After today’s skate, I chatted for a few minutes with Jim Greene, Matt’s father, who made the trip out west from Grand Ledge, Mich. Mr. Greene talked about the fathers’ trip…
JIM GREENE: “It’s just always good to be able to spend time with my son. We don’t see him that often. We watch TV. We purchased the NHL Center Ice package so we can watch the games, but nothing beats being right here with him. A lot of times when we see him on the road, if he comes to Detroit or Chicago and we get to see him, you can have these little pieces of conversations, but you can’t really relax and let the conversations flow. It’s nicer to spend some uninterrupted time with him and get to chat a little bit. It’s good to get caught up.”
I asked Mr. Greene if watching his son on the ice brought back memories of watching him play as a youngster…
JIM GREENE: “It really does. You know, it’s amazing. No matter what level these young men get to, you still think of them as being kids. They’re still playing a game that they love, and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to see him doing what he wants to do, and getting as much satisfaction out of it as he does. That’s always good. You worry, just like any parent. If you’re the parent of a Mite or a Pee-Wee player, you worry about them getting hurt or whatever. It’s still the same. I think I could even speak for most parents of professional players. You still worry about your kid, and you want him to stay healthy, you want him to feel good about himself, and that’s really the bottom line.”
From one Hockey Dad to another, he’s 100% right……! Nothing worse than seeing your Kid go down and get up slowly.
…. but only a few things better than seeing that same Kid put it in the Net a few minutes later!!!
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YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED HIM ABOUT THE PUCKS MATT TOOK TO THE FACE LAST SEASON
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Those are some great quotes from Mr. Greene. Once a parent, always a parent… no matter how old the kids get.
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We’re pretty proud of him too Mr. Greene. You did one helluva job raising him as his belief in ‘Team’ is better than most. I can only imagine what you felt as a parent when you saw him take a puck to the face blocking that shot last year. He is one tough (Shut yo mouth!)
Enjoy your time with him and thanks for doing such a great job.
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Is mr Greene as funny as his son? At Hockey fest Matt was hilariuos. Making fun of Simmonds accent and his own girl situation.
-Dave
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I must have totally missed something at some point. What’s with the mock adulation for Juraj Mikus? It’s almost a Chuck Norris thing at this point and I have no clue why! Funny stuff though!
For every goal Juraj Mikus scores there is one less starving person in the world…one more hat trick will end world hunger.
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Awwww…how much do we love Mr. Greene! Matt’s a lucky guy. Rich, if you get the chance, make sure he knows how much we love his kid around here. We’ll take good care of him.
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Jim and the Mrs. did a great job raising Matt. He’s a leader, selfless player, lays it on the line every game (i.e. not lazy) and is tough as nails. I hope they spend some time together. In fact, I’m going to call my dad, now.
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He SHOULD be proud. Greene is a true leader and character guy to the core.
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