In just a few days’ time, 15-year-old Conor Geekie will be in Winnipeg for his first training camp with the Winnipeg ICE.
Preparing for this camp has been a priority for Conor all summer long. It hasn’t been the only priority for Conor, however. Earlier this summer, he won a provincial title with his hometown baseball team, Strathclair. In the finals at that tournament, Conor reached base all three times and drove in two runs.
Conor hasn’t added to his gold medal trophy case again this summer, but he showed off what he can do on the diamond on the national stage.
The Strathclair native played for Team Manitoba at the 15U Ray Carter Cup National Championships in Oshawa, Ontario.
After a solid week, Conor and the team will return home after a fourth-place finish in all of Canada.
After going 4-1 in the round robin, Conor and the club found themselves in the national semifinal earlier today.
They fell short in that game, but they still played in the bronze medal game. Manitoba once again came up short in that game, as they finished fourth.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling. Manitoba is a small province compared against teams like Ontario, Quebec, and teams like that,” said Geekie, prior to the closing ceremonies. “It was sweet to beat some really top-notch teams. It was a fantastic week, that’s for sure.”
Manitoba came out of the gates firing. They won their first three games. After going 1-for-3 in their 3-0 win against New Brunswick to start and 0-for-3 in their next game against Prince Edward Island, Geekie caught fire.
He went 3-for-4 in the team’s huge 10-1 win against Newfoundland.
The rest of the way, he picked up five hits and ended up going 9-for-21. His .429 batting average was second on the team, and his five RBI were also second on the team.
Conor also had a team-high seven runs scored.
“Yeah, I got off to a tough start and my teammates just got behind me and told me to just go hit,” said Geekie. “I just put the ball in play, and good things happened.”
Conor also pitched 3.2 innings, and he had four strikeouts and gave up just one earned run.
Being 15, this was the final 15U tournament Conor will play in. He’ll move up an age group next year, and he’s looking forward to that challenge.
“Playing baseball is always fun and it’s always something I love doing,” said Geekie. “I’m looking forward to whatever is next for me when it comes to baseball.”
Now the focus for Conor switches solely to another game he shines at. After getting drafted second overall by the ICE, Geekie will take part in his first main camp with the team, starting on Wednesday.
Wednesday is off-ice while team practices start on Thursday. The camp wraps up on Sunday with a showcase game.
After a dazzling 86 point performance with the Yellowhead Bantam Chiefs last year, Geekie is ready to make some waves in Winnipeg.
“I’m very excited to get things going. It’s super high-level hockey, and I can’t wait to get on the ice, and I want to get to know everyone,” continued Geekie. “I love playing hockey, and it’s going to be an unreal week.”
“I just want to go out there and have fun. I’m not going out there to try and do too much,” he added. “I just want to play my game. Winnipeg took me for me. I’ll go out there and give it my all.”
Fresh off a fourth-place finish at nationals, Conor knows that, starting Wednesday, it’s another chance for him to shine.
“I really think I’m ready for this. It’s going to be a test full of ups and downs, but I think it’s a great start for me,” he concluded.
Don’t forget — last week I took a look at Winnipeg ICE training camp, and you can check it out here.
