Kings hoping for Greener pastures

(AP Photo) - Greene knows that red goes well with black and purple in victory

Matt Greene’s leadership and dedication make him a key ingredient as the Kings build from within

Imagine being a National Hockey League defenseman, and with the game winding down, you are on the ice trying to help protect a one-goal lead. Suddenly, as the puck is cycled back to the point for a slap shot, you turn to face the shooter and realize that the puck has already been fired towards the net. It’s coming straight at you.

Most of us are inclined to try and contort our bodies out of the way of such a projectile. After all, vulcanized frozen rubber does not tend to interact well with human bones, and specifically teeth. But instead of getting out of the way, your inclination is to get in the way of the puck, by all means necessary.

The puck strikes your face, high up near the orbital bone. You fall to the ice as a result of this collision, blood immediately gushing. So would anyone expect you to hop right back up and congratulate your goaltender as the horn sounds signaling victory?

Well, to paraphrase the noted philosopher Kermit the Frog, “It’s not easy being Greene.” And it’s that lionhearted mentality that makes teammates and opponents alike respect what Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Greene brings to the table every day.

“We talk with all of our defensemen about having that mentality of wanting to block shots to help limit the chances on our goaltender, and Matt really embodies that on the ice,” assistant coach Mark Hardy said about Greene’s willingness to put himself in harm’s way. “He really is the ultimate warrior… he works very hard and with him here, that mentality of doing what it takes in our own zone to help us win is contagious with his teammates.”

“To me, I know I’m not going to score a lot of points at the offensive end, so it’s about knowing what your strengths are as a hockey player,” Greene stated. “It’s about limiting teams on the defensive end, and taking pride in helping the team with whatever needs to be done.”

THE GREENE PARTY
Growing up about 25 minutes outside of East Lansing in the Michigan farm town of Grand Ledge, that sense of discipline and toughness were duly forged.

“I started playing hockey because it was something fun to do, and never really mapped out a plan about it, other than maybe getting a college scholarship,” Greene reflected.

Education was always a part of Greene’s life. His mother works as a professor in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University. Eventually, he earned a scholarship to play college hockey at the University of North Dakota, and he instantly won the respect of his team as a freshman, earning an award presented to the first-year player that displays character and responsibility. By his junior season, he was named captain for the Fighting Sioux, and led the school to the national championship game.

“College was a lot of fun; it was a great experience for me,” Greene revealed, “and the relationships with people that I developed there remain important to me to this day… I love UND and in my mind, I’ll always be a ‘Fighting Sioux’.”

He also credits his head coach from his college days as an early influencer.

“Well, along with my dad, I would say that Dave Hakstol was a big influence for me there,” Greene said about the University of North Dakota head coach.

It’s no wonder that the Edmonton Oilers would decide to include Greene in their organization. He was drafted in the second round in 2002, and as he quickly became incorporated on their blueline, despite his age, he was able to assume a leadership role from very early on.

Greene helped the Edmonton Oilers reach the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, coming within one game of winning the championship.

“I was in my first season, and at the end when we lost, I remember thinking to myself, ‘well, this will happen every year, we’ll just come back and win it next year’,” Greene recalled. “But then you realize just how difficult it is to make the playoffs in this league, much less have a shot at winning it (the Stanley Cup). It was a very surreal time during (the run to the finals).”

Jarret Stoll was a teammate of his with those Oilers, and remembers how even at the age of 23, Greene displayed the leadership qualities which have served his teams well.

“Even in Edmonton, he was a guy you could count on to keep things loose and light,” Stoll confided. “He works hard on the ice and is one of those guys that are important to any team. He’s great in the room, and I’m very fortunate to consider him a good friend.”

He played two more seasons in Edmonton, but was not expecting the dramatic change that was forthcoming. Yet, like the puck being shot from the point, he met the challenge head-on and embraced it.

GREENE DAY
On June 29, 2008, Greene was travelling from Edmonton to his parents’ home in Michigan. He recalled that he had recently completed adding on a new deck to the back of his home in Edmonton. While he was waiting to board the plane, his cell phone rang with a call that changed his life.

“I was in Minneapolis, waiting to board to flight home when Kevin Lowe (then the Oilers general manager) called me,” Greene remembered. “He said that he dealt me to Los Angeles, and I asked him, ‘what did you get for me?’ When he told me (it was him and Stoll for Lubomir Visnovsky) about it, I said, ‘Hey, that’s a good deal (he chuckles), congrats on that’.” Greene indicated that he then used his plane trip to process the trade and its ramifications.

“It was actually a good thing to have the phone shut off for a while because I was in the air,” Greene reflected, “and then my dad picked me up at the airport. The ride home and that night that followed, we stayed up late kind of talking it through, which was very helpful to me.”

By the time he had the chance to take a phone call from a member of the Kings front office, he was in the proper mindset to not only accept the change in his life, but also the ability to embrace it.

“(Kings assistant GM Ron Hextall) Hexty called me and told me that they were happy to have me on the team,” Greene said, “and I was ready to jump into this situation and give it everything I could. As it turns out, although I loved my days in Edmonton and will cherish my time there, I’m so glad to be a member of this organization and I’m excited about what we’re doing and where we’re going here.”

And from very early on, his new head coach could understand that Greene had the right temperament to take on a leadership role with the Kings.

“From talking with Jason Smith when I was with the Flyers, I knew a little bit about his personality,” head coach Terry Murray stated, “and he’s exceeded my expectations for the type of leader he is… when putting the leadership group together last season, his personality and leadership made it a very easy decision for me that he was going to be a key part of that group.”

“He’s a very vocal guy, always chatting guys up and keeping them in a good mood,” team captain Dustin Brown commented.

In his first season in Los Angeles, Greene established career bests in goals, assists, penalty minutes, and appeared in all 82 games. He finished second on the team with 206 hits, and his 167 blocked shots not only led the club but placed him tenth in the entire league in that category.

GREENE IS GLAD TO BE PART OF ‘THE RISING’
He maybe a warrior on the ice, but in the locker room he can be just as much of a class clown as a he is a precise tactician.

“He’s a real positive-type guy and knows how to pick up people’s spirits when it’s needed,” fellow Michigan resident and defenseman Jack Johnson said. “He handles his responsibilities well, and he also represents this organization well too.”

As the Kings spent the summer promoting Hockey Fest, a three-day weekend hockey festival celebrating the team and the game, Greene provided a comedic assist while also further cementing his leadership position.

He helped spread the word about Hockey Fest by acting as a newsman on the team's website, 'breaking stories' about those attending the event, while injecting a deadpan humor that would make even Jay Leno chuckle. And his coach suggests that his sense of timing is just part of what makes him a leader in the room.

“Away from the ice, he’s a very loose guy, which is great,” Murray mentioned, “it helps sometimes that he can take their mind off things once in a while in the room (before a game), which you need sometimes, and he keeps our club on an even keel so that it can play the right way.”

Greene, who's pre-game music includes the likes of Warren G (specifically 'Smokin' Me Out' is one he really loves), and Bruce Springsteen, admits he'll never probably sign a 3-picture deal with his looks, but sometimes jokes are just what the doctor ordered.

“Look, a lot of times with us, because of the nature of our schedule every day and the repetitive nature of things, it can sometimes feel like the film Groundhog Day,” Greene admitted. “You’re around 25 guys who are very similar in a lot of ways. Don’t get me wrong; we play hockey for a living, it’s not life and death like other people’s jobs are, but at times, if you aren’t laughing, you’re crying. So I know that by doing things to keep guys laughing and loose, it’s only going to help us… believe me, I ‘take shots’ at lot of guys, but I’m also getting a lot of shots taken myself, you know that self-deprecating type humor, and it helps.”

But Greene isn’t just a guy who’s egging on his teammates and hamming it up. When the opportunity presented itself to gather as many teammates as possible for off-season workouts, designed to promote togetherness and develop an ownership of the right attitude, Greene never hesitated in the organizational process.

“It was really important for us to have a sense that last year wasn’t acceptable for this organization, in terms of not making the playoffs,” Greene admitted. “So the idea was to try and build a bond for our group heading into this season by getting guys together here (in Los Angeles) to put in the work in training during the off-season together, as well as building that strong bond between us.”

“He’s got the beach house here so he was organizing activities and still does during down time,” Hardy confided. “He commands everyone’s respect not only through his hard work on the ice but also because of how likeable a guy he is… he never takes a shift off and gives you everything he has every shift. His intensity and that warrior mentality is something you want from your team every night.”

YOUTH NOT WASTED ON THE YOUNG
When you talk to Matt Greene about the future of the franchise, you get a better understanding of his knowledge about how the Kings are building and developing a team that can compete for the playoffs not just this season, but for many to come.

“This team has the chance to achieve anything we put our minds to,” Greene acknowledged. “I mean, (among the defensive unit), with Drew (Doughty) and Jack (Johnson), those guys have talent coming out of their ears and they don’t yet fully realize how much skill they have within them… Jack is really showing much more confidence, the way he carries the puck and how he shoots… Drew, he just always seems to be having a great time out there, always in the right place, and with that smile on his face; both of those guys are going to be great players for a long time in this organization.”

While acknowledging the talented young defensemen, Greene also provided a virtual tip of his cap to the two veteran rearguards, Sean O’Donnell and Rob Scuderi.

“You see the way those guys carry themselves off the ice, how they approach everything, how they work,” Greene said. “Sean, the way he protects the puck when he gathers it in, it’s very rarely taken away from him and that puck possession is something I’m trying to learn from him… with Rob, (smiles) that stick of his seems like it has a heartbeat of its own, and he’s always in position correctly. I hope to gain more knowledge from playing with those guys both on and off the ice.”

Other members of the club also understand how valuable an asset Greene is.

“Within our system, he’s caught on to what we do very quickly,” Hardy stated, “and he’s going to be a big part of what we do moving forward because he can be a big shut down guy for us.”

“He’s a very physical defenseman, and he’s getting better all the time at being able to handle himself and being the big force on defense,” Stoll suggested.

So when the day comes that the Kings hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup, don’t be surprised if Matt Greene has a big smile on his face… and plenty of stitches to go with it.