The injuries Koekkoek endured on his way to breaking through in the NHL made the journey that much more rewarding.

When Koekkoek was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning at No. 10 in the 2012 NHL Draft, the sleek-skating native of Winchester, Ontario, was coming off left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. That limited his summer training before he headed back to Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League.

After he was traded to Windsor midway through the next season, Koekkoek saw his season end two games following the trade after suffering the same injury to same shoulder, requiring the same surgery. That led to another lengthy recovery process that disrupted his summer training and slowed his development.

In his final season of junior hockey, Koekkoek was enjoying his best season in his first full year with Windsor, becoming a more responsible player at both ends of the ice. Through 62 games, the defenseman had 15 goals, 53 points and was plus-44. But in his last game of the regular season, Koekkoek sustained another injury, this time to his right shoulder.

Once again, Koekkoek faced surgery. For the third consecutive summer, Koekkoek was unable to train properly, instead going through a lengthy rehabilitation process.

Entering his first season of professional hockey, Koekkoek had yet to experience a full summer of training. Still, it didn't hold him back during his first season in the American Hockey League, as he appeared in 72 games with the Syracuse Crunch in 2014-15, even getting a three-game call-up to the Lightning late in the regular season.

Finally, Koekkoek made it through a full season injury-free and could properly train in the summer. Koekkoek made an impression in his nine regular-season games with the Lightning in 2015-16 and became a playoff contributor.

Koekkoek scored his first two NHL goals, including the game-winner, in a 5-4 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 12, 2017.

He played in 73 games for Tampa Bay the next three seasons before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 11, 2019.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• OHL First All-Star Team (2014)
• Traded to Chicago by Tampa Bay with Tampa Bay's 5th-round pick in 2019 NHL Draft for Jan Rutta and Chicago's 7th-round pick in 2019 NHL Draft, January 11, 2019.
• Signed as a free agent by Edmonton, December 26, 2020.