As satisfying as Sunday’s 5-4 overtime win in Lloydminster was for the Canmore Eagles, it was especially so for Quinn Keeler, the former Bobcats’ defenceman dealt to Canmore at the January trade deadline.
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It was the second time in seven days that the two AJHL teams faced each other, including the Eagles’ 4-3 shootout victory at home the previous Sunday.
“A little nerve-racking to start, but it’s super fun,” said Keeler, 19. “Obviously, the adrenaline is flowing, just because it’s the team that traded you.
“So, I was really looking forward to playing these games, and I had a lot of fun, getting the wins in both games.”
It was a warrior-like weekend for the Eagles as the South Division front-runners played three games in as many days, posting a 2-0-1 record in the process, despite a rash of injuries.
Keeler logged major minutes on the back end and showed his battle scars after a physical game in Lloyd against many of his ex-teammates.
“The Bobcats are a gritty team,” said Keeler, with a fresh cut above his lip post-game, while holding an ice pack to counter swelling elsewhere.
“I try my best to avoid hits, and to try to embrace the contact kind of thing. It was great.”
It was the kind of effort that would make his father proud.
Three-plus decades ago, Brian Keeler was a hard-nosed forward at the Atlantic Canadian junior A and university levels. At the 1988 Centennial Cup national junior A championship in Pembroke, Ont., his Halifax Lions reached the final before losing 3-2 to a stacked Notre Dame Hounds (Wilcox, Sask.) team that included Rod Brind’Amour, Curtis Joseph, other future pros and a full class of NCAA Division 1-bound players.
Quinnlan Keeler was born in Toronto in 2006 and lived there for a year before his family moved to Montreal for a seven-year stint.
For the past 10-plus years, their home has been Calgary, not far from Canmore. All of which made his trade to the Eagles that much more appealing for Quinn and his family.
“Oh yeah, they love it,” Keeler said. “Mom is super excited. I get to come home a little bit more. Dad is always at the home games with mom, and sometimes family members come out. It’s great.
“I think it’s less than an hour to get out to the rink (in Canmore), so it works out well.”
In similar fashion, Keeler has worked out well for the Eagles, who acquired him Jan. 8 by trading the CJHL playing rights to defenceman Jack Bousquet, still skating in the BCHL with the Vernon Vipers.
Keeler played one year in the BCHL with the Cranbrook Bucks before landing in Lloydminster this past September. His half-season with the Bobcats was curtailed because of AC joint and rotator cuff shoulder injuries that sidelined him for about a month and a half.
“Yeah, the shoulder was a mess,” he said. “But I’m feeling a lot better now.”
The smooth-skating Keeler has already appeared in as many games — 17 — with the Eagles as he did in his three-plus months with Bobcats. In a combined 34 games, he has recorded eight assists this season, while playing a solid defensive game.
Keeler checks in at five-foot-11 and 180 pounds. Lloydminster traded him to make way for towering defencemen Ryder Ellis (six-foot-six) and Oakley McIlwain (six-foot-four), both acquired from SJHL teams.
“Well, I mean, the numbers speak for themselves,” Keeler said with a chuckle. “The Bobcats got two guys (on D) that are a little bigger than I am. (But) I like to play gritty, compete hard. It’s all good. They did add size, but I’m happy to be in Canmore.”
Eagles coach and general manager Andrew Milne is happy to have Keeler on board. The veteran coach was familiar with Keeler from his minor hockey days in Calgary, including his captaincy of the U18 AAA Calgary Royals.
“We know Quinn from his time in Calgary, and he’s got some good friends on our team,” Milne said. “We were really happy we had the opportunity to acquire him. I think he’s been awesome for us. Just goes about his business — hard-working, disciplined (and) structured kid. He provides a lot of leadership as well.”
Used in multiple situations during Sunday’s game, Keeler showed that steadiness and grit, while going against some of his buddies and former teammates.
“He’s hard in a lot of areas,” Milne said. “He’s hard to play against. We relied on him the three games this weekend. I think he played 27 minutes, then 28 minutes, and he’s probably over that again today. So, three games in a row with almost 30-minute nights is pretty phenomenal and a huge testament to the condition that he’s in.”
During his U16 AAA and U18 AAA years with the Royals, Keeler played on the same teams as Canmore sniper Aidan Tkachuk, along with Lloydminster forward Kael Screpnek. The former Bobcat also knew Ryder Dembo from playing against the Northwest Calgary Flames’ graduate. Dembo spent last year in the SJHL, and the first half of this season in the BCHL with the Cowichan Valley Capitals, before joining the AJHL’s Eagles in January.
“It definitely helped, having a few bodies here that I knew before coming,” Keeler said. “They helped me settle in and what not.”
On Sunday in Lloyd, Keeler connected with two of the top five scorers in the AJHL as he and 67-point man Cohen Daoust assisted on a goal from 64-point man Tkachuk to make the score 1-1 five minutes into the second period.
Tkachuk also made the pass that set up Bryson Insinger’s winning goal 30 seconds into overtime. Daoust and Tkachuk ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in league scoring through Tuesday.
Including a 3-2 win over the Camrose Kodiaks on Friday, and a 5-4 overtime loss to the Bonnyville Pontiacs, it was a profitable weekend on the road for Canmore. Even it was taxing on the body.
“It felt like it,” Keeler said about being on the ice for almost half the game Sunday. “Especially in the last game of three-in-three, it’s pretty tough, but I found some energy since it’s against the old team. Gotta show up for that.”
This season likely marks the midway point in Keeler’s junior career, depending on how soon he might head to university hockey or otherwise.
“I’m unsure of what I want to do right now,” he said. “I’m leaning toward coming back for another year, for my 20-year-old season of junior. Canmore is a great spot. I’ve loved it so far.”
The Eagles are among multiple AJHL teams making a legitimate push to represent the league in the Centennial Cup this May at Summerside, P.E.I.
Keeler’s parents are from the neighbouring province of Nova Scotia, and his family has enjoyed visiting relatives in Halifax on occasion.
“We always like going to visit in the East Coast,” Quinn Keeler said. “I consider that a bit of home to me as well.”
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