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Rangers prospect Liam Greentree on fire, earns latest OHL honor
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- Rangers prospect Liam Greentree on fire, earns latest OHL honor
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Rangers decision to trade Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings is aging well, at least at the moment.
With the Kings reeling following the Panarin trade, Rangers prospect Liam Greentree was named Ontario Hockey League player of the week for his huge, six-goal, seven-point week with Windsor.
The Rangers, of course, acquired the 20-year-old forward from Oshawa, Ontario, along with two conditional draft picks for Panarin on Feb. 4, before the Olympic roster freeze.
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Panarin has three assists in four games games with L.A., which lost three of those contests. The Kings (24-22-14) also fired coach Jim Hiller on Sunday, and sit four points out a wild-card spot in the Western Conference .
Liam Greentree Named OHL Player of the Week
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Greentree has a first-round pedigree, since the Kings chose him with the 26th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and he showed why throughout his four years with the Spitfires. He recently became the 21st player in the past 20 years to record 300 points in the OHL.
The 6-foot-3, 216-pounder helped Windsor win each of its three games last week, averaging two goals per game, to earn player of the week honors in the OHL.
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On Thursday, Greentree scored twice in regulation, and then netted the game-deciding goal in the shootout against Peterborough. He was named the First Star from that contest, and in his next game on Friday, when he recorded his second hat trick of the season in a victory over London.
Greentree completed his big week with an empty-net goal and an assists against Barrie on Saturday. He now has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in his past nine games.
With his hat trick against Peterborough, Greentree passed former NHL defenseman Ryan Ellis for second place on the Spitfires' all-time points list. He ranks third on Windsor's all-time goals scored list and still has eight regular-season games left plus the OHL playoffs — he needs 10 goals to surpass the two ex-Windsor players ahead of him, Ernie Godden and Bill Bowler.
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Greentree is second on Windsor in goals (33) and points (61) this season and earned a bronze medal, when he represented Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championship.
His production may pale in comparison to his 49 goals and 119 points from 2024-25, but he still is a much-needed high-end prospect for the Rangers system.
Liam Greentree Could Join the Rangers or Wolf Pack Before This Season Ends
Liam Greentree — photo courtesy OHL Images
Greentree does not have a college commitment, though he could opt to play NCAA hockey somewhere. But Greentree is in his final season in junior and under an entry-level contract, which he signed with the Kings in July 2024.
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Windsor's regular season ends March 22, and already qualified for the postseason. But if the Spitfires were eliminated from the playoffs before the Rangers regular season ends April 15, he could play in the NHL — or AHL with Hartford, if it were to qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Whether Greentree joins Mike Sullivan 's team or Grant Potulny's Wolf Pack in the spring or the fall, the Rangers must feel good about raising their organizational depth with a player expected to be an NHL regular — likely in the middle six — in the not too distant future.
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