BRANDON, Fla. -- Conor Geekie was in full relaxation mode when his phone rang with the news that would change the trajectory of his hockey career.
It was June 29, and the 20-year-old center was getting ready to head to development camp with the Utah Hockey Club, which began a few days later. However, those travel plans changed after Utah traded Geekie to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with defenseman Janis Moser, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.
"It was crazy. I was literally just laying in bed when I got the phone call," Geekie said three days after the trade. "It's different. I've been traded in juniors, but it's not really the same. Coming into an organization like Tampa, it's one of those things you cherish forever. I told my whole family that I really wasn't going to feel it until I put the jersey on, but now it's kind of settling in."
The Lightning wanted to make Geekie's first development camp a comfortable experience last month, but the expectations are clearly high. General manager Julien BriseBois described Geekie, who was selected by the Arizona Coyotes with the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, as a future building block.
"He's a 20-year-old top-end prospect that plays at a premium position," BriseBois said. "We haven’t had the luxury of having a prospect of this high of a profile in many years.”
And at 6-foot-4, 206 pounds, Geekie certainly made an impression on the ice.
"He's a big one," Lightning forward prospect Ethan Gauthier said. "You notice him out there for sure, and you start to think about the possibilities of playing with him in the future and it's pretty exciting."
Geekie is coming off his best season in junior hockey, getting 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) in 55 games for Wenatchee and Swift Current of the Western Hockey League. He also had nine points (six goals, three assists) in nine playoff games with Swift Current before joining Tucson of the American Hockey League for two postseason games (no points).
As happy as Geekie was with his offensive production last season, he's equally excited about the steps he took to improve in the defensive zone, something he credits to the influence of his older brother, Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie.
"I still wanted to go out in the defensive situations and be the guy that everyone hates to play against," Conor said. "My dad and my brothers always harped on me to make sure you're playing both sides of the puck, and younger men would tell them to take a hike or something like that. I finally flipped a switch and decided I want to be that type of player."
Although it's likely that Geekie will begin this season with Syracuse of the AHL, he isn't ready to give up the idea of making the opening night roster out of training camp.
"I'm trying to focus on what I can do to make the team this year," he said. "Obviously, they've got some really good players already."
Whether Geekie starts the season in the AHL or NHL, he promises to be ready when his number is called.
"I think just having that mentality that nothing is really handed to you," Geekie said. "(I'm) trying to do my best to want every minute of it whether it comes easy or not."
