Wild winger Jordan Greenway hopes to build on breakout season

Jordan Greenway wanted the puck.

He wanted to create plays. He wanted to have an impact.

And he did.

"That was the biggest thing for me last year," Greenway said. "I went into every game thinking, 'I gotta do something to really help us win, not just go out there and make sure that I don't screw up.' "

After a motivating exit meeting with General Manager Bill Guerin on the heels of an up-and-down 2019-20, Greenway returned last season a much more consistent player. The winger led the team in assists, defended top talent as part of the Wild's best two-way line and chipped in on the penalty kill.

These real-time results made it clear Greenway was progressing, but what was key for the 24-year-old was his attitude — the belief he could make a difference.

"It's definitely something I try to figure out all the time, how to get more confident," Greenway said. "Guys out here, there are guys that are better than others but, for the most part, everyone's pretty good. I think the biggest thing that separates is just the confidence, the mind, what you think you can do.

"That's the biggest part, I think, for me. That's something I work on all the time."

Since leaving Boston University and turning pro with the Wild in 2018, Greenway has been caught between red and green lights.

Last season was a smoother ride.

Five games were the longest he went without registering a point, his 26 assists were tops on the Wild and he finished with a career-best 32 points. Greenway was also physical; his 87 hits in 56 games were only eight shy of the career-high 95 he had the previous season through 67 games.

Basically, Greenway looked at home on the Wild's checking line, which became a scoring line as he and linemates Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek started to spend less time on defense and more time on offense. Their size and strength make them a handful — up ice, on the forecheck and in front of the net.

This remains the line's objective even though Ryan Hartman has subbed in for Eriksson Ek.

"Some nights we had to change the momentum," said Greenway, who's listed at 6-6 and 241 pounds and was drafted 50th overall in the second round by the Wild in 2015. "Sometimes we needed to go out and get a goal. Sometimes we had to settle somebody down. It changed every night. For the most part, I think we did have an impact on the scoresheet or, if we weren't on the scoresheet, we had an impact somewhere."

But off nights can still happen.

Just look at Greenway's preseason so far; he was among the players coach Dean Evason was displeased with after the Wild's first exhibition game. During his next time out, the 3-1 win over the Avalanche on Monday at Xcel Energy Center, Greenway was much better, racking up six shot attempts.

"I wasn't myself happy with how I played in the first game," Greenway said Monday evening. "Just wanted to build off last game, but I didn't think I could do much worse."

Consistency, not just in how he plays but his preparation, is important because that's how Greenway works to stoke his confidence.

"It's pretty easy, even in camp or practices, to sit back and go through the motions," he said. "But when you do that, you think to yourself, 'OK, am I going to be able to turn it on?' That makes it hard. So, if you can find a way just to go out there and stay ready so you can tell yourself, 'Hey, I did it in practice. I'm going to do it again tomorrow,' I found that's helped me out."

Another steady season would also help Greenway's future as he wraps up his two-year, $4.2 million contract.

As self-aware as Greenway is, though, that's one situation he doesn't think about much.

"Whether it's a contract year or not, I'm trying to have a good year," he said. "Last year I wanted to have a good year. It wasn't a contract year. I'm not going to lie it would be great to go out and get 50 goals, of course. But when it comes down to it, I play well, I'm going to get a good contract.

"So, just play well."