Manitobans among 15 Western Hockey League players tapped for 2022 CHL Top Prospects game

Several players with links to Manitoba have made the cut for the upcoming Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects game.

That includes 17-year-old Conor Geekie, a Winnipeg Ice centre originally from the western Manitoba community of Strathclair.

For Geekie, being selected for the game is an exciting opportunity — and a chance to brag a little bit to his brother, Morgan Geekie, who plays with the NHL's Seattle Kraken.

"My brother never got the opportunity to go [to this game] when he was going through junior [hockey], so I think it's a little bit of bragging rights," he said.

It's also, though, "something pretty special that … I take very seriously."

The annual game is back after being cancelled last year because of the pandemic.

It showcases the top 40 Canadian Hockey League players eligible for the 2022 National Hockey League draft, which includes 15 Western Hockey League players, the WHL said in a news release. Players from the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will also compete.

When the game was last played in 2020, 37 players who competed were later chosen in that year's NHL draft, the release said.

Since the start of the Top Prospects event in 1996 (after previously being known as the CHL All–Star Challenge), the game has featured 15 players who were later selected first overall in the NHL draft.

This year's event will also see Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Denton Mateychuk, who hails from Dominion City, Man., hit the ice as the captain of one of the teams, the WHL said.

Other Manitobans on the list are defenceman Owen Pickering, forward Josh Filmon and and goaltender Reid Dyck, who play with the Swift Current Broncos, and Prince George Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan.

Geekie said he's