| Paxton Geisel | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | L | G | 6’2″ | 180 | Denver | 2023 | Southlake, TX | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
USHL: Dubuque Fighting Saints vs Madison Capitols, February 18, 2022: Geisel stopped 34 of 36 in his last start against Madison, grabbing the win 6-2. He was very steady all night and was very comforting for his team between the pipes. The first word that comes to mind that describes Geisel’s game is composure. He looks very under control and rarely ends up out of position or on his stomach scrambling for saves. Geisel did a great job of controlling rebounds and reading plays, playing with a ton of confidence that his team clearly fed off of. Being in a lopsided game, he was still tested often and showed that he was focused for an entire 60 minutes, even when his team had a comfortable lead. He has a great foundation of skating and technique that allows him to be ahead of the play and able to react to anything thrown his way. This was an overall great performance and it will be exciting to see what he can do down the stretch. Grade: A
USHL: Dubuque Fighting Saints vs Cedar Rapids Rough Riders, February 13, 2022: Geisel put together a very solid performance stopping 25 of 26 shots while picking up the win along the way. He has a smaller frame, but excelled in this game at controlling his rebounds. It was impressive to watch his ability to always be in good position, and have his feet set when attackers were shooting. He played with good poise throughout the game and showed great control during chaotic scoring chances against. Overall it was a very solid game for Geisel who didn’t give up many secondary chances, and controlled shots well all game. Grade: A
NAHL: Austin; St. Cloud; Minot; Bismarck; Aberdeen, March 25, 2021: Makes the first saves and has the athletic ability to get into position to make the second. Fights through screens being able to move his body and stand his ground in the crease. Plays the puck well, makes short breakouts to his defenseman. Grade: B
NAHL: Goalie Report, February 9, 2021: Geisel helped his team earn a big win this weekend and stopped 58 of 64 shots he faced on the weekend. He is a young goalie with decent size and possesses great athleticism in net. He moves very quickly around his crease and is explosive in his movements and stops. He showed good awareness in both games as he adjusted his depth well to different scenarios. He showed his ability to be dominant at times when he maintains his balance and body control in difficult situations as well. Geisel has shown great growth this year and is continuing to help his team add games to the win column. Grade: B
NAHL: Goalie Report, December 26, 2020: Geisel stole the show this weekend for his team helping them earn a win against the top team. He finished the weekend with a 1-1 record stopping 71 of 76 shots faced on the weekend. Despite the score, Friday’s game he played well and stood strong in net against a high powered offense. Saturday he stole the show earning a 39 save shutout where he was forced to make big saves early and often. He showed great composure this weekend, especially for his age, and handled the pressure well. He moved with explosiveness and was able to follow plays on his feet well, and get set to be in position. He also excelled at making big saves in control, and didn’t seem to be on his stomach or back much at all this weekend. Geisel also showed good poise when playing the puck, and was able to read the ice well to make simple plays to help his team breakout. Geisel has started to find a groove, and is progressing well this year. He possesses high end ability and will look to continue helping his team pick up wins going into 2021. Grade: A-
NAHL: Goalie Report, December 14, 2020: Geisel had a good weekend and was able to turn in a great performance on Saturday to help his team earn their first win of the season. He is a very young goalie in junior hockey, but plays with a good calm demeanor. He excelled at using his stick on low shots to control rebounds and deflect passes that were near his crease. He did a good job of playing big on dead angle shots, and made sure that shooters had nothing to shoot at when attacking wide. He tends to over-commit on wide shots, but he is a good enough skater to recover well and be in position. Overall a big step for Geisel and his team as they will look to build on this win going into the holidays. Grade: B+
NAHL: Goalie Report, October 26, 2020: Geisel is a young rookie in this league that has shown great potential and seems to be growing each game. He faces a lot of shots and a lot of quality scoring chances each game. He has shown development from the start of the season and owns quite a bit of talent. He is very athletic and is a quick skater on his feet that can move decently fast laterally. He excels on clean shots from attacking players and plays that develop straight on from his positioning. His greatest weakness currently is he tends to extend and open holes when trying to make big saves on lateral pushes that allow attackers to exploit. He seems to be adjusting to the speed as each game goes by with his second game of the weekend being his best performance. Geisel will be a goalie to watch as his team will continue to rely on him going forward, and the youngster seems to be getting better each game. Grade: C+
NAHL: Opening Weekend, October 12, 2020: Geisel’s numbers this weekend don’t show the full picture as he was left out on an island, and was a big reason for his team staying in the game Friday. He is a younger goalie that plays aggressive and at times can be too aggressive. His greatest weakness is in tight plays where chaos occurs in front of the crease, he tends to scramble and lose his balance. He has great potential and moves well, and will look to build off his first start of the year going forward. Grade: C
U16 Tier 1 EHL Showcase; Michigan, October 22, 2019: Paxton is a big goalie who is very sound positionally and will make the initial save. He will stop the puck behind the net and will pass the puck up ice. He made some big saves to keep his team in the game and he also made a remarkable diving save. He recorded a shootout in the game we watched.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images