The fact that Mason Geertsen was able to eclipse 500 career pro games at the tail end of the 2024-25 season is a true testament to his strength, both physically and mentally, in overcoming obstacles and adversity that has come his way throughout his pro career.

That strength, will and desire has allowed him to persevere and continue playing the game he loves at a high level.

After entering the summer as a free agent, Geertsen signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres on the opening day of free agency on July 1^st – ensuring he’ll be entering training camp in the fall to start his 11^th full season of pro hockey.

“My wife and I are more just excited about where we end up, and wherever we are I think we’re going to make the most of it,” Geertsen said in late-June before entering free agency. “We’ve been in this for a long time now. So obviously this time of year isn’t very fun for free agents, but I think you just have to go into it excited and excited to be wherever you’re going to go and try to make the best of wherever you end up.”

For Geertsen, whether it’s in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Rochester Americans or in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, the two teams are separated by roughly 75 miles in western New York which is where the Drayton Valley, Alberta Canada native will call “home” beginning this fall.

Trade to WHL-Vancouver Provided Increased Role

He was still living at home while playing in the WHL with the Edmonton Oil Kings when a trade to Vancouver during the 2012-13 season turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“It was definitely a little bit of an adjustment,” Geertsen recalled of the move to Vancouver, adding, “But I think for sure, looking back, it was definitely a big/helpful thing that happened in my career.”

An increased role in Vancouver, combined with Geertsen’s ability to make the most of his opportunities, drew the attention of NHL scouts as he was drafted 93^rd overall in the beginning of the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft that summer.

Geertsen Grinds His Way To NHL

Upon turning pro full-time in 2015-16, Geertsen’s introduction to pro hockey was an eye-opening experience. Despite being a big, bruising defender known for his physical play, going from playing against teenagers in junior hockey to men at the pro level required an adjustment.

“Yeah. I mean, my first year of pro [hockey] was definitely [a] humbling [experience], for sure,” Geertsen recalled of his rookie season split between AHL-San Antonio and ECHL-Fort Wayne. “Coming to the pros, [it was a] little bit of a culture shock, for sure, realizing that you’re going against men.”

The time spent in the ECHL proved valuable for Geertsen, as he was a part of the 2017 then-ECHL franchise Colorado Eagles’ Kelly Cup championship winning team as a 22-year-old in his second season of pro hockey.

From there, Geertsen continued to grind his way up the ladder – spending the next four seasons as a full-time AHL player for the San Antonio Rampage, now AHL-franchise Colorado Eagles and Hartford Wolf Pack.

Then, coming out of the COVID pandemic, the stars aligned according to Geertsen in October of 2021 when the New Jersey Devils claimed Geertsen off waivers from the New York Rangers at the start of the season and he played the 2021-22 season in the NHL – living out his childhood dream as a 26-year-old in his seventh year of pro hockey.

“It was honestly surreal, you know, especially grinding it out for so long, and being in the ECHL for a bit and then finally, having almost like the stars align and that coming to fruition was literally, like, one of the coolest experiences of my life,” Geertsen said. “And I still.. it seems like yesterday when that happened and I could, like, remember all those moments leading up to that, and it’s a pretty special moment, for sure.”

Freak Accident Reveals Serious Diagnosis

Geertsen certainly understands how pro hockey works and how quickly things can change.

After stepping on a puck during a pre-game warmup and tweaking his knee back in November 2023, a subsequent MRI revealed an abnormality in his bone marrow.

Further x-rays, bloodwork and a biopsy later that summer – after Geertsen had returned from the knee strain and finished the 2023-24 season – revealed Geertsen had B-cell non Hodgkins Lymphoma in both of his knees and one of his hips.

“Obviously, that time was super hard because going back and forth of not knowing what it is, or dreadfully knowing what it might be, that kind of thing was really hard on me, my wife and my whole family for sure,” Geertsen recalled of the waiting and lack of clarity initially. “And then, honestly, once we got the answer of what it was, it was kind of like a relief, because then we can make a plan for how to go about it.”

Geertsen underwent treatment throughout the summer, finishing his last scheduled treatment two days before the start of training camp last September.

Subsequent MRI’s and imaging have shown his body responded well to his treatments, leading to his going public with his cancer diagnosis and remission in a statement released by the Henderson Silver Knights on November 22, 2024 – nearly a year after the initial MRI.

Despite all of that, Geertsen was able to play hockey seemingly like nothing ever happened in 2024-25 – appearing in 31 games with the Silver Knights this past season.

Heading into this summer, Geertsen pointed out just how different his off-season training has been between last summer and this off-season.

“Last summer was hard because I got that surgery, and then I wasn’t able to train or do any weight bearing exercises for eight weeks,” Geertsen said of his off-season surgery last May limiting him. “So it definitely was hard to get back into my training after that, but this summer, I’ve been training hard since May, and my body feels so much better than it has in a while.”

After going through the treatments and now getting back to a sense of normalcy with his summer training regimen, Geertsen is primed to return full-throttle in 2025-26 in the Sabres organization – ready to take on whatever role he is given with his new team in the fall.

Geertsen Giving Back

As his 10-year professional hockey career to date has taken him to cities across the United States – from Cleveland to Colorado and San Antonio to Hartford with a trip to the NHL with the New Jersey Devils included, along with stops in Utica and Henderson – Geertsen is always giving back.

His contributions to communities in hockey markets across the AHL over the years haven’t gone unnoticed. Geertsen has been named a finalist for the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as the AHL’s Man of the Year on three separate occasions by three different AHL organizations (2017-18 in San Antonio, 2018-19 in Colorado and 2024-25 in Henderson)

Geertsen has always been one to get involved in the community, even extending back into his junior hockey days in the WHL, so it might not be a surprise that the Geertsen family has come together to launch the Geertsen Opportunity Foundation (GOF) with its mission statement being committed to making hockey an accessible and inclusive sport for youth across Canada and the United States and the belief that every young person, regardless of their financial situation, should have the opportunity to experience the joy, discipline, and teamwork that hockey fosters.

“I think we’ve had, like, an idea of something we wanted to start once things were right,” Geertsen said of he and his wife Clarity wanting to start the GOF. “We brought [the idea] to my family, and my family was super pumped about it too. The whole family jumped on board, and now it’s a full-family affair, which is pretty special.”

This summer, the GOF will be hosting its first hockey camp in Geertsen’s hometown of Drayton Valley, Alberta Canada on August 12-14^th with already over 165 kids signed up for free through the foundation.

“That’s where I grew up. It’s obviously a special place to me, and we want to start the camp off there. That community gave me everything. I’m from that community, and everything I have is from there. So I definitely want to try and give back to them,” Geertsen said of launching the first free hockey camp in Drayton Valley. “I’ve done a lot of community service in other towns and cities, so it’s kind of special to bring it back to your hometown.”

The hope is that with continued growth, the foundation will be able to have multiple camps going in the future as well as sponsor players’ registration fees.

Hockey fans can donate to the Geertsen Opportunity Foundation with more information available through their website: https://geertsenopportunityfoundation.com/