Brady Keeper

Brady Keeper (born June 5, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. Originally undrafted by teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), Keeper played for the Florida Panthers. He has spent the rest of his professional career in minor or European leagues. He is a member of the Cross Lake First Nation.

Playing career Junior and collegiate Keeper played junior hockey with the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) from 2013 to 2017 and was named the league's Most Valuable Player and Top Defenceman for the 2016–17 season. He earned a scholarship to the University of Maine and played two collegiate seasons for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Maine Black Bears, accumulating 13 goals and 57 points in 73 games. He almost quit after two weeks, but was convinced to stay. He was named to Hockey East's Third All-Star team in 2019.

Professional Having gone undrafted into the National Hockey League (NHL), Keeper left the University of Maine to sign an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on March 21, 2019. He made his NHL debut on March 28 against the Ottawa Senators. Keeper made his 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs debut in the qualifying round on August 4, 2020, in a 4–2 loss to the New York Islanders. As a restricted free agent from the Panthers following the Return to Play qualifying series, Keeper was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract on August 31. He also made one regular season appearance with the Panthers, making his NHL season debut on April 8, 2021, in a 3–0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

As an unrestricted free agent from the Panthers after completing his third season within the organization, Keeper was signed to a two-year, $1.525 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 28, 2021. but did not make the Canucks, passed through waivers and was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He appeared in 35 games with Abbotsford, scoring one goal and six points.

On July 1, 2023, Keeper was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens. limiting him to just 22 games played, scoring one goal and registering four points in that span.

On August 2, 2024, Keeper opted to sign his first professional contract abroad, agreeing to a one-year contract with Slovakian club HK Poprad of the Tipos Extraliga.

Keeper then agreed terms with Scottish Elite Ice Hockey League side Glasgow Clan ahead of the 2025–26 season. However, in August 2025, Keeper retired from professional hockey without ever taking to the ice with the Clan. This was due to medical advice following a long-term injury. Despite announcing his retirement due to injury the previous month, Keeper signed a contract with the South Carolina Stingrays for the 2025–26 ECHL season on September 10, 2025.

Personal life Keeper was born and raised in Cross Lake located in Northern Manitoba, and is the first person from Cross Lake First Nation to play in the NHL.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2012–13 Norway House North Stars KJHL 29 6 28 34 66 2 0 0 0 8 2013–14 Norman Northstars MMHL 42 7 18 25 99 — — — — — 2013–14 OCN Blizzard MJHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2014–15 OCN Blizzard MJHL 54 13 28 41 160 2 0 1 1 12 2015–16 OCN Blizzard MJHL 58 16 28 44 202 5 3 1 4 32 2016–17 OCN Blizzard MJHL 48 23 25 48 82 15 4 12 16 42 2017–18 University of Maine HE 37 6 16 22 88 — — — — — 2018–19 University of Maine HE 36 7 15 22 58 — — — — — 2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 61 6 12 18 108 — — — — — 2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0 2020–21 Syracuse Crunch AHL 11 2 1 3 12 — — — — — 2020–21 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2022–23 Abbotsford Canucks AHL 35 1 5 6 35 2 1 0 1 4 2023–24 Laval Rocket AHL 22 1 3 4 53 — — — — — NHL totals 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Awards and honours Award Year Ref MJHL All-Rookie Team 2015 First All-Star Team 2016, 2017 Brian Kozak Award (Top Defenceman) 2017 Steve "Boomer" Hawrysh Award (Most Valuable Player) 2017 College HE Third All-Star Team 2019