The Los Angeles Kings have reassigned top prospect Liam Greentree to the AHL after the end of his OHL season. Greentree ranked third in OHL scoring this season with a dazzling 49 goals and 119 points in 64 games. He also ranked second in playoff scoring with 14 goals and 24 points in 11 games, before his Windsor Spitfires were eliminated by the Kitchener Rangers in a seven-game series.
The Kings drafted Greentree with the 26th overall pick in the 2024 draft. Many pundits expected him to go much earlier, after he scored 36 goals and 90 points in 64 games of his draft season. Greentree was revered for his ability to control possession and tempo through the neutral zone, boosted by a strong drive towards the net and a physical six-foot-two frame. Those attributes shined even brighter this season, after Greentree was paired with star Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas at center.
Protas’ ability to spark plays up the ice and crash into the low-slot complimented Greentree beautifully, and actually led to the former earning five more points than his winger this season. The two were inseparable for much of the year – and the experience with a burly, puck-hogging center could be a nice setup as Greentree sets his sights on a lineup already featuring Quinton Byfield.
For now, Greentree will look to carry his tremendous scoring into the pro flight. He will join the Ontario Reign ahead of their first games of the Calder Cup Playoff matchup against the San Jose Barracuda this weekend. The turnaround might be too quick for Greentree to play his pro debut on Saturday, though it’ll be tough to not consider the star scorer in what could be a must-win game on Monday.
I read somewhere he wasn’t old enough for the AHL. Hopefully it’s wrong because he doesn’t belong in junior hockey next year
Greentree is just technically not old enough. Players who are NHL drafted out of a CHL league must be age-20 by December 31st to play in an AHL season. Greentree won’t turn 20 until January 1st. But NHL teams can seek waivers for players on the fringe. Matt Savoie was denied a waiver in 2023-24 (Jan. 1 Bday) while Shane Wright (Jan. 5) was granted one.
The rules get murky for postseason – but Greentree will be eligible for games with Ontario as he meets the age-18 limit that the AHL applies to all non-CHL players. A few games could help his case to earn a waiver next year. That would be similar to Denton Mateychuk, who made his AHL debut at age-19 in last year’s playoffs and played his rookie season through this year after turning 20 in July!