PROFILE
ANTHONY
KEEPER
THANKS
DAD
B Y S C O T T TAY L O R
Photos by Laurie Anderson
2 8 | G AME ON | PL AYOF F EDITION 2018
Anthony Keeper Jr. has
an almost immeasurable
amount of respect for
Anthony Keeper Sr.
Of course, it’s hard to
imagine it would be any other
way. After all, why wouldn’t
you respect the man who first
got you up on skates; taught
you the game of hockey; built
the backyard rink, sprayed it
and cleaned it and made sure
Anthony Jr. along with his
brothers Brady, Tony, Nicky
and Rico and his sister Mikayla
got to their games on time? It
gets cold in Cross Lake, Man.,
in the dead of winter, and yet
Anthony Sr. made sure Anthony
Jr. and the rest of the Keeper
kids had a place to play hockey.
Certainly, Anthony’s mom
Hilda Keeper, had a lot to
do with the family’s hockey
successes, but when it came
to the game itself, Anthony
Sr. was the go to guy.
“My dad is the most
influential person in my
hockey career, for sure,” Keeper
said, getting emotional as he
spoke. “He got me on skates
when I was three and made
a lot of ice rinks in the back
yard. He did a lot for us. I
have four older brothers and
one younger sister. We all
played hockey, but only me,
Brady and my sister, Mikayla,
who is 16 and plays at Pilot
Mound now, still play today.
“My brothers also did a
lot for me. We played in the
backyard all day until it got dark
and then we’d get hauled in for
supper. Then we’d go right back
out and play. I can remember,
when I was small playing with
my brothers on the rink my
dad made, all day and then all
night ‘till we had to go to bed.
And my dad would just smile
at us. Sometimes, I think he
wanted us to stay out longer.”