Manitobans among 15 Western Hockey League players tapped for 2022 CHL Top Prospects game

Several players with links to Manitoba have made the cut for the upcoming Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects game.

That includes 17-year-old Conor Geekie, a Winnipeg Ice centre originally from the western Manitoba community of Strathclair.

For Geekie, being selected for the game is an exciting opportunity — and a chance to brag a little bit to his brother, Morgan Geekie, who plays with the NHL's Seattle Kraken.

"My brother never got the opportunity to go [to this game] when he was going through junior [hockey], so I think it's a little bit of bragging rights," he said.

It's also, though, "something pretty special that … I take very seriously."

The annual game is back after being cancelled last year because of the pandemic.

It showcases the top 40 Canadian Hockey League players eligible for the 2022 National Hockey League draft, which includes 15 Western Hockey League players, the WHL said in a news release. Players from the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will also compete.

When the game was last played in 2020, 37 players who competed were later chosen in that year's NHL draft, the release said.

Since the start of the Top Prospects event in 1996 (after previously being known as the CHL All–Star Challenge), the game has featured 15 players who were later selected first overall in the NHL draft.

This year's event will also see Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Denton Mateychuk, who hails from Dominion City, Man., hit the ice as the captain of one of the teams, the WHL said.

Other Manitobans on the list are defenceman Owen Pickering, forward Josh Filmon and and goaltender Reid Dyck, who play with the Swift Current Broncos, and Prince George Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan.

Geekie said he's looking forward to heading to Kitchener, Ont., for the March 23 game. 

"I think it's a lot of fun getting all the top prospects in the one game and … seeing kind of how everyone does their thing," he said. 

"Getting the opportunity is pretty special and [I] definitely would never take it for granted."

For Matthew Savoie, one of Geekie's teammates on the Winnipeg Ice, being chosen to play in the event now that it's back has brought on similar feelings.

"It's not very often that you get the opportunity … [to] go to a game and compete with all the top draft eligibles and play against your peers in a game like that," said the 18-year-old centre, who is originally from the city of St. Albert, Alta.

"I'm really excited to get down to Kitchener and get to work."

There's just one catch: unlike during the regular season, where they sit on the same bench, the prospects game will see Savoie and Geekie face off against each other.

"It'll definitely be a little weird going up against [him], but … we knew we [had a] pretty slim chance of us being on the same team, and it's not going to be like that forever," Savoie said. 

"So I've got to learn to have some friendly competition and go toe-to-toe a little bit."

Though it's an honour to be asked to play in a game like this, Savoie said it also brings lots of pressure.

"But I think [you've] just got to keep that to the exterior and … really focus on your game and the reason you're there," he said.

"Just put your best game out there."

And while the year ahead is a big one for both players, Geekie said he doesn't have his sights set too far in the future.

"For me, the end goal is obviously the draft. But right now, with the team we've got, I think the end goal is … making it to [the] playoffs and, you know, going for a long run and even trying to win the league."

The 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will air on TSN on March 23 at 7 p.m. CT.