Even in an age of analytics, AI and advanced scouting, selecting the next generation of NHL talent has always been a bit of a crap shoot. So, it was only fitting that the 2024 NHL Draft took place in Las Vegas.
No matter how much time and effort a team puts into searching for potential players, there is still an element of uncertainty when it comes to turning today’s prospects into what will hopefully become tomorrow’s pro players.
Fortunately, the Buffalo Sabres didn’t have to look too far to find a potential building block for their future blueline corps. Patrick Geary grew up in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg and spent his formative years skating for the Junior Sabres program under the watchful eye of several current NHL coaches and front office brass.
So, when Geary heard his name called as the Sabres sixth round pick, it felt like a bit of a homecoming for the current Michigan State Spartan.
“It’s super exciting to be drafted by Buffalo,” said the sophomore blueliner. “Growing up in the city and going to the games as a little kid and then to hear my name called by them is an unreal feeling and definitely a dream come true.”
The same was true for the rest of the Geary family who have long supported the blue and gold.
“All my family is from South Buffalo and all big Sabres fans,” he said. “They were going to the games when [the Sabres] were playing at the Aud [Buffalo Memorial Auditorium], so they were all super pumped to see my name with that logo next to it.”
It wasn’t long after the announcement was made that Geary received a call from Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, who served as the youth organization’s president for several years before moving into the NHL team’s front office. After a brief congratulatory conversation, Adams passed the phone around the Sabres draft room for Geary to reconnect with a few friendly voices from his youth hockey past.
“They all know me, and they all knew me from a young age. I think that definitely helped me big time within the draft process,” he said.
While the Sabres were familiar with Geary and his game, they saw him through a different lens during a scouting trip to East Lansing where they came to see top prospect Max Strbak in action. Even with their eyes focused on their second-round pick from 2023, they couldn’t help but notice another Spartans defenseman who was dominating the play. They invited Geary back to Buffalo for a mini combine, where he quickly impressed the Sabres brass with both his physical skills and his character.
“We ran him through the same tests that our NHL players run through and that they use at the combine. He would have tested out in the top three percentile of all the athletes at the combine and probably top five percentile of our NHL players,” Jerry Forton, the Sabres director of Amateur Scouting, told the Buffalo Times Herald.
“Being a Buffalo kid’s a bonus, and we obviously know his character inside and out.”
The day after the draft, Geary was back on familiar ice as one of six former Junior Sabres players taking part in the club’s three-day development camp at the LECOM HarborCenter. While the stakes were considerably higher competing in his first pro camp, Geary felt at ease and right at home.
“It was like going to a skate in the summer,” he said. “It was very easy, very comfortable, and I felt good out there.”
Geary came to camp ready to compete against some of the top talent in the team’s development pipeline. He had spent most of the summer back in East Lansing, Mich., taking classes and working out with his Spartans teammates. After coming within one game of the Frozen Four, Geary and crew head into the new season with unfinished business on their minds.
“We lost to Michigan in the last game so that sticks with us. And not making it to the Frozen Four is definitely in the back of our head,” he said.
“I think we’ll be just as good as, if not better, than last year. We’re young again but with youth comes talent and I think we have a lot of talent, but we also know how to play the game the right way.”
Geary learned to play the right way starting at an early age in the Cazenovia Chiefs program. His mother worked at the hospital across the street from the rink and would drop Patrick off for his practices. His father would then pick him up after his night shift at the local firehouse. As his skills and passion for the game grew, Geary moved on to the Buffalo Regals and eventually made his way to the upstart Junior Sabres program.
Among Geary’s early coaches were Craig Rivet, an 18-year NHL defenseman who spent three seasons with the Sabres. It was about that time that Geary made the transition to defense, with Rivet serving as the perfect role model.
“Craig Rivet was definitely a huge part of me becoming a defenseman, teaching me the ropes at a young age,” Geary said.
Later in his Junior Sabres tenure he was coached by Tim Kennedy, who is now in his third season as the Sabres’ player development coach.
Geary first ventured away from home to hone his defensive chops with the Waterloo Black Hawks where he played two USHL seasons before making his way to East Lansing. The decision to join the Big 10 powerhouse instead of sticking close to home wasn’t a hard decision.
“Ever since I was little, I wanted to go to a big school and play in the Big 10,” he said. “Once they came to me and said they wanted me to come here it was kind of a no brainer right away. I didn’t really think of any other options. It was Michigan State from right off the bat.”
It didn’t take long for Geary to become a force on the young Spartan blueline, which featured four freshmen in the lineup last season. He played in 32 games in his freshman campaign, tallying five goals and eight assists. He scored one of the biggest goals of the season, the overtime game winner to seal the Big Ten Tournament championship against archrival Michigan.
As his confidence continues to grow, so too the expectations that he can become a vital piece in the Sabres future plans. But for the time being, Geary is focused on refining his game under the gaze of Spartans head coach Adam Nightengale and his staff.
“We have great coaches here that help us become better each day and make the game pretty easy for us,” Geary said. “My plan is just keep growing each day. The Sabres make the big decisions now, so it’s kind of up to them what happens. I just get to play hockey.”