Former University of Maine defenseman J.D. Greenway will become the third former Black Bear to play for the ECHL’s Maine Mariners at 7:15 p.m. Friday, when they open a five-game homestand against the Trois-Rivieres Lions at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
Greenway had signed a two-year deal with the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins during the off-season, but is coming off a shoulder injury and hasn’t played in a game yet.
Center Brendan Robbins, who graduated from UMaine in 2019 after registering 30 goals and 35 assists in 143 career games, is currently playing for the Mariners while left winger Eduards Tralmaks played one game for them, notched a hat trick and was promptly recalled by Providence.
Tralmaks had 39 goals and 43 assists in 119 career games through last season and then appeared in eight games for Providence and had two goals and two assists.
The Mariners are affiliated with the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
Greenway, a third round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is healthy now, according to Mariners head coach Ben Guite, who was the associate head coach at UMaine when Greenway was there.
“J.D. is a real high-end talent,” Guite said. “He is an unbelievable skater and can do some things most can’t do at this level. His natural ability is through the roof. And he is a phenomenal human being. He will play a lot of minutes for us ”
Former University of North Dakota defenseman Andrew Peski was sent down with him.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Greenway had two goals and three assists in 14 games for UMaine during the COVID-19-abbreviated 2020-21 season after collecting a goal and nine assists in 34 games the previous campaign.
Greenway played for the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-17 and Under-18 squads before attending the University of Wisconsin, where he had three goals and seven assists in 46 games spanning two seasons.
He then spent a year with Dubuque in the U.S. Hockey League before transferring to UMaine.
The additions of Greenway and Peski give the Mariners four AHL-contracted players on the roster. The others are forward Justin Brazeau and goalie Jeremy Brodeur.