Parkland native’s hockey career comes full circle as Florida Panthers host Blue Jackets
Andrew Peeke was just 6 months old when Sunrise’s National Car Rental Center — known now as the BB&T Center — came to life in 1998 and became the full-time arena for the Florida Panthers.
Cliff Peeke, Andrew’s father and a Panthers season ticket holder since the team’s inception, wasted no time acclimating his son to the joys of hockey.
“I cradled him in my arms,” Cliff Peeke said, “and changed his diapers between periods.”
Little did they both know a hockey career 21 years in the making began in that moment.
It reached its highest point on Thursday when Andrew made his NHL debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
That journey came full circle on Saturday when Andrew, a Parkland native and rookie defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets, returned to the BB&T Center to face his hometown Panthers. Andrew had a shot on goal and a hit in 11:42 time on ice in the Blue Jackets’ 4-1 loss to the Panthers.
“It’s the first time in my life I’m not going to be cheering for my Panthers,” Cliff Peeke said Friday, adding that there could potentially be as many as 150 family and friends at the arena to see Andrew play. “I’m rooting for the Blue Jackets and my son.”
“That’s tough for him, but I think he has no choice at this point,” Andrew said with a smile about two hours before the puck dropped. “He’s proud for sure.”
Florida roots
Andrew, a 6-foot-3, 194-pound defenseman who the Blue Jackets selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft, played 17 shifts and was on the ice for 12:53 in the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 loss Thursday to the New York Islanders.
With his debut, Andrew became the 14th Floridian to play in the NHL.
What’s more, only four other players from Broward County had played in the NHL before him: Blake Geoffrion (debuted in 2010), Jayson Megna (debuted in 2013), Shayne Gostisbehere (debuted in 2014) and Jaycob Megna (debuted in 2016).
“It’s just great that there are kids that are finding their ways to this level, especially for kids down here with that dream themselves,” Cliff Peeke said. “It shows that it’s attainable.”
And it’s hard to deny the Panthers’ impact on Andrew’s burgeoning career.
The defenseman began skating just before his third birthday and was a member of the Jr. Panthers at the onset of his hockey career while also playing baseball.
Andrew kept coming to games regularly with family, sitting in Section 419, Row 1. Early on, he admired Panthers defenseman Ed Jovanowski. Nowadays, it’s contemporary Aaron Ekblad.
“This arena, this team is what I grew up with and how I started falling in love with hockey,” Andrew said. “It’s 15 minutes from my house. This team really brought hockey to me.”
But the path to professional hockey isn’t an easy one in South Florida. There’s only so many kids who grow up around the sport, only so much competition to test yourself against.
“It is a bit of a mountain to climb,” Cliff Peeke said.
So Andrew moved to South Kent, Connecticut, when he was 14 to skate with the Selects Hockey Academy in an attempt to face better competition and have a chance for his career to take off.
What followed:
▪ Stints with the Team USA Under-17, U18 and U19 teams. He helped the U17 team earn silver at the 2014 Five Nations Tournament in Germany, recorded an assist with the U18 team at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and recorded a goal and an assist with the U19 team in the 2015 World Junior A Challenge in Canada.
▪ 56 regular-season games with the US Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers during the 2015-16 season. He scored four goals and added 26 assists in that span. His 30 points ranked second among rookie defensemen.
▪ Three years at Notre Dame after being drafted by the Blue Jackets with the 34th overall pick. He played in 119 career games for the Fighting Irish, scoring 12 goals, recording 52 assists and blocking 247 shots.
“It’s special,” Andrew said of his career to this point. “You want to show that it’s definitely a possibility to make it from Florida.”
Andrew signed his entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets on April 2 and spent time practicing with the team during its Stanley Cup Playoff run that ended in the second round to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins. It gave Andrew his first taste of what life as a professional hockey player was like and settled some of the nerves he might have had coming into his first full season.
He impressed during training camp as well, where he was the final cut from the roster heading into the regular season.
Andrew played 21 games with the Blue Jackets’ American Hockey League affiliate Cleveland Monsters, racking up six goals and six assists, before being recalled on Monday.
“The thing I liked about him in the exhibition games, I don’t think he took a step backwards,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella told reporters prior to Andrew’s debut. “I don’t think there was any nervousness. That’s a big body and (there are) really good reports on all his plays.”
‘A tremendous amount of pride’
Cliff Peeke and mom Mary Ruth Peeke were in the stands at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Thursday to take in the moment of their son’s debut.
There were no tears — although dad admits he thought there would be.
Just the breathtaking realization that Andrew was in the NHL.
“It was in a way a little surreal,” Cliff Peeke said. “Just a tremendous feeling of pride. We know how hard he’s worked and what it’s taken for him.
“He’s felt that he’s ready. I don’t think that he approached [Thursday’s] game in awe. He approached it like ‘This is where I belong and I’m ready to take this on.’ “
Andrew’s thoughts?
“Obviously a little bit of nerves, but mostly excited for sure,” he said. “I stepped in and felt composed and tried to play my game and stay composed and do what I do best. I thought it went pretty well.”
And rest assured, the Florida roots are still there. He takes a lot of satisfaction with the fact that he’s one of the few from the Sunshine State to make it this far.
“Being from Florida and playing hockey is not the norm,” Andrew said. “Being able to make it this far, especially being from Florida is definitely pretty special. My friends and I have that gotten to this level take pride in it.”
He put his talents on full display once again on Saturday. This time in front of his hometown crowd.
“A lot of his success I think up to this point is that he’s a real intelligent hockey player,” Cliff Peeke said. “... He really focused on the games. The fact that the Florida Panthers existed had a lot to do with it.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 6:00 PM.
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