3 Players the Red Wings Should Target in the First-Round

Conor Geekie, C, Winnipeg Ice

As I stated previously with Brad Lambert, the Red Wings need to find a way to improve their center position. They just need to find a way to really make an impact, and given where they will be selecting from, Conor Geekie could be a perfect fit.

Age: 17

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 205 lbs.

Shot: Left

Conor Geekie Breakdown

If I had the choice to get Brad Lambert of Conor Geekie, I would personally chose Brad Lambert. However, Geekie is not to be taken as a joke.

Conor Geekie, being a 6’4″ center with the physical approach to things, doesn’t shy away from challenging people and making them have to really work for it if they wan’t to strip him of the puck. His length really makes it hard for teams to stop him from making a move to the inside or making a move to get to the outside of the defense. Similarly, his length allows him to really make plays on the defensive side as well.

Geekie has a reach that makes it quite easy for him to poke check and stop teams in transition. Knowing that, it could allow him to be one of the best two-way forwards from this draft class.

The biggest concern with Geekie is the fact that his frame, although very benefical to his play style, makes it hard for him to really beat defenders with speed. His top-end speed quite easily matched by the opposition which will make it hard for him to find a way to score in transition or on a breakaway.

Quite honestly, he reminds me quite a bit of Nolan Patrick coming out of the draft which does scare me a little bit. However, I firmly believe that Nolan Patrick still has the ability to become a good player, but he needs to find a team that can give him minutes in a more offensive line.

Having watched a couple games this season when the Vegas Golden Knights had him fill in on the top line, he actually had a couple very good goals and showed terrific offensive talent. That’s what gives me hope that Patrick just needs to find some more minutes on the ice and get a chance to be apart of a teams top six.

I think knowing that, or having that approach makes me have faith that no matter what flaws Geekie has, if he get’s put into a situation where the coach really let’s him go out there and just do what he does best, he could become a big part to this growing Red Wings team.