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Brady Keeper

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Brady Keeper
Born (1996-06-05) June 5, 1996 (age 28)
Cross Lake, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
Slovak team
Former teams		 HK Poprad
Florida Panthers
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2019–present

Brady Keeper (born June 5, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for HK Poprad of the Slovak Extraliga. Originally undrafted by teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), Keeper has previously played for the Florida Panthers. He is a member of the Cross Lake First Nation.

Playing career

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Junior and collegiate

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Keeper played junior hockey with the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) from 2013 to 2017 and was named the league's Most Valuable Player and Top Defenceman for the 2016–17 season.[1] He earned a scholarship to the University of Maine and played two collegiate seasons for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Maine Black Bears, accumulating 13 goals and 57 points in 73 games. He almost quit after two weeks, but was convinced to stay.[2] He was named to Hockey East's Third All-Star team in 2019.[3]

Professional

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Having gone undrafted into the National Hockey League (NHL), Keeper left the University of Maine to sign an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on March 21, 2019.[4] He made his NHL debut on March 28 against the Ottawa Senators.[2] He spent most of the 2019–20 season with the Panthers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, scoring 6 goals and 18 points in 61 games.[5] Keeper made his 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs debut in the qualifying round on August 4, 2020, in a 4–2 loss to the New York Islanders.[6] As a restricted free agent from the Panthers following the Return to Play qualifying series, Keeper was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract on August 31.[5] During the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season, Keeper played with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, appearing in 11 games, scoring 2 goals and 3 points.[7] He also made one regular season appearance with the Panthers, making his NHL season debut on April 8, 2021, in a 3–0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.[8]

As an unrestricted free agent from the Panthers after completing his third season within the organization, Keeper was signed to a two-year, $1.525 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 28, 2021.[7] However, during his first training camp with the Canucks, he broke both his tibia and fibula in his left leg, forcing him to miss the entire 2021–22 NHL season. He returned the following season,[9] but did not make the Canucks, passed through waivers and was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.[10] He appeared in 35 games with Abbotsford, scoring one goal and six points.[11]

On July 1, 2023, Keeper was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[11] He was immediately assigned to Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. Collectively, Keeper missed three months of the 2023–24 season with an injury to his lower body,[12] limiting him to just 22 games played, scoring one goal and registering four points in that span.[13]

On August 2, 2024, Keeper opted to sign his first professional contract abroad, agreeing to a one-year contract with Slovakian club HK Poprad of the Tipos Extraliga.[14]

Personal life

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Keeper was born and raised in Cross Lake located in Northern Manitoba, and is the first person from Cross Lake First Nation to play in the NHL.[15]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Norway House North Stars KJHL 29 6 28 34 66 2 0 0 0 8
2013–14 Norman Northstars MMHL 42 7 18 25 99 — — — — —
2013–14 OCN Blizzard MJHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2014–15 OCN Blizzard MJHL 54 13 28 41 160 2 0 1 1 12
2015–16 OCN Blizzard MJHL 58 16 28 44 202 5 3 1 4 32
2016–17 OCN Blizzard MJHL 48 23 25 48 82 15 4 12 16 42
2017–18 University of Maine HE 37 6 16 22 88 — — — — —
2018–19 University of Maine HE 36 7 15 22 58 — — — — —
2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 61 6 12 18 108 — — — — —
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Syracuse Crunch AHL 11 2 1 3 12 — — — — —
2020–21 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2022–23 Abbotsford Canucks AHL 35 1 5 6 35 2 1 0 1 4
2023–24 Laval Rocket AHL 22 1 3 4 53 — — — — —
NHL totals 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Awards and honours

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Award Year Ref
MJHL
All-Rookie Team 2015 [16]
First All-Star Team 2016, 2017 [1][17]
Brian Kozak Award (Top Defenceman) 2017 [1]
Steve "Boomer" Hawrysh Award (Most Valuable Player) 2017 [1]
College
HE Third All-Star Team 2019 [3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "MJHL announces award winners and all-star team selections". Manitoba Junior Hockey League. February 23, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Warren, Ken (March 29, 2019). "Keeper's NHL debut is a story of inspiration and motivation for northern Canadian communities". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Hockey East Names 2018-19 All-Star Teams". Hockey East. March 20, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Manitoba First Nations hockey player signs contract with Florida Panthers". CBC Sports. March 19, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Florida Panthers re-sign defenseman Brady Keeper to a one-year contract". Florida Panthers. August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020 – via NHL.com.
  6. ^ Crosby, Wes (August 4, 2020). "Islanders defeat Panthers in Game 2 of Cup Qualifiers, extend series lead". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Canucks sign Dowling, Keeper and Hunt". Vancouver Canucks. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  8. ^ Dusterberg, Kurt (April 8, 2021). "Nedeljkovic makes 24 saves, Hurricanes shut out Panthers". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  9. ^ Karstens-Smith, Gemma (September 23, 2022). "A year after devastating injury at Canucks camp, Pimicikamak's Brady Keeper vows to be 'better than ever'". CBC News. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Canucks' Brady Keeper: Waived by Vancouver". CBS Sports. October 4, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Canadiens agree to one-year contracts with Philippe Maillet and Brady Keeper". Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  12. ^ "Laval Rocket loses three players to long-term injuries". Montreal Gazette. The Canadian Press. January 10, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Sheridan, Mathieu (August 7, 2024). "Brady Keeper Signs in Slovakia". The Hockey News. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  14. ^ Šerý, Rudolf (August 2, 2024). "Prichádza obranca z farmy Canadiens" [A defender from the Canadiens farm is coming] (in Slovak). HK Poprad. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  15. ^ Friesen, Paul (March 21, 2019). "Against all odds, Cross Lake's Brady Keeper makes the NHL". Winnipeg Sun.
  16. ^ "Grown in 'Toba: Brady Keeper". Manitoba Junior Hockey League. May 12, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  17. ^ "MJHL announces award winners and all-star team selections". Manitoba Junior Hockey League. February 19, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
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