Colorado Avalanche Profile: Defenseman Mason Geertsen

The Colorado Avalanche’s prospect defenseman, Mason Geertsen, just signed a new contract with the team. So, he’ll be around for another year.

Colorado Avalanche minor-league defenseman Mason Geertsen has been with the team quite a while. The Avs chose Geertsen in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft, and he’s been with the organization ever since.

This summer, Geertsen became a restricted free agent. As reported previously, the Avalanche extended him a qualifying offer. Geertsen signed a one-year contract with a $650,000 cap hit but worth $85,000 at the AHL level. That minor league salary represents a pay raise — he made $70,000 last season.

Mason Geertsen Statistics

Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 205 lbs
Age: 23

Except for preseason games, Mason Geertsen has spent his entire career in the minor leagues. He signed with the Colorado Avalanche on March 24, 2015, which gave him enough time to join their then-AHL affiliate Cleveland Monsters for nine games.

Geertsen spent the next two season bouncing between the AHL and the ECHL, though the majority of his games were in the AHL. Geertsen is not known for his offense — he’s more of a stay-at-home, shut-down defenseman. Therefore, his offensive numbers aren’t wow-worthy. In those two AHL seasons, he had 12 assists. He had a goal and eight assists in the ECHL.

Mason Geertsen was part of the ECHL Colorado Eagles Kelly Cup victory in 2017.

Last year, Geertsen played only in the AHL. In 72 games with the San Antonio Rampage, Mason recorded three goals and six assists.

Geertsen is expected to play next season for the Colorado Eagles, which have now become the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate with the Utah Grizzlies taking over as the ECHL affiliate.

Getting to Know Mason Geertsen

Not surprising given his size and position, Geertsen is known for getting into a few scraps. Here are a couple of his recent ones:

Rumor has it — according to teammate Spencer Martin, Geertsen is also something of a health nut. According to Martin, Geertsen has been known to wake up in the middle of the night, “eat a protein shake and do 80 pushups.” Well, you’ve got to find a way to stay in shape.

On a lighter note, Geertsen apparently got some ink. He recently got a sleeve completed that includes a grizzly bear, forest scenes and some fantasy imagery:

Hopefully he knows enough to keep suncreen on his new ink when he’s running in and out of caves:

It also appears he’s dedicated to some serious flow.

Mason Geertsen Contributions to San Antonio

In late spring, Geertsen was named the Rampage’s IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year for his “outstanding contributions to the San Antonio community during the 2017-18 season.”

One of the ways in which Geertsen has contributed is through the Rampage’s Face Off Against Kids’ Cancer program. This year he was paired with an eight-year-old boy named Koby. During the season, Mason and Koby participated in FOAKC as well as post-game hangout sessions.

Additionally, Geertsen devoted time to visiting a breast cancer survivor group prior to the Rampage’s annual Pink in the Rink Game. Geertsen, along with some of his teammates, showed up to the support group with pink roses, T-shirts and tickets to a game.

Mason also paired up with two of his teammates to help distribute bags of fresh produce donated by a local grocery store, H-E-B. The 2,000 bags went to students and families of San Antonio’s Pre-K 4 SA program to promote a healthy Thanksgiving.

Geertsen has also been active with a local sled hockey team. He joined in on a game as part of the Operation Comfort program. He also went to some Junior Rampage practices to provide the youth teams with tips, drills, demonstrations and advice.

Here’s an example:

Next: Prospect Update on AHL Players

Mason Geertsen is sure to attend the Colorado Avalanche training camp this fall and play in some of the preseason games — the first is September 18 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Then I imagine he’ll head up to Loveland to join the Eagles. Their preseason starts September 28.