Mason Geertsen
Mason Geertsen | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 19, 1995 Canada |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey defenceman |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Known for | Playing for Rochester Americans (AHL) and Buffalo Sabres (NHL) |
Mason Geertsen (born April 19, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League (AHL). He is under contract with the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Geertsen was chosen 93rd overall by the Colorado Avalanche during the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Before advancing to major junior hockey, Geertsen competed at the bantam and midget levels with the Leduc Oil Kings and Sherwood Park Kings. He was then selected 18th overall in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft by the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
In the 2016–17 season, Geertsen played 36 games for the San Antonio Rampage, contributing 4 assists while fulfilling a primarily defensive and physical role. Additionally, he appeared in 19 postseason contests with the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL, recording 1 goal and totaling 4 points as part of their inaugural Kelly Cup championship.
Upon completion of his entry-level contract, Geertsen became an unrestricted free agent when the Avalanche declined to extend a qualifying offer in June 2019. He subsequently attended the New York Rangers training camp and secured a one-year AHL deal with their affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, in September 2019.
Throughout the 2019–20 campaign, Geertsen established himself as a physical, stay-at-home defenceman, appearing in 60 games and leading Hartford with 109 penalty minutes before the season was prematurely ended due to the pandemic. In April 2020, he agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Wolf Pack.
During the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, after contributing one assist over four games, Geertsen earned a two-year, two-way NHL contract with the Rangers on March 4, 2021.
On October 3, 2021, Geertsen was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils. He made his NHL debut on October 19, 2021, facing off against the Seattle Kraken. Over that season, he appeared in 25 NHL games and later signed a one-year league minimum contract extension with New Jersey on July 13, 2022.
During the 2022–23 season, Geertsen played exclusively with New Jersey’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, where he achieved personal bests of 4 goals and amassed 136 penalty minutes.
As a free agent on July 1, 2023, he inked a two-year, two-way contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. Throughout this agreement, Geertsen spent his time exclusively with their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.
On July 1, 2025, coinciding with the opening day of free agency, Geertsen signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Buffalo Sabres.
International play
Geertsen represented Canada Pacific at the 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge held in Windsor, Ontario, where his team finished in fifth place. He did not register any points over five games from his defensive position.
Personal life
Prior to the Henderson Silver Knights’ annual Hockey Fights Cancer event on November 22, 2024, Geertsen publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in November 2023. This diagnosis resulted in a one-month hiatus during the 2023–24 AHL season. Following treatment throughout summer 2024, his cancer entered remission ahead of the 2024–25 AHL season.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–11 | Sherwood Park Kings | AMHL | 31 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 84 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–11 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–12 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 34 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–13 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–13 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 58 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–14 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 66 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 126 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–15 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 69 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 107 | — | — | — | — | - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2014–15 | Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
| 2015–16 | San Antonio Rampage |
42 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
2015–16 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL |
21 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 |- |
2016–17 |
AHL | 36 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
2016–17 | Colorado Eagles |
ECHL | 9 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 42 |- |
2017–18 |
AHL | 72 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
2018–19 |
AHL | 58 | 3 | 13 | 16| 134| 4| 0| 0| 0| 8 |- |
2019–20 | Hartford Wolf Pack|
AHL| 60| 0| 8| 8| 109| —| —| —| —| — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
2020–21 |
AHL| 20| 3| 2| 5| 43| —| —| —| —| — |- |
2021–22 | New Jersey Devils|
National Hockey League| 25| 0| 0| 0| 77| —| —| —| —| — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
2022–23 | Utica Comets|
AHL| 61| 4| 4| 8| 136| 4| 0| 2| 2| 4 |- |
2023–24 | Henderson Silver Knights|
AHL| 58| 6| 0| 6| 108| —| —| —| —| — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" |
2024–25 | Henderson Silver Knights |
AHL|| 31|| 0|| 5|| 5|| 77|| — |
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— |
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| NHL totals !25 !0 !0 !0 !77 ! — ! — ! — ! — ! — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Canada Pacific | U17 | 5th place | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior career totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| WHL | |
| Ed Chynoweth Cup champion | 2012 |
| ECHL | |
| Kelly Cup champion | 2017 |