Brotherly competition pushed Geekie

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This article was published 06/07/2022 (1329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Conor Geekie was raised his entire life for what’s about to happen next.

The six-foot-three, 190-pound forward from Strathclair is the fifth-ranked North American skater in the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting final rankings, one spot behind his Winnipeg Ice teammate Matthew Savoie. The first round of the draft is in Montreal on Thursday.

Geekie’s oldest brother Morgan skates with the Seattle Kraken, while middle brother Noah, who was drafted by the Calgary Hitmen, had another outstanding season playing baseball with the Division II Emporia State Hornets. Even his father Craig is a former Western Hockey League player and longtime hockey and baseball coach.

It proved to be a kiln that moulded great athletes.

“Whether we were playing ping pong in grandma’s basement or pool or volleyball, basketball, you name it, we probably played it,” Geekie said of his relationship with his brothers. “It really made me who I am. You see the competitiveness — whether maybe I’m running my mouth a little too much on the ice or whatever that may be — I’m not a very good loser by any means. I think it brings a lot of character to me and a lot of passion.

“Seeing Morgan go through it, maybe it’s the third child genes talking but I’m trying to get better than him. We’re super proud of each other but we push each other to the limits for sure.”

Geekie, who turned 18 in May, flew out to Montreal on Tuesday. Along with some cousins, aunts and uncles, his brothers and their partners, his girlfriend and his parents Craig and Tobi are also making the trip.

He’s eager to see what happens in Montreal.

“A lot of excitement comes with it,” Geekie said. “Growing up a kid and seeing my name on a ranking, from top 10 to top five, wherever that is … it’s just a ranking, you never know what happens on draft day. There have been some crazy things happen but I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’m really happy I get to go and spend it with the people who mean the most to me.”

After the Ice took Savoie with the first overall pick in the WHL draft in 2019, they traded up for the second pick and grabbed Geekie.

Geekie was a complete player with the Yellowhead Chiefs in his final bantam AA season — 49 goals, 37 assists, 86 points and 59 penalty minutes in 31 games as captain — but he said he’s improved his skating a lot since landing in Winnipeg.

“I’ve worked hard to hold my own when it comes to full speed or little things like crossovers,” Geekie said. “I’m trying to add that into my game a little bit because that’s one of my stronger points when it comes to skating. Even my physicality, I think I play more of a heavier game now, but obviously not nearly as much as I probably should.”

Geekie put up 24 goals, 46 assists, 49 penalty minutes and a gaudy plus-minus of 46 in 63 games to earn his spot near the top of Central Scoutings rankings. In the Regina hub as a WHL rookie, he had 23 points in 24 games.

With his close friend Savoie also in the lineup — along with Winnipeg forward Mikey Milne, ranked 119th among North American skaters — the Ice were watched by NHL scouts on a lot of nights last season. Geekie said he never allowed the outside noise to become a distraction.

“With good parents and a good family, that allowed me to keep that out of my head, and just focus on the game and focus on what I wanted to do,” Geekie said. “I just focused on my task at hand and that was to obviously play my best every night.

“It’s definitely cool to think about now that the season’s over, and how everything went down. It was a lot of fun. We had a great team.”

The Ice went 53-10-3-2 for 111 points to win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions. After eliminating the Prince Albert Raiders and Moose Jaw Warriors, they were knocked out of the playoffs in five games by the eventual league champion Edmonton Oil Kings.

Since they were eliminated a couple of days before the NHL combine, Savoie and Geekie didn’t have to do any of the physical testing. Instead, Geekie estimates he was interviewed by 17 or 18 teams, something the personable teenager enjoyed.

“They normally just laughed when I said I was from a town of 130, 150 people,” he said.

It’s apparent that Geekie never lost his sense of humour during the season, something that can happen to top prospects who don’t enjoy the pressure. In warmup, you could see Geekie’s head sometimes bopping along to the music and a wide smile on his face when he interacted with his teammates or even children in the crowd.

“I play the game because I love it and I love to have fun,” Geekie said. “I don’t play the game because mom or dad made me. It was my only decision in life. I play to have fun and try to have fun all over the ice. If someone cracks a joke on the bench or I fall awkwardly or someone falls awkwardly into the boards … I just try to keep it as loose as possible while trying to dial it in when it comes to big moments or when you really have to work hard or figure things out.”

For a guy quick to spot positives, another big one came on March 23. Geekie was part of the victorious Team White at the Top Prospects game at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

“It was a lot of fun,” Geekie said. “It was a lot of media and a lot of meeting new people. They kind of just throw you at the team and you go from there. It was a cool experience to go through that and be on the bench with some TSN guys.”

He also got a kick out of the crowd.

“It was a great atmosphere with everyone just cheering: They didn’t really have a favourite team or anything,” Geekie said. “It was just a bunch of crazy fans, which was a lot of fun.”

Geekie remains in the Hockey Canada pipeline, which he has been part of for a couple of years. He was invited to play with Canada’s entry at the Winter Youth Olympics in 2020 but had to miss the tournament due to a case of mononucleosis. Savoie and Brandon Wheat Kings forward Nate Danielson both played, with Canada earning a silver medal.

Geekie earned another shot on June 16 when Hockey Canada announced he had been invited to attend the summer selection camp. While it’s a tough team to make at 18 — most rosters have a healthy number of players in their 19-year-old seasons — Geekie is grateful for the opportunity.

“That’s kind of been my dream for a while,” Geekie said. “All the cousins come over for Christmas and we throw it on (TV). Having the opportunity to maybe throw that jersey on and play for them would be a lot of fun. It’s one step in the right direction, right? Getting this opportunity and just chance to go is a really big pleasure and it’s pretty surreal.”

But before he heads to Calgary for the selection camp, which will be held July 23 to 27, the next big step comes at the NHL draft in Montreal. Geekie is excited and realistic all at the same time.

“It’s going to be a sigh of relief, but that’s when the real hard work starts,” Geekie said.

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