Prospect Info: 2022 Draft: #11 - Conor Geekie, C

[Grimes]

I had Geekie going to the BJs with the 12th pick, so I find it fascinating that we traded up to the 11th, and with Bill talking to Jarko the other day, did it slip out they were interested?

Will he be centering for Guenther?

With how well he plays with Savoie I feel Keller would be a natural fit, or a guy like Maccelli. Let Cooley and Guenther fly down the ice together. Let Geekie scoop pucks up for the more finesse guys.

 

[PHX FireBirds18]

I don’t remember which podcast, but I remember hearing that Geekie really stole the show at the combine with his personality. He showed off his singing talents which are apparently pretty good, and I believe he treated teams to a juggling show, as well.

We need to get him and Biz together ASAP!

 

[Llewzaher]

We need to get him and Biz together ASAP!

I think Gauthiervwas the juggler.. unless they both did

 

[Jormungandr]

I had Geekie going to the BJs with the 12th pick, so I find it fascinating that we traded up to the 11th, and with Bill talking to Jarko the other day, did it slip out they were interested?

Will he be centering for Guenther?

Ryan Jankowski mentions this exactly in his and Daryl Plandowski’s duel interview

 

[rt]

Ryan Jankowski mentions this exactly in his and Daryl Plandowski’s duel interview

Yep. He just said that they knew he was going 12th.

EDIT: They said as soon as he made it to 7th, they started getting excited and pressuring Bill to move up and get them a pick before 12th so that they could select him.

Columbus also picked 6th. So I guess that shows that Columbus was very high on this player, if they thought there was a chance he'd go 6th.

This tells me two things; first, the Coyotes (and their very respectable scouting staff) had him ranked no later than 6th overall, AND Columbus (and their very respectable scouting staff) also had him ranked inside the Top 10.

If you were feeling uneasy about this pick, you shouldn't. Armstrong (Blues architect), Plandowski (Lightning architect), Hepple (Avalanche architect) and Jarmo (and the Blue Jackets staff) all apparently really like this kid. That's a very good sign, as far as I'm concerned.

San Jose, a team in absolute chaos with no front-office or coaching staff, was overwhelmed and just got the heck out of the early part of the draft, excusing themselves from all stakes higher than late 1sts.

This is all very reassuring stuff.

 

[TheLegend]

I had Geekie going to the BJs with the 12th pick, so I find it fascinating that we traded up to the 11th, and with Bill talking to Jarko the other day, did it slip out they were interested?

Will he be centering for Guenther?

Staff had him slotted 7-12. He was going 12 had they not jumped up to get him.

 

[rt]

Staff had him slotted 7-12. He was going 12 had they not jumped up to get him.

They didn’t start trying to trade up at 7th because they had him 7th-12th. If they started calling to trade up at 7th they had him no later than 7th. But logically, it means they had him earlier than 7th. And if they believed Columbus was going to take him at 6th but knew he’d go no later than 12th, it’s not because Columbus had him 6th-12th. It’s because they had him much closer to 6th than 12th.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

They didn’t start trying to trade up at 7th because they had him 7th-12th. If they started calling to trade up at 7th they had him no later than 7th. But logically, it means they had him earlier than 7th. And if they believed Columbus was going to take him at 6th but knew he’d go no later than 12th, it’s not because Columbus had him 6th-12th. It’s because they had him much closer to 6th than 12th.

Exactly...most likely they had him in their top 5 and they thought he'd go somewhere 7-12, but once Columbus passed at 6, then they wanted to move up to get him.

Something tells me that if Slaf & Cooley had gone 1 & 2, the #3 pick would have been Geekie. They talked about having 4 forwards within their top 5 picks, so that 4th forward was either Geekie or Gauthier most likely and so do we know which one it was?

 

[zerekstar]

I had Geekie at 11th on my list. There were players I liked more available but most of them were small, so after Cooley I’m fine with this.

As much as I’ve been saying “trust the staff”, I’m going to do just that. When we picked Cooley, I took the staff approval as affirmation. That it was proof my feelings were correct and Cooley was a good pick. With Geekie I’m going to take it as assurance. Despite my doubts, I’m assured that the staff knows what they’re doing.

A couple of notes;

1) he’s a great kid from a great family. There’s a Wheeler article about his backstory that everyone needs to read. It was noted at the combine that he kind of stole the show with his personality. Teams loved him. Also, he’d hilarious is kind of an air-head way. His brother too. Go watch videos of his brother’s interviews in Seattle. He’s hilarious.

2) sometimes he’s the best player in this draft. Seriously. I’ve seen shifts, games, and weeks where he looks like Adam Fantilli and not only better than Savoie but better than Cooley or Wright or Slafkovsky. When he’s on his game he’s a force. When he’s pissed off, he’s incredible. But he’s woefully inconsistent. He can sleepwalk through shifts, games, and even weeks.

That’s his issue. It’s not skating. People who think skating is the problem are being lazy in their analysis. His skating isn’t an issue at al when he’s on. It’s an issue when he’s not. And THAT is his issue; consistency. The only reason Geekie wasn’t 1st overall in this draft is consistency. He doesn’t always play at his top level. If he did, Montreal would’ve taken him instead of Slafkovsky.

3) he’s nothing like Dylan Strome apart from being a tall CHL center drafted early. Their games aren’t sole at all.

Thx RT I feel a lot better about this pick now

 

[Naych_PHX]

Geekie was the kind of high pick I wanted, personality wise. I didn't want us to pick another stereotypical, bloodline pick trying to pretend to be Captain Serious. Acting all way too professional and like it's all business. I wanted a kid who was just kinda aloof and can go with the flow for a few years and have fun, THEN grow into that mature attitude. Of course I don't mean I wanted a party animal either.

 

[Llewzaher]

Kind of skates like Doan in that vid

 

[BAdvocate]

Liking this pick more and more as the days go by. He doesn't seem like someone with a physical edge to his game, but interviews by Coyotes scouts and the kid himself say otherwise.

Can anyone who watched him a lot speak to the physical side of his game?

 

[rt]

Liking this pick more and more as the days go by. He doesn't seem like someone with a physical edge to his game, but interviews by Coyotes scouts and the kid himself say otherwise.

Can anyone who watched him a lot speak to the physical side of his game?

Depends on if he’s engaged or not. If he’s on his game, he’s an absolute menace, in every sense. He skates extremely well for his size when he’s on his game. He’s a bull, a bully, and loves starting bullshit when he’s on his game. He’ll beat you all over the ice, in every zone, when he’s feeling it.

When he’s not feeling it, he’s worthless. A big, slow, soft, waste of space.

I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that in some games he’s the best player in the draft and in other games he’s not even worth a 7th round pick.

His ONLY issue is consistency. Unfortunately, that’s the main issue for prospects who bust. So this is a big gamble. The definition of boom or bust.

 

[AZviaNJ]

Does hell have ASU coeds in bikinis at the pool?

Probably....they're called Devils for a reason!

 

[Dead Coyote]

While I have my doubts about the player, I trust BA and his staff. I know the upside is absolutely huge here. I hope that the coaching staff can get that development out of him. Because otherwise he's going to turn into the next Perlini, or another Domi/Duclair.

 

[rt]

If you consider AZ's '22 2nd and MTL's '24 2nd essentially a wash, then Geekie was effectively acquired for Dvorak and taking on Ladd. For me, Ladd was a positive, rather than a negative addition. At least to me, and it's not technically accurate, but it's how I feel personally, we got Geekie for Dvorak. Basically 1:1, IMO. That's really not bad at all. I'm going to go ahead and tell myself the trade was Dvorak for Geekie. Easy to wrap my head around that.

 

[RABBIT]

Seems we are hung up on 2 red flags: speed and inconsistency

I think the speed thing is scary for us due to our track record with slow prospects. Understandable, but this dude has some high upside. Based off of what I’ve seen, he also doesn’t even look that slow. He’s not blowing doors off of people but he isn’t falling behind either. I’m hoping for a more offensive, less defensive Hanzal (minus the health stuff.)

Regarding consistency - not saying there’s any correlation here, but Ryan Getzlaf slipped in his draft year because scouts thought he was lazy. If we see Geekie taking shifts off in the NHL then you try and coach that shit out of him. If that doesn’t work…well, you only gave up two 2nds to move up 16 spots to gamble on a big kid your scouts believe in. I bet a lot of GM’s would take that risk.

I’m excited about this guy. I’m pumped we left the first round with 2 offensive, natural centers that offer two differing sets of skills.

 

[rt]

Seems we are hung up on 2 red flags: speed and inconsistency

I think the speed thing is scary for us due to our track record with slow prospects. Understandable, but this dude has some high upside. Based off of what I’ve seen, he also doesn’t even look that slow. He’s not blowing doors off of people but he isn’t falling behind either. I’m hoping for a more offensive, less defensive Hanzal (minus the health stuff.)

Regarding consistency - not saying there’s any correlation here, but Ryan Getzlaf slipped in his draft year because scouts thought he was lazy. If we see Geekie taking shifts off in the NHL then you try and coach that shit out of him. If that doesn’t work…well, you only gave up two 2nds to move up 16 spots to gamble on a big kid your scouts believe in. I bet a lot of GM’s would take that risk.

Geekie doesn’t have a speed problem. At least not when I’ve watched him play games. I watched a lot of Winnipeg games this year. I don’t see a speed problem. When he’s on his game, his skating/speed is great for a kid his size. When he’s off his game, he’s slow. But when he’s off his game everything about him is bad. When he’s on, it’s all great, including the feet.

 

[RABBIT]

Geekie doesn’t have a speed problem. At least not when I’ve watched him play games. I watched a lot of Winnipeg games this year. I don’t see a speed problem. When he’s on his game, his skating/speed is great for a kid his size. When he’s off his game, he’s slow. But when he’s off his game everything about him is bad. When he’s on, it’s all great, including the feet.

If this is true, then he may just need a good coach/motivator to streamline his development. I think we have a guy who has an impressive résumé in that regard.

 

[rt]

If this is true, then he may just need a good coach/motivator to streamline his development. I think we have a guy who has an impressive résumé in that regard.

I’ve seen him look like Alex Tuch, flying through the neutral zone, gaining the blueline, cutting to the inside, lowering the shoulder, and dangling to the net. I’m sure there are plenty of highlights showing his ABILITY to skate extremely well. It’s in him. It’s just how often and how consistently he chooses to show it. That’s the issue.

 

[RABBIT]

I’ve seen him look like Alex Tuch, flying through the neutral zone, gaining the blueline, cutting to the inside, lowering the shoulder, and dangling to the net. I’m sure there are plenty of highlights showing his ABILITY to skate extremely well. It’s in him. It’s just how often and how consistently he chooses to show it. That’s the issue.

I guess I’m more comfortable with something I feel can be remedied through good coaching and reality checks rather than something he physically struggles with.

 

[rt]

This highlight package is super old, and doesn’t show a ton of what I’m taking about but it does show some flashes of the feet, I’m talking about:



There’s newer and better. But a 6’4 kid who can move like that doesn’t have mobility issues. He’s just sleepy. He snoozes for loooong stretches. But when you poke that bear? Look out!!! I’m not kidding. He’s capable of DOMINANT play. Well above anything I’ve seen from any other player in this draft class all season.

 

[rt]

I guess I’m more comfortable with something I feel can be remedied through good coaching and reality checks rather than something he physically struggles with.

It’s good to know it’s in there. And also that he’s a great kid. He’s got everything he needs to be a first line center. It all comes down to whether or not he’s going to use what he’s got consistently enough to pull it off.

This is me agreeing with you, by the way. Haha.

A lot of people got really down on Geekie by the end of the year. Especially the social media scout guys. The spreadsheet boys who love nothing more than 5’9 wingers the dipsey doodle and have fantastic high-danger-close-shot-attempt-genreration-from possession-after controlled zone entry metrics (tracked over a whopping 21 period sample - that they produce 9 different charts and graphics from). You know the ones. They very predictably hated Geekie by the end of the year as part of their brand.

I never had him later than 11th on my list. And it took a lot for me to move Mateychuk past him at 10th. Ultimately Geekie did go 11th but Mateychuk didn’t go until 12th. How embarrassing for me. Haha.

 

[Jamieh]

Seems we are hung up on 2 red flags: speed and inconsistency

I think the speed thing is scary for us due to our track record with slow prospects. Understandable, but this dude has some high upside. Based off of what I’ve seen, he also doesn’t even look that slow. He’s not blowing doors off of people but he isn’t falling behind either. I’m hoping for a more offensive, less defensive Hanzal (minus the health stuff.)

Regarding consistency - not saying there’s any correlation here, but Ryan Getzlaf slipped in his draft year because scouts thought he was lazy. If we see Geekie taking shifts off in the NHL then you try and coach that shit out of him. If that doesn’t work…well, you only gave up two 2nds to move up 16 spots to gamble on a big kid your scouts believe in. I bet a lot of GM’s would take that risk.

I’m excited about this guy. I’m pumped we left the first round with 2 offensive, natural centers that offer two differing sets of skills.

I have never seen Geekie play but had WHL season tickets when Getzlaf was there. He was an absolute beast in Jr, would score, hit, and then beat up your toughest guy if you objected.

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

Was just curious about all those value tables for draft picks. Took the most recent one from google:

11th (338) ------ 27th (166), 34th (121), 45th (75) - total (362)

Examining the value of NHL Draft picks - Sound Of Hockey

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I'm very sceptical of these things but that's actually pretty close. Impressive positioning by BA and his team to get in there with the Sharks and make it happen. Geekie has faults but he's still far more of a prize than anyone we could have got at those later picks.