C Conor Geekie - Swift Current Broncos, WHL (2022, 11th, ARI; traded to TBL)

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Reminds me of Jordan Staal… and he’s quietly had a really good career

James Sheppard is the guy that comes to mind for me

 

[Oilers]

James Sheppard is the guy that comes to mind for me

Ahh I remember Shep, but boy do I not remember how he plays, but been a while since I seen that name

 

[tomd]

Ahh I remember Shep, but boy do I not remember how he plays, but been a while since I seen that name

Big feet and slower than molasses is what I remember.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Big feet and slower than molasses is what I remember.

Haha exactly. Though he was pretty good with the puck in the Q. Geekie has a lot of the same attributes, though he's not as tough as Shep.

 

[Chainshot]

Big feet and slower than molasses is what I remember.

That's a disservice to big feet. Shep had skis, absolute gunboats.

 

[wetcoast]

James Sheppard is the guy that comes to mind for me

Yikes that doesn't bode well for the Yotes and frankly I think Geekie might really struggle to carve out a decent NHL career.

 

[landy92mack29]

Bigger role this year and is putting up big numbers, currently 6th in WHL scoring. Is finally getting PP1 which is why his numbers never looked as good as his talent suggests he should be getting but Wild have to lean heavy on the top guys now with little depth. Was expecting them to struggle this year tbh and sell to start recouping assets but have been surprisingly good. Looks like Buffalo might be stupidly keeping Benson which will hurt the Wild but probably help Geekie. Should have a top 6 role on the WJC team this year but we all know how dumb Hockey Canada can be

 

[rt]

People who say Geekie is slow are telling on themselves. Surefire way to spot someone who extrapolates on tiny sample sizes.

It might seem that way if you catch the wrong shift or the wrong game. But nobody can watch more than a handful of games without seeing that he can really move. It’s just that he’s doesn’t always choose to do so. That’s Geekie.

He’s got elite tools for his size. He doesn’t use any of them with consistency. Which is why he went 11th instead of top 5. He was a project pick. The gamble was always on whether he could find more consistency. Much less about the development of any particular tool.

He’s got a little more consistent all the while since his draft. Not as much as I’d hoped by the end of last season. But he’s gaining ground now at double-time and closing the gap for me.

 

[majormajor]

People who say Geekie is slow are telling on themselves. Surefire way to spot someone who extrapolates on tiny sample sizes.

I think part of the problem is that "fast skater" "slow skater" and "good skater" "bad skater" do a poor job of describing players. There are a lot of players that fit this archetype of fast straight line skater that lacks small area quickness and lacks tight turns.

 

[CowbellConray]

Bigger role this year and is putting up big numbers, currently 6th in WHL scoring. Is finally getting PP1 which is why his numbers never looked as good as his talent suggests he should be getting but Wild have to lean heavy on the top guys now with little depth. Was expecting them to struggle this year tbh and sell to start recouping assets but have been surprisingly good. Looks like Buffalo might be stupidly keeping Benson which will hurt the Wild but probably help Geekie. Should have a top 6 role on the WJC team this year but we all know how dumb Hockey Canada can be

Why are the Sabres stupid for keeping Benson? He has been a great fit in the lineup for them. Gives Geekie a good chance at a true leadership role, and he is producing as a result. With Savoie back as well, they should continue to push the envelope on the ice

 

[landy92mack29]

Why are the Sabres stupid for keeping Benson? He has been a great fit in the lineup for them. Gives Geekie a good chance at a true leadership role, and he is producing as a result. With Savoie back as well, they should continue to push the envelope on the ice

Because except for the Bedards, Mackinnons, etc it usually stunts 18 year olds when they play a full year in the NHL like with Dach, Sillinger, etc. Better for the long term development of them to go to juniors and focus on getting better instead of just trying to stay in the lineup. Even most 19 year olds would be better off back in Juniors or stay in college tbh. Quite a few junior/college/euro players could play in the nhl but it's more about what is best for the long term development of them. I'm glad the Yotes aren't rushing Geekie like they did with Hayton but then you have them weirdly not playing Guenther or Soderstrom....odd organization.

 

[CowbellConray]

Because except for the Bedards, Mackinnons, etc it usually stunts 18 year olds when they play a full year in the NHL like with Dach, Sillinger, etc. Better for the long term development of them to go to juniors and focus on getting better instead of just trying to stay in the lineup. Even most 19 year olds would be better off back in Juniors or stay in college tbh. Quite a few junior/college/euro players could play in the nhl but it's more about what is best for the long term development of them. I'm glad the Yotes aren't rushing Geekie like they did with Hayton but then you have them weirdly not playing Guenther or Soderstrom....odd organization.

In general I agree, but I know you can appreciate nuance. Benson is playing right now because 1)they are down two/three forwards and 2) he has shown an ability to play up and down the lineup.

Stunted development carries a number of variables, the moment Benson looks out of place is the moment he gets sent back. It may be risky, but stupid is a bit of a stretch imo

 

[lanky]

I'm glad the Yotes aren't rushing Geekie like they did with Hayton but then you have them weirdly not playing Guenther or Soderstrom....odd organization.

It was the prior administration that mis-handled Hayton. The current administration is very patient.
I think Bill Armstrong is a big fan of both Guenther and Soderstom. They will have big roles soon. I think he feels those guys have one or two last lessons to learn from the AHL.

 

[wetcoast]

People who say Geekie is slow are telling on themselves. Surefire way to spot someone who extrapolates on tiny sample sizes.

It might seem that way if you catch the wrong shift or the wrong game. But nobody can watch more than a handful of games without seeing that he can really move. It’s just that he’s doesn’t always choose to do so. That’s Geekie.

He’s got elite tools for his size. He doesn’t use any of them with consistency. Which is why he went 11th instead of top 5. He was a project pick. The gamble was always on whether he could find more consistency. Much less about the development of any particular tool.

He’s got a little more consistent all the while since his draft. Not as much as I’d hoped by the end of last season. But he’s gaining ground now at double-time and closing the gap for me.

Agree with this but the problem with Geekie is that for how skilled he looks in practice with very good projection, his production seems to always be lacking.

Heck even this season being 11th in scoring seems good on the surface but with his skillset he should be top 5 and that's a reason for concern IMO.

 

[rt]

Agree with this but the problem with Geekie is that for how skilled he looks in practice with very good projection, his production seems to always be lacking.

Heck even this season being 11th in scoring seems good on the surface but with his skillset he should be top 5 and that's a reason for concern IMO.

Reason for concern? Haha.

 

[wetcoast]

Reason for concern? Haha.

Sure he isn't very good in the faceoff circle in the WHL as a big guy and I have a hard time seeing him as a center in the NHL and he needs to pick up his effort and consistency if he doesn't want to be another big guy that looked good against boys but didn't make it.

I say this as someone who was very high on him but he just hasn't developed all that well.

 

[rt]

Sure he isn't very good in the faceoff circle in the WHL as a big guy and I have a hard time seeing him as a center in the NHL and he needs to pick up his effort and consistency if he doesn't want to be another big guy that looked good against boys but didn't make it.

I say this as someone who was very high on him but he just hasn't developed all that well.

His faceoff results indicate he hasn’t developed well? Oh boy.

 

[wetcoast]

His faceoff results indicate he hasn’t developed well? Oh boy.

You are absolutely right, it's not like his production didn't raise eyebrows in his D+1 year which was my original point.

He was drafted as a big center so his faceoff % in his D+2 year really is something that might push him off center at the next level.

Like I said I was really high on him as a prospect at one point but his development didn't match the hype, sort of like Shane Wright.

 

[rt]

You are absolutely right, it's not like his production didn't raise eyebrows in his D+1 year which was my original point.

He was drafted as a big center so his faceoff % in his D+2 year really is something that might push him off center at the next level.

Like I said I was really high on him as a prospect at one point but his development didn't match the hype, sort of like Shane Wright.

The way that you talk about this prospect, referencing just points and face-off win percentage (haha) leads me to believe you haven’t watched him play hockey and are instead basing these opinions off of his stat line. Is that correct?

 

[wetcoast]

The way that you talk about this prospect, referencing just points and face-off win percentage (haha) leads me to believe you haven’t watched him play hockey and are instead basing these opinions off of his stat line. Is that correct?

I haven't seen any full games this year but have watched the highlights of most of his games and watched him a bit last year.

I also have in lost seasons read local reports on him but not this year.

Like most people on these boards I'm not a scout and don't watch any of the prospects with any great regularity.

That being said I'm pretty objective with the information I have on any player I comment on and his production post draft hasn't been inspiring.

I sure hope you aren't going to be one of those gotchya people that watch a lot of games on a prospect and think that in itself means anything.

we had some people like that in the Bedard thread and it was annoying.

If we agree to disagree that's fine but it's not because one of us has viewed Geekie more than the other guy it's a difference of opinion based on the information we have.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

I think part of the problem is that "fast skater" "slow skater" and "good skater" "bad skater" do a poor job of describing players. There are a lot of players that fit this archetype of fast straight line skater that lacks small area quickness and lacks tight turns.

Jason Chimera playing f***in Tron out there..

 

[landy92mack29]

His draft year he only had 2 pp goals of his 24, d+1 6 pp goals of his 35. His "lack of production" was simply not getting pp1 time. In today's game unless you're playing pp1 it's basically impossible to put up big numbers. Big reason why I discount pp points and only really care about 5v5 production.

 

[rt]

I haven't seen any full games this year but have watched the highlights of most of his games and watched him a bit last year.

I also have in lost seasons read local reports on him but not this year.

Like most people on these boards I'm not a scout and don't watch any of the prospects with any great regularity.

That being said I'm pretty objective with the information I have on any player I comment on and his production post draft hasn't been inspiring.

I sure hope you aren't going to be one of those gotchya people that watch a lot of games on a prospect and think that in itself means anything.

we had some people like that in the Bedard thread and it was annoying.

If we agree to disagree that's fine but it's not because one of us has viewed Geekie more than the other guy it's a difference of opinion based on the information we have.

No. Watching hockey players play hockey games is the best way to understand how they play hockey and what to expect from their game. No explanation required.

 

[dire wolf]

Geekie just completed a natural hat trick in the last 7 minutes of regulation to tie the game. Wenatchee was down 5-1 in the third period. Savoie scored, and then Geekie with 3 in a row to tie the game with 1 minute left. Headed into OT. He and Savoie looking good again this year.

EDIT: Geekie scores his 4th in row to win it in OT. Wow! Savoie with 1G 2A

 

[Coyotes19c]

https://x.com/thewhl/status/1731173652887130169?s=46&t=ih_AwkQcgQSQmzSORZTcwQ