Liam Greentree
2023-24 Team: Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Date of Birth: Jan. 1, 2006
Place of Birth: Oshawa, ON
Ht: 6-foot-2 Wt: 198 pounds
Shoots: L
Position: RW
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2024 first-year eligible
Rankings
Of all the forwards available at the 2024 NHL Draft, Liam Greentree might be among the hardest workers. The Windsor Spitfires were one of the worst teams in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season, posting just 18 wins in 68 games and allowing 360 goals against, the highest total by a wide margin. But they weren’t the worst and a lot of that is thanks to their captain, Liam Greentree, who put the team on his shoulders and made a strong case as to why he should be a top-15 pick for the 2024 Draft.
Greentree’s bread and butter is his shot, specifically his wrister. Being a bigger player, he can get a lot of power behind his shot, which already makes it a weapon, allowing him to fire the puck from anywhere in the offensive zone and get it by the goalie. His range has drastically improved from his rookie season in which he scored 25 goals, most of which came from close to the net.
Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide
But what makes Greentree’s shot so dangerous is his quick release. He hardly needs any room to fire off a hard, accurate shot, and the speed he can release it makes it incredibly difficult for goalies to track. Add in a powerful backhand and you have one of the better shooters in this draft class. It’s no wonder he led the Spitfires with 36 goals in 64 games and was voted the third-most dangerous in the goal area by the OHL’s Western Conference coaches.
Scoring is far from the only thing Greentree can do. He’s a fantastically creative player who can move the puck as though it were on a string. His puck control, especially while moving, is not an easy skill to learn, but he makes it look almost effortless. His ability to think of a quick solution while being pressured can create some incredible highlight-worthy goals and plays, and his slipperiness is comparable to much smaller players like Luke Misa and Berkly Catton. Yet Greentree stands 6-foot-2 and weighs in at 198 pounds already, which gives him a reach and strength advantage that few top-end playmakers possess.
But one thing scouts keep coming back to is Greentree’s work ethic. As previously mentioned, the Spitfires were a terrible team this season, which put their captain in a difficult situation as he…
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