From the bigs to the bush Cross Lake pro blueliner walks away from sport he loves to live and work in northern community he loves even more By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 4:10 PM CDT Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026

CROSS LAKE — It’s a hot, hazy Tuesday evening in northern Manitoba, and Jericho Blacksmith and his buddies are gathered inside a baseball dugout.

There isn’t a glove or bat in sight.

Instead, the young men are engaged in a loud, good-natured race to see who can get blackout drunk the fastest, passing around bottles and cans purchased from the local vendor, which had just been restocked when the weekly truck rolled into town earlier that day.

“Honestly, everything can be pretty brutal around here,” says the 26-year-old lifelong resident, pointing to isolation, a lack of opportunity and relentless boredom.

“And drugs and drinking, too.”

Moments later, Blacksmith slips off his shoes and socks to show a stranger his feet.

“Notice anything?” he asks with a devilish grin.

He has six toes on each foot — a dozen in total — and jokes the birth defect has given him superhuman powers.

“I’m like Wolverine,” he cracks.

Then Blacksmith laughs as he recalls how many times those very feet carried him away from Cross Lake RCMP officers.

“It’s only because I wanted to be cool with the guys,” he explains.

Blacksmith — whose parents, grandparents, seven brothers and sister all still live in this First Nation of roughly 10,000 registered band members, about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg — insists he’s settled down in recent years, picking up carpentry work whenever he can.

But he admits there are still plenty of wasted nights like this.

Soon, the drinking game comes to an abrupt end.

“He’s helping his community and he’s inspiring youth.”

Young children begin arriving at the diamond, gloves in hand and bats slung over their shoulders. Blacksmith and his friends will respectfully retreat into the nearby bush, where the mosquitoes and black flies are even more ferocious.

Walking behind the kids is their volunteer coach, a former schoolmate of Blacksmith’s who needs no introduction around here.

It’s fair to say the two men’s lives have gone in very different directions.

“He’s a good person. A Good Samaritan,” Blacksmith says. “He’s helping his community and he’s inspiring youth.”

You don’t need to be polydactyl to count the number of Cross Lake residents who have reached the National Hockey League. The list begins — and ends — with Brady Keeper.

The sign bearing his photo that welcomes you into the community serves as a vivid reminder.

“Honestly, when I first heard that, I was like ‘As if somebody made it from here,’” Blacksmith says. “I was shell-shocked, honestly.”

Perhaps even more surprising? Now 30, and fresh off a seven-year professional career, Keeper has returned home to live year-round.

He has a clear purpose: To guide. To monitor. To mentor.

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Truth be told, Keeper would have been content with just one big-league game. The undrafted defenceman got that chance in March 2019, suiting up for the Florida Panthers in a late-season contest in Ottawa.

Keeper was paired on the blue line with MacKenzie Weegar, registering a shot on goal and finishing plus-1 in 12:40 of ice time as Florida skated to a 5-2 victory.

“I was so grateful, especially from where I came from,” says Keeper. “An NHL game is what I dreamed of as a kid.”

Keeper would eventually get two more: a playoff game in August 2020 inside the Toronto “bubble” during the global COVID-19 pandemic, and another regular-season contest against the Carolina Hurricanes in April 2021.

There were also 129 American Hockey League games over four seasons with Springfield, Syracuse, Abbotsford and Laval, plus seven ECHL appearances with the Rapid City Rush. Although his primary job was defending his own end, Keeper showed some offensive flair, recording 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) in the minors.

Not too shabby for a self-described “late bloomer” who first caught the attention of NHL scouts with three strong seasons in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the OCN Blizzard. That was followed by two years on scholarship at the University of Maine before Florida signed him as a free agent.

“He always loved being on the ice,” says his father, Anthony, who built an outdoor rink every winter for Brady, his four brothers and two sisters.

“And if there was ever snow on there, he’d be the first to go shovel it. I would put the lights on and let them skate until 8 (at night). Or, if they did their homework, maybe 10. Brady always had the vision, too. He saw the ice well. And he would always be the last guy off at practices, and probably the guy that would sweat the most, too.”

“He always loved being on the ice.”

His former elementary school gym teacher laughs as she recalls one particularly memorable example from Keeper’s Grade 2 year.

“It was always floor hockey with him. I remember him being so competitive. He’d be full of sweat, and his team had to win. One time, they lost, and he was so mad he went running out of the gym,” says Pamela Rots-Garrioch.

Most of Keeper’s inner circle flew to the Canadian capital to see him suit up for his first-ever NHL game. Plenty of tears were shed.

Unfortunately, injuries began to pile up, and all of Keeper’s hard work couldn’t outrun bad luck.

The first came during training camp with Abbotsford in 2021, when he caught a rut in the ice and suffered a broken leg that cost him an entire season of development.

“Tibia and fibula. I heard it snap right away,” says Keeper.

“Definitely some bad luck. I feel like my body just needed a break.”

The following season, Keeper took a hit from behind against San Jose’s AHL affiliate that caused whiplash and left him with a severe concussion.

“It was my first. And I feel like that was my worst injury, even compared to my broken leg. I just didn’t know when I was ever going to feel better,” he says.

Keeper returned three months later, only to suffer more head trauma when a teammate accidentally elbowed him during a drill. The following year, after signing with the Laval Rocket — the Montreal Canadiens’ farm team — he tore his medial collateral ligament.

“Definitely some bad luck. I feel like my body just needed a break,” he says.

Keeper tried to give it another go last year, signing with the Rapid City Rush and posting five points in seven ECHL games. But he ultimately decided it was time to walk away from the sport he loved.

“I feel like I could probably still be playing if I wanted to, but I’d rather be home here,” he says.

Now, it’s all about community and family, including his wife, Shaylyn, who is from The Pas. The couple has three boys — Napesis, 11, Navyn, 7, and Nakoah, 3 — and are preparing to welcome their fourth child, a girl, in early September.

“We are really trying to give back to Cross Lake, because we’ve always been so taken care of when we were away (playing hockey),” says Shaylyn, who works as a paramedic and sees many of the community’s challenges firsthand.

“And (Keeper) is just really passionate about wanting to make a difference and have his voice heard.”

Sports was Keeper’s ticket out of his community. It is also what brought him back.

“His heart was always here, even when he was playing,” his dad says.

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Mike Omand spends much of his days — and plenty of long nights — confronting despair.

As Cross Lake’s restorative-justice director, who also oversees the community safety officer program and youth centre, he gets a front-row seat to the challenges facing the community.

Omand rattles off one tragedy after another: children mauled by dogs, an epidemic of suicides and finding babies in diapers living in dire conditions alongside passed-out parents.

“We haven’t put our flags up to full-mast in like three years,” he says while watching his nine-year-old daughter, Ronnee, and seven-year-old son, Braxson, practise on the ball diamond with Keeper.

“We got to a point where we’d lower them (to honour a local who had passed) and then by the time we would go to put them back up, like maybe three days later, we would have to put them down again.”

Omand, 56, has also seen an increase in people with bad intentions targeting vulnerable local citizens. Earlier this month, two Ontario men were arrested in the community after RCMP seized cocaine, pills, cash and two 9-mm handguns.

“We haven’t put our flags up to full-mast in like three years.”

“It’s organized crime sending individuals into reserves and cashing in by preying on people’s addictions,” he says, noting some dealers are going so far as to blatantly peddle their product through community Facebook groups.

“They’ll say things like ‘it’s snowing at Mike’s house.’”

RCMP currently have their hands full with several other ongoing investigations.

A 22-year-old woman was found dead in a lake late last month in what have been deemed suspicious circumstances. A 20-year-old woman died and a 16-year-old was seriously injured during a car crash a couple weeks earlier. And a 43-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run in May, which has yet to result in an arrest.

As the hour-long baseball practice winds down and the sun dips below the horizon, Keeper’s connection with the children is unmistakable. He has kept them in constant motion, rotating them through batting practice and the field while patiently demonstrating drill after drill.

Laughter and words of encouragement fill the air. Hope, too.

“They would probably play all night,” Omand says.

Omand says one of the smartest decisions he’s made was hiring Keeper as recreation director.

“It can be very hard to establish yourself on a reserve. There’s not the same opportunities as in a city. And there’s a lot of unemployment in the community. A lot of kids don’t have opportunities, they don’t have role models at home,” Omand says.

“A lot of these kids are looking for something to do. Brady gives them that outlet. For Brady to do what he’s doing, it’s just awesome. Mostly everyone knows him in the community because of where he’s been and what he’s done. He could have settled anywhere, but he chose to come home. Now he’s in a perfect spot to work with kids.”

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It’s Wednesday morning and Keeper is sitting inside the Cross Lake Arena, a large Tim Hortons coffee in hand, looking like a proud parent as he watches the scene unfolding in front of him.

About two dozen children, ages 7 to 13, are taking part in the first day of the inaugural Brady Keeper Sports Camp.

“Sports can keep you out of trouble. Especially when you get to that impressionable age where you can go this way, or that way,” he says.

“For me, sports, and my parents, really kept me in line. And kept me out of trouble. I had friends choosing drugs and alcohol while I was staying clean. You know, I’ll see people that I went to school with here, walking around, and they’re drunk. It is sad. I could have been like that.”

Keeper credits the lessons he learned from his parents and grandparents, all of whom worked in education.

“I told him you’re going to run into the right and the wrong. You have to make that decision, you have to make that choice. It’s up to you,” his dad says. “You’ll know if you took the right one or the wrong one, as there will be consequences.”

Keeper also recalls the sacrifices his parents made to help launch his hockey career — opportunities he readily acknowledges aren’t available to every child.

“I remember my mom having to take loans. She always had loans,” he says.

“Kids from reserves are so talented. There just needs to be someone to give them that motivation or that push.”

Adds his father: “Yeah, a lot of times we missed on our vehicle payment, or we’d be behind on something. But it was worth it.”

Now, the whole family is catching up on some lost time.

“It’s just super for us to stay close to his parents because we’ve been away for so long. They basically watched our kids grow up through FaceTime,” says Shaylyn.

Cross Lake, along with community sponsors, is ensuring local kids can attend Keeper’s camp free of charge. The camp runs every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday through the end of August, with games and skill stations spread across the arena’s concrete floor.

“Growing up, there was barely anything to do. There weren’t camps like this. It’s boredom. So kids go try to do different things. Or they’re on the phone too much now, playing games. Just keeping them moving and having fun — you’re a kid, right?” says Keeper.

“Kids from reserves are so talented. There just needs to be someone to give them that motivation or that push.”

He’s got some help in that department.

Fellow Cross Lake hockey player Justin Nachbaur and his fiancée, Blair Bodie, volunteered during the camp’s opening week.

“We’re just trying to teach these kids that sports is a good way to not go down the rabbit hole,” says Nachbaur, a 26-year-old former OCN Blizzard teammate of Keeper’s who later starred with the Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders before spending the past five seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL.

“And giving back to the community is very important. Growing up, everyone around here had my back and tried to get me to where I wanted to be. I’m just trying to do the same for these kids. It’s about teaching them how to train, teaching them life skills and trying to have a lot fun with it.”

Nachbaur is still chasing his own hockey dream. He recently signed with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack for the coming season, making his return to Cross Lake only a temporary one. For now.

“(Keeper) is a great guy. He’s pretty quiet when you first meet him, but once you get him out of his shell, he’s a funny guy. His whole family are really good people. He’s a humble guy. He treats everyone with respect,” he says.

“We’re trying to encourage these kids. Like, if we can do it, you can do it, too. We came from the North. We came from Cross Lake. We’re not any different than anyone else.”

Nachbaur still hopes to follow in Keeper’s footsteps and become the second player from Cross Lake to reach the NHL.

“I’m just trying to take hockey as far as I can and keep playing as long as I can, and show these kids that as long as you keep going, keep pushing, anything can happen,” he says.

Bodie, a gym teacher in Cross Lake, sees the value beyond the scoreboard.

“Being physically active is really important. And this gives them some role models, too,” she says.

Those role models also include Kennesha Miswaggon, a 25-year-old from Cross Lake who played five seasons at the University of British Columbia before spending last season playing professionally in Sweden. She helped put campers through their paces during the second week of camp.

Next week, local residents Carrigan Umpherville and Sage McKay, who both played NCAA hockey at Long Island University, will serve as guest instructors.

“And there’s a lot more young kids coming up from here,” says Keeper, pausing to take it all in.

“This rink was always open for us. I would skate right after school, stay here until it was closed.”

Vince Scott remembers those days well. He has managed the arena since before Keeper was born.

“He’d also be here skating before school. He was the only kid that would do that. We knew he had the potential because of the way he was going. His hard work really paid off,” Scott says.

“And to top it off, he was a real humble kid growing up and he still is today. He was an NHLer, for crying out loud. And we are so proud of him.”

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Keeper admits he’s got another dream, one tucked quietly in the back of his mind.

One day, he’d like to finish the degree he started at the University of Maine, a pursuit put on hold when the Panthers came calling and professional hockey became the priority.

“We were just talking about that recently, my wife and I, about how it would be so cool to get that,” he says.

Shaylyn is cheering him on.

“I remember when we first met in The Pas. I thought he was shy and quiet. But he’s not,” she says. “He’s not afraid to try something new that scares him.”

Child development was his focus at Maine, continuing down a path his parents had long encouraged.

“Education and school was always very important. They raised us really well,” says Keeper.

For now, though, his attention is firmly on the kids of Cross Lake.

Beyond the sports camp, Keeper also serves as the community’s Little League commissioner and coaches U9 and U11 baseball teams, the latter of which recently won a tournament in The Pas.

“Education and school was always very important. They raised us really well.”

“I’m just so glad he’s come back here because he can share that knowledge now. He’s already inspiring young ones to try harder and want to excel just like him,” says his former gym teacher, Rots-Garrioch, who oversees a U7 softball team under Keeper’s guidance.

“And he’s teaching them commitment, determination, teamwork, about making friends and making good decisions. Those good decisions lead to a better life.”

Keeper’s recently added another title to his resumé — volunteer paramedic — helping his wife respond to calls due to staffing shortages in the community.

Shaylyn says there have been more than a few moments when patients suddenly brighten after realizing the famous local NHLer is helping care for them.

“He’s never really held that as a title — NHL player — as a person,” she says. “And that’s how we want our kids to be. Always humble and remembering where you came from. And never forgetting.”

Every spring for the past five years, the Keepers have returned to Florida with their children to show them the life they once lived.

“We show them where we used to live, the rink, the routine, and how we could be living here, but we choose to live in Cross Lake,” Shaylyn says.

“It’s a different experience living in Cross Lake, but a slower, calmer one. This is about where our kids are happy, and they’re happy in Cross Lake. And I have no worries about that, because look how Brady turned out.’”

For Keeper, making the NHL fulfilled a childhood dream.

Coming home may prove to be his greatest achievement yet.

mike.mcintyre@winnipegfreepress.com