\/a><\/p>\n

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A quick look at his junior statistics tells you quite a bit about Liam Greentree<\/a>. The New York Rangers\u2019 forward prospect racked up 328 points in 241 games over four seasons with Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the totality of who Greentree is as a player, nor everything the 20-year-old hopes to bring to the Rangers one day, perhaps as soon as sometime nerxt season.<\/p>\n

Of course, scoring at least 25 goals each season with Windsor, including three straight with at least 36, isn\u2019t a bad place to start. And his 119-point campaign in 2024-25, when he scored 49 goals and totaled 70 assists playing on a powerhouse line with Washington Capitals stud prospect Ilya Protas, can\u2019t \u2014 and shouldn\u2019t \u2014 be overlooked.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty of evidence why Greentree is the No. 2 Rangers prospect<\/a> in this year\u2019s annual listing by Forever Blueshirts.<\/p>\n

#NYR<\/a> prospect Liam Greentree (trade, 2026) with an unreal move! <\/p>\n

No Ranger has ever worn number 66 in an official game. Could he be the first?pic.twitter.com\/TDWKzj0vSb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Stat Boy Steven \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea (@StatBoy_Steven) March 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

However, prospect expert Russ Cohen from Sirius\/XM\u2019s NHL Network Radio believes there\u2019s much more to Greentree than simply the big offensive numbers he produced in junior. <\/p>\n

\u201cI always liked him. Love his smile. The fact that he\u2019s got very few teeth shows what kind of player he is. He will do anything,\u201d Cohen told Forever Blueshirts<\/a> on the Rink Rap podcast. \u201cHe\u2019s not the fastest guy, but he knows how to get from A to B. So, he has some tricky stick moves. He can get to the net at the level he\u2019s at, we\u2019ll see as he moves up if that\u2019s going to change. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s going to have the will to do it, and that\u2019s half the battle. He\u2019s got a good shot, he plays a full game, like his defensive-zone starts \u2014 he gets a lot of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The key takeaways from that assessment are Greentree\u2019s will perhaps exceeds his skill, and he could stick in the NHL one day because he\u2019s committed to playing a complete 200-foot brand of hockey. Of course, there\u2019s plenty of work to be done in all facets of the game for Greentree, who continually battles questions about his skating level and on the defensive side of the puck.<\/p>\n

Cohen believes that Greentree can overcome shortcomings in his skill-set because he\u2019s got the right makeup and mental toughness to do so. So, if the goals and points don\u2019t come at the same rate they did in junior, Greentree should still be a solid NHL contributor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a nice prospect to have,\u201d Cohen offered. \u201cHe could be a second liner. I think that\u2019s the zenith for him, but he\u2019d be a good one. If he\u2019s a third-liner, he\u2019ll be an optimal third-line guy, a guy you can really count on in a lot of different situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liam Greentree plays the \u2018hard\u2019 game Rangers are looking for<\/p>\n

Greentree was Windsor\u2019s captain for three straight seasons, and turns pro this fall. It\u2019s expected that he will start out with Hartford of the American Hockey League, likely with other intriguing first-year pros Nathan Aspinall<\/a>, Cole Beaudoin<\/a>, and Jacob Battaglia<\/a>. Defenseman Albert Smits<\/a>, the No. 5 overall pick in this year\u2019s draft, also could start out in Hartford if he doesn\u2019t crack New York\u2019s Opening Night roster<\/a> out of training camp.<\/p>\n

Like Greentree, whom the Rangers acquired<\/a> from the Los Angeles Kings in February as part of the Artemi Panarin trade, each of those prospects mentioned share some common traits.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Rangers are] definitely looking for guys that play hard, size and toughness when they can get it,\u201d Cohen explained.<\/p>\n

Greentree stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 207 pounds. He plays a hard game, though could stand to be more physical. Just another area that Cohen believes Greentree will find his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust let him go on his course of development, get him to a speed with him where you\u2019re comfortable saying at the NHL level it\u2019s good, and he\u2019ll figure out the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\tJim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of … More about Jim Cerny<\/a><\/p>\n

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