Darcy Greenaway has seen success in every league he has been in.

But let’s start at the beginning.

Greenaway was born on January 19, 1993 in Wilton, Ontario, just outside of Kingston. Growing up, he played a lot of different sports but it was hockey that was his true passion. Greenaway spent the majority of his minor hockey career in the Greater Kingston Minor Hockey system.


Photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

After the Greater Kingston bantam team folded during the 2007-08 season, the 15-year old climbed aboard the Loyalist Jets club in nearby Amherstview.

They say things happen for a reason, and what happened during Greenaway’s time with the Jets is solid proof. As the Kingston Whig Standard stated in their article Jets’ sensation key to grounding rivals: “Spearheading the Jets’ offence is a 15-year-old scoring dynamo named Darcy Greenaway, a former Greater Kingston triple-A minor peewee who has collected a career’s worth of goals in just one season with the Jets.” The article continues to say: “He’s had several hat-tricks, a few four-goal and five-goal games and an eight-goal effort, and if you think that latter outing constitutes his high-water mark, think again. In a 19-2 shellacking of Stirling, he scored 11 goals.”

Greenaway was a force to be reckoned with, scoring more than 200 goals during the season. The Jets went on to win the A.A. Morrison Trophy as the OMHA Bantam ‘B’ champions that year.

After his success with the Jets, Greenaway decided to head south of the border to attend Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Of the unique decision, Greenaway states: “At the time, I was looking to take the U.S. college route. My parents have always supported me with school and everything and wanted me to take care of my education. So at the time, I thought the college route might be a good route for me.”

He spent two seasons in Illinois playing in the Midwest Prep Hockey League. In his rookie year, Greenaway played a huge role in the school winning the league championship in 2008/09. Greenaway received lots of attention for his hard work and was selected in the 2009 OHL Priority Draft in the 7th round, 139th overall by the London Knights.

The following year, he was the top scorer in the League, recording 19 goals and 27 points in the span of 13 games. As a result of his solid season, the Youngstown Phantoms took Greenaway in the 2010 USHL Entry Draft in the 13th round, 182nd overall.

Despite being drafted in both Canadian and United States leagues, Greenaway decided to head to the Ontario Junior Hockey League. He boarded a plane and came back home to Canada to play for the mighty Wellington Dukes.

Over the summer of 2010, Greenaway had been in contact with Marty Abrams, Wellington’s General Manager and Head Coach. “I figured I was ready to make the step into Junior A so I went to training camp there,” Greenaway said. “Things worked out and I had a pretty good year there and had a long playoff run.”

It was a long playoff run indeed, as Greenaway led the Dukes to claim the 2011 Dudley Hewitt Cup as league champions.

After the solid year with Wellington, Greenaway inked a contract with his current team, the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. He put on his first black and yellow OHL uniform and debuted on Barrie Colts’ ice September 22, 2011. Greenaway later scored his first career goal on October 10th against the Oshawa Generals.

Had NCAA crossed his mind at all before he set foot in an OHL arena? A little bit. “With the school packages in the OHL now, it wasn’t too tough a decision,” explains the Kingston forward. “They really help out players with that so being given the opportunity to play Major Junior in my hometown, honestly, I just jumped at it.”

Greenaway came into the league a little older than most, but didn’t feel like he was treated as a rookie. “I think I was somewhere in between,” he comments. “The five years for junior hockey eligibility and I was right in the middle. I got along with a lot of the younger guys and the older guys were really nice in bringing me along as well.”

Greenaway plays like he is a seasoned veteran and is the leading scorer on the Frontenacs at the end of January. He says his past experiences at Lake Forest and Wellington have helped prepare him for this new chapter in his life. He also credits his coach, Todd Gill, as helping him develop as well.

What’s his biggest challenge in the league so far? The strength of other players, Greenaway admits. “It’s a strong league and there’s some big strong players out there so just trying to adjust to that was the biggest jump for me.”

As a 1993 birthday, Greenaway’s time in the Ontario Hockey League is limited, however, he looks ahead to his bright future. He hopes to someday clinch a spot in the National Hockey League.

Follow Darcy as he continues his first OHL season with the Kingston Frontenacs on Twitter: @dgreenaway22.