Conor Geekie (© Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images)
Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning assigned young forward Conor Geekie to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. This was after the 21-year-old forward recorded one assist and 15 hits in his first six games of the season with the Lightning.
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There is no harm in the Lightning sending Geekie back to Syracuse. With this, the 2022 first-round pick will now get the chance to try to build his confidence up playing at the AHL level before getting his next opportunity on Tampa Bay’s roster.
Now, in his first game since being sent back down to the AHL, Geekie responded with a strong performance. The youngster made an immediate impact with Syracuse, as he scored at the 19:07 mark of the first period to cut the Rochester Americans’ lead to 2-1.
Geekie’s goal was a beauty, too, as he one-timed a nice feed from Crunch defenseman Declan Carlile home with a great slap shot.
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Seeing Geekie being sent down and immediately scoring a goal like this is undoubtedly encouraging. The Lightning will now be hoping that the young forward can keep this kind of play up with the Crunch from here. If he does, another recall to the NHL roster could be in his near future.