Colorado Avalanche cornerstone defenseman Erik Johnson is a right hand shot, that most sought-after of monsters for the blue line. (Tyson Barrie is, too, incidentally, but we’ll leave that for now.) Hockey lore states that a right-handed defenseman is complemented by a left-shot. These are not so hard to come by.
However, it’s not so easy as that. Avalanche defenseman Brad Stuart is a leftie, yet he only lasted with Johnson for the preseason and a regular season couple games. Erik Johnson has a very complex hockey style, so it’s hard to add to that.
Johnson is a fast skater — he out-skates center Matt Duchene in the long distance. He’s huge — 6-foot-4, c. 230 pounds. He has a bomb of a shot from the point, but he’s adept at pinching in as well. He’s a hard hitter, but he’s also a defenseman who shadows opponents beautifully. He’s strong on the puck and on his own skates. And this season sports analysts have universally complimented his hockey sense development.
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It’s not easy to keep up with a defenseman like that. Thus far on the Avalanche only Jan Hejda has really managed.
Hejda’s getting a mite long in the tooth, though — 36 years old, to be exact. Johnson is just entering his prime at 26. In other words, he’s going to need a new defensive partner at some not too distant point in the future.
Enter Mason Geertsen.
According to Denver Post writer Mike Chambers, head coach Patrick Roy mentioned Geertsen among other young Avalanche defensive prospects in a recent locker room interview. Chambers attaches significance to the fact that coach Roy mentioned Geertsen first on two different occasions of discussing D prospects.
Currently Geertsen plays for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League. In 56 games he’s already amassed 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points. He’s a plus-10. He earned first-star honors for a recent game in which he had a multi-point game — including the game-winner with just 49 seconds left in overtime.
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According to
, Geertsen is known for being strong on the puck himself. He’s a big boy — pert near Erik Johnson size at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds. And he’s apparently got some offensive prowess.
Chambers put out a Tweet alert that he wanted some more information about Geertsen. In response, one WHL follower remarked that Geertsen is a “mean S.O.B.” with some definite physicality in his place.
WHL scout Cody Nickolet remarked that Geertsen was a “no-brainer” for the Avalanche to sign. In fact, the team has until June 1, to sign him to an entry-level contract, or he re-joins the NHL draft.
Draft analyst Steve Kournianos put his thoughts more succinctly:
@MikeChambers NHL brain. Very steady. Positionally sound. Great reach. 3-zone defender. Knows when and when not to take risks.
— Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) February 19, 2015
Geertsen does, indeed, sound like an impressive prospect. There’s only one problem that I see — he’s only 19. Defensemen notoriously take longer to season. Though he had an excellent season last year, even Johnson didn’t come into his own until this year. He even remarked that it wasn’t until he’d played 300+ games before he really felt he was reaching his potential.
Additionally, Hockey’s Future put his potential at “solid, lower pairing NHL defenseman” or “a steady player at the AHL level.” That does not sound like the right player to complement the Avalanche’s cornerstone defenseman — not in enough time anyway.
Personally, I don’t see Geertsen partnering Johnson anytime soon — he’s still just in major junior. He’s not going to be ready next year, or even a year from now, to be a top-two NHL defenseman. I see him eventually partnering Tyson Barrie at best.
I have higher hopes for prospect Duncan Siemens. He’s almost as big as Geertsen, but he’s an important two years older. He also paired with Johnson now and again during the preseason, and they seemed to have some chemistry.
For now, when Johnson comes back, he’s certain to be paired with his regular partner, Jan Hejda. Hey, props to the older guy for complementing Johnson’s complex style of hockey.