Top Western Hockey League (WHL) prospect Conor Geekie recorded his first career WHL goal for the Winnipeg ICE in his first game of the 2020-21 season. Florida Panthers prospect Henrik Borgström continued his impressive run of form with a between-the-legs goal for HIFK in the Finnish Liiga. Dallas Stars prospect Riley Damiani recorded his first career AHL hat trick and leads all rookies in scoring.
Geekie Records First WHL Goal
While a lot of the headlines surrounded Winnipeg ICE first-overall pick Matthew Savoie at the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, the ICE got another talented forward at second overall in Conor Geekie. The brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Morgan Geekie, Conor is entering his first full WHL season with NHL level size at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. It didn’t take him long to get off the mark this season, as he recorded his first career WHL goal in his first game of the season. He picked up a loose puck and converted on the breakaway to give the ICE an early 1-0 lead in the first period. They ultimately ended up falling 3-2 to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Geekie played in seven games during the 2019-20 season and failed to register a point. The Strathclair, Manitoba-native is due for a breakout rookie season in the WHL and will surely be near the top of the list for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Exceptional status grantee Connor Bedard will likely draw all the headlines with two goals in his WHL debut, but there should be more talk about Geekie after an impressive start to his rookie campaign.
Borgström Scores Beautiful Between-The-Legs Goal
Panthers prospect Henrik Borgström has gotten off to a hot start in the month of March with four points in three games played. He’s been on an impressive run with points in 10 of his last 12 games with six goals and six assists for 12 points. He also added a beautiful between-the-legs goal in HIFK’s 4-1 victory over KooKoo on March 12. Borgström signed a one-year contract with HIFK earlier this year, and while he isn’t under contract with the Panthers currently, they still own his NHL rights if he was to return. He has the option to return to the NHL at any point when/if he signs an NHL contract with the Panthers.
Borgström is now up to 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points in 27 games played. He played 50 games for the Panthers during the 2018-19 season and recorded eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points. However, he couldn’t seem to nail down an NHL roster spot the season after, only managing to play in four games for the team while featuring in 49 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL. A former first-round pick, the Panthers still hope that he can be an NHL regular in the future.
Damiani Paces AHL Rookies in Scoring
Stars prospect Riley Damiani leads all AHL rookies in scoring with six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 12 games played. Hurricanes prospect Seth Jarvis is the next highest with 12 points in nine games played. Damiani also sits fourth in league scoring, trailing Nathan Todd, Cooper Marody, and Tyler Benson. In last night’s 5-3 loss to the Colorado Eagles, the Texas Stars’ forward scored all three goals for his first career AHL hat trick. He has points in all but three games played this season and has four multi-point efforts.
Drafted 137th overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, he spent the 2019-20 season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers. He amassed 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points in 61 games played. He led the Rangers in scoring and ranked 20th in league scoring. He has always been one of those players that does everything out there, and with the recent success of of Texas Stars’ graduates Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, Jason Dickinson and Nicholas Caamano, it bodes well for Damiani to make an impact in the Stars’ lineup in the near future.
