COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jet Greaves had never been to Europe until last week, so his five days in Paris with Hockey Canada were spent in a gawky, breathless wonder like any other tourist. A cafe stop on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, not far from the Arc de Triomphe, had him pinching himself.
“The Eiffel Tower is just looming over everything, right? So cool,” Greaves told The Athletic. “And I’m a huge tennis guy, so I walked around Roland Garros (home of the French Open), and it was so cool.”
Next up on the itinerary was Bern, Switzerland, where the 360-degree view just a few steps out of the hotel lobby — the soaring Alps, the Aare River babbling through the center of town — was the perfect natural counterbalance to Paris’ history.
“You’re like, at some point I gotta stop taking pictures,” Greaves laughed.
It’s all down to business today for Greaves and Team Canada, which opens the IIHF World Championships against Sweden in Fribourg, Switzerland, at 10:20 ET.
This entire experience for Greaves, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 25-year-old goaltender, is big and new and a dream come true — one that many across the hockey world would have never seen coming. Six years ago, Greaves was struggling with the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League when the Blue Jackets invited him as their third goaltender for the rookie prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich.
Today, he’s likely to emerge as Canada’s top goaltender in this tournament, backstopping a roster with Sidney Crosby, Macklin Celebrini, Ryan O’Reilly, John Tavares and other NHL stars, not to mention his Blue Jackets teammate Denton Mateychuk.
Team Canada coach Misha Donskov lives in Columbus, but it was the Hockey Canada management group, he said — former Toronto general manager Brad Treliving and Pittsburgh’s GM Kyle Dubas and assistant GM Jason Spezza, specifically — who zeroed in on Greaves.
“Jet was a main target for us,” Donskov said. “Columbus was so close to the playoffs, so we couldn’t have the conversation right away out of respect, right? But when they were eliminated, yeah, it was pretty obvious that we were going to be interested.
“It’s a long tournament, so everybody is going to get an opportunity to play. But from everything I’ve seen of Jet, and the way he played the other night (in a tune-up game vs. France, stopping 24 of 25 shots), he’s put himself in a really good spot.”
Greaves went 26-19-9 with a .908 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average this season. He twice wrested the No. 1 job away from Elvis Merzlikins, convincing coach Dean Evason early in the season and later Evason’s replacement Rick Bowness that he was the guy. And the closer you look at Greaves’ performance — by almost any measure, he was among the top 10-15 goaltenders in the league — the more you realize this opportunity with Hockey Canada really shouldn’t surprise anybody. Among Canadian-born goaltenders this season, only Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood (31) and Washington’s Logan Thompson (31) won more games.
Still, Greaves was not expecting the phone call from Hockey Canada a couple of days after the Blue Jackets missed the playoffs.
“We were in a playoff race, and that’s where my focus was,” Greaves said. “I wasn’t stepping out of that to think too far ahead, but when my agent called and said they’d had conversations with Hockey Canada … I’m just so, so grateful for the opportunity. It’s been amazing so far, and I’m really excited to see what’s in store for the next few weeks as well.”
Greaves said one of the defining memories of his childhood — the moment he wanted to play hockey, specifically as a goaltender — was when he was a five-year-old in Cambridge, Ont., watching Carey Price star for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships around the holidays in 2007.
“Growing up, it felt like every kid around me had the same dream,” Greaves said. “You want to play in the NHL, you want to play for Team Canada one day. … You never know if you’re going to get those opportunities, but that’s the dream.
“You see that sweater (in your locker stall) and realize you’re going to pull it over your head. … It’s important for me to cherish these moments. Once I get into the game, I’ve got a job to do, but yeah, you have those moments.”
Donskov hadn’t met Greaves until last week, he said, “but all I’ve ever heard is that you can’t find a more genuine, honest player and person. Just rave reviews. I told him I appreciated his commitment to Hockey Canada, because I know it was a long 82-game season for those guys in Columbus, a real grind. And he looked me in the eye and just said, ‘It means everything for me to be here, to be part of this.’
“Building a team is so important in a tournament like this, and it has to happen quick, right? Well, that’s a guy that other players gravitate toward. He’s earned this. I’m delighted he’s here.”
It’s hard to say where this opportunity might lead. The confidence that comes from an invitation like this is palpable, NHL veterans say: a chance to play alongside the likes of Crosby and the other stars of the game, to forge relationships across the league like never before, and so on.
Greaves has now played his way into a full-time NHL role. He’s now played well enough to earn consideration for international tournaments for a hockey powerhouse, and he’s emerged as one of Canada’s top goaltenders.
If his trajectory continues, why not the 2030 Olympics in Nice, France? Hey, if Greaves thinks Paris is cool …
“There are so many people who have helped me along the way,” Greaves said. “I really don’t think the credit is all mine. I’m still learning and learning and having new experiences. The positive experiences have been amazing, but really, all of it has worked together to get me to today. You never really know how tomorrow is going to go, but today is special.”
