Brady Keeper
Born (1996-06-05) June 5, 1996
Cross Lake, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Montreal Canadiens
Laval Rocket (AHL)
Florida Panthers
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2019–present

Brady Keeper (born June 5, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

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 for the 2016–17 season. He earned a scholarship to the University of Maine and played two seasons for the NCAA Division I Maine Black Bears, accumulating 57 points in 73 games.

Having gone undrafted into NHL, Keeper left the University of Maine to sign an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on March 21, 2019. He made his NHL debut on March 28 against the Ottawa Senators.[1] 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, 2020.[2]

As a 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.[3]

On July 1, 2023, as a free agent at the conclusion of his contract with the Canucks, Keeper was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[4]

Personal life

Keeper was born and raised in Cross Lake in northern Manitoba and is the first person from Cross Lake First Nation to play in the NHL.[5]

Career statistics

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
NHL totals 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Awards and honours

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ Warren, Ken (March 29, 2019). "Keeper's NHL debut is a story of inspiration and motivation for northern Canadian communities". Ottawa Sun.
  2. ↑ "Florida Panthers re-sign defenseman Brady Keeper to a one-year contract". Florida Panthers. August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Canucks sign Dowling, Keeper and Hunt". Vancouver Canucks. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Canadiens agree to one-year contracts with Philippe Maillet and Brady Keeper". NHL.com. Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ Friesen, Paul (March 21, 2019). "Against all odds, Cross Lake's Brady Keeper makes the NHL". Winnipeg Sun.
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