What I love most is Greer’s ability to time joining the rush. At the perfect time I often see him in the ozone pressuring puck carriers or slide into the slot unmarked. Given his elite mobility in all directions, getting back on defense is not an issue, and is still determined to come back and strip his opponents of the puck. When carrying the puck, this mobility allows him to get to uncontested areas and show off his puck skill. Given the plethora of dangerous options up front on this Colts team, Kent is cognisant that finding one of them is likely the best option, but he does well to survey options and pick out prime passing lanes, or take a shot if the time, space, and lane is there.

Greer is aggressive in every facet of the game, which is what I've come to really appreciate about his game. Whether it's applying pressure to opponents, rushing the puck, or creeping into open space, Kent is consistently aggressive and never sits back and watches a play unfold. He always wants to be at the heart of the action and impact the game in any way he can. His mobility is at the core of his ability to play this style, as Kent can maneuver in any direction to navigate out of pressure or mirror an attacker's every move. This defending layer is something that's becoming more and more apparent as I've found Greer to be one of the better defenders at denying transitions and winning back possession of the puck in the Ontario circuit.

Greer was his active and involved self, constantly looking to support the attack and spark offence. He often activated up ice to join a rush sequence and be a passing option for his forwards. Similarly, within the offensive zone, Greer was always rovering around, looking to sneak into open space to receive passes for scoring chances. As I've come to expect, Greer was a deceptive puck handler, often creating separation with slick puck moves and opening up passing lanes with his crafty hands.

It's another solid performance from the Barrie defender. Once again, he was fantastic at breaking up play in the neutral zone, being active, jumping and intercepting passes. As always with Kent, after winning back possession, he was nearly perfect at transitioning the puck up ice with control. By both skating and sending passes up ice, Greer constantly positively impacted transition and racked up controlled entry after controlled entry. His success in pushing play through the neutral zone mainly relies on his lateral mobility, making him incredibly evasive and able to maneuver in any direction necessary to skirt forecheckers. His involvement in transition also applied when he didn't have the puck, as Kent was constantly looking to jump up and support the rush to be a passing option. Greer notched one goal in Barrie's victory, creeping into the slot off the point, catching and releasing a pass, and rifling it into the back of the net.

I have raved about Kent's play throughout the summer months at almost every event we covered. So it was no surprise to see more strong play from Greer at the Toronto Titans tournament. So many elements in his game stand out, but my favourite is his play in the neutral zone. Especially on the defensive side of the puck, Kent is so aggressive in applying pressure and denying transitions. He breaks up so many plays in the neutral zone through constant pressure and gets his team back on the attack. The second aspect I adored in Kent's game was his play at the offensive blue line. He was always active, rotating around into open space, cracking down the wall, and involving himself in the offensive sequence. Whether to apply pressure or sneak into open space, Greer was always in motion in the offensive zone. This constant motion made him effective as a rover in the offensive zone, not merely a locked-in-place passing option at the point. While Kent was great with the puck, connecting on plenty of passes up ice, those two elements stood out as unique aspects of his game that separated him from other defenders.

Greer is another defender in this group that I was quite familiar with after watching him a few times at the WSI 15U event a little over a month ago. Green was his deceptive and shifty self, controlling play from the back end, especially in the neutral and his defensive zone. With the puck, he could easily skirt oncoming forecheckers, spot a pass up the ice and create rush chances for Ottawa. When Kent saw open ice in front of him, he did not hesitate to carry the puck himself and jump up, trying to spark chances. It's no surprise that a lot of these same qualities were on display in the offensive zone. While managing the puck at the point, Greer was slick and deceptive, routinely shaking forwards to escape and open up clean shooting lanes. I've seen Kent more than a handful of times now, and I am becoming more confident that he'll open my initial 2024 OHL Draft list as one of the top defenders.

The WSI was an excellent showing for Greer, and the early indication is the World Youth Championship will be the same. He is such an evasive skater who relies on his slick footwork to create separation and push the puck up ice. Especially on retrievals, he can turn and retrieve a dumped in puck so cleanly, get his head up, and find the required route to a controlled exit. Greer effectively created counterattack chances for Everest with long stretch passes to teammates up ice. Further adding to his transition impact, Greer was aggressive in the neutral zone, jumping on passes and breaking up play with stick checks. Once he dispossessed the puck carrier, as expected, he could spot a pass-up ice to get his side back on the attack. This aggressiveness was also true in the offensive zone, as Kent constantly looked to pinch on loose pucks and keep the puck in the offensive third. The Pens Elite defender has been tremendous every time I've watched him, and he is someone I expect to debut as one of the top defenders in the Ontario class.

After a long stretch of knocking on the door, Kent Greer was the one who finally opened the scoring late in the first half of the game with an incredible shot from below the left circle on the powerplay. His shooting was looking promising leading up to him breaking the ice, firing an array of shots from the point and down low, he certainly looked like he was on his game to start. His powerplay goal came from an improbable angle and popped the water bottle off, inspiring quite a reaction from his teammates, as they extended their lead just over a minute later. Greer was skating well, leading rushes from his own end and using his feet to create separation and find himself some good shooting lanes. He positioned his body well to go into 50/50 battles and gather the puck, turning his back and absorbing the hit before skating away with possession. He is more of an offensive player from the back end but he added a few really big hits over the course of this game and set the tone to let the opposition know he wouldn’t be easy to beat. He used his skating ability well to recover defensively and match the puck carriers stride for stride, and used his accurate poke check to intervene and come away with the puck in his own end.

I've heard great things about Kent's game, and he definitely met my exceptions. Greer is incredibly shifty and can maneuver in any direction to escape pressure and advance play. He combined deceptive head fakes and quick lateral movements to skirt defenders and be extremely elusive. Kent was never concerned when under pressure, always calming, seeking a route to a controlled play, making him immensely effective in transition. In the offensive zone, Kent was scanning, looking to sneak into open space and be available for passes in the slot area. On the defensive side of the puck, he was breaking up countless plays by timing the exact moment to pounce for a stick check or jump on a stretch pass. All around, it was a great first impression, and selfishly I hope Greer returns to the Ottawa Valley Titans next season so I can keep a close eye on him.

I liked Greer’s game in this, he contributed well offensively and did a great job as the pivot on the powerplay to facilitate the play and keep the offense moving quickly from side to side. His passing was accurate and crisp and allowed for efficient movements from his teammates, setting them up to quickly bear down on the defense. He took the puck down low on his own a few times and as he went below the goal line looked towards the slot to see if anyone was bearing down on the net, but would circle back to the point if he didn’t like what he saw. He fired some good shots towards goal from the point and was able to generate some offense for his players around the net to crowd the crease.

The powerplay operator from the point, Kent Greer, looked really strong from the blue line and was a great pivot with the extra man. Racking up a goal and an assist over the weekend, his willingness to make either an incisive pass or unleash a howitzer from the blue line kept the defense guessing and he was happy to take whichever option they provided him and make the most of it. His shots were good at generating rebounds and he did well to mix up some softer wrist shots to give his forward a chance to get their sticks on it and redirect it. He moves well and had nice separation or recovery speed, depending on the situation, and his sharp edge work at the point enabled him to quickly work himself an opening to set up to receive the puck. He looked very solid at both ends of the ice and especially effective running the powerplay.