Toronto Maple Leafs 2016 NHL Entry Draft Retrospective

Fifth Pick

The Leafs used their second pick in the third round at 72nd overall to once again reach for size in the form of 6-4 defender J.D. Greenway.

He was slated to go in the mid-fourth or fifth round but you can’t teach size, so the Leafs nabbed him up early.

He had shown some flashes of offensive potential and had decent mobility for a defender his size and despite that size, he was not known to be a big bruising defender.

As most players taken in this stage, Greenway had parts of his game that needed to be smoothed out and refined, which he was going to do at the University of Wisconsin.

After two seasons there where he underwhelmed, he went to the USHL and then re-committed to the University of Maine.

At the NCAA level, Greenway struggled to remain consistent, which was an issue that had plagued his career. His performance and lack of large steps forward made the Leafs let his rights expire where he signed signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Bruins AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. 

This past year he signed with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits but was listed as a forward. He has seemed to find success as a minor-league option but that was not what the Leafs had hoped for when taking a chance on him nearly two rounds earlier than his projection.