Peeke is enjoying the chance to take on his hometown team

In his day, Ed Jovanovski had one of the best nicknames in hockey. The first overall pick in the 1994 nhL draft patrolled the Panthers’ blue line like a man-machine, so they called him “Jovocop.”

Andrew Peeke’s name and profile don’t lend themselves to such a memorable moniker; most teammates call him “Peeker.”

But the Bruins defenseman sure would love to channel some of Jovocop, his favorite player growing up, in the coming weeks.

“A lot of excitement, watching on TV all these years,” Peeke said before the playoffs began. “The physicality ramps up, and that’s a big part of my game, so I’m excited about that.”

Peeke, who was cleared and played in Friday’s Game 3 loss to the Panthers, his hometown team, skated less than 28 minutes over two games against the maple Leafs in the first round before a Tyler Bertuzzi shot ricocheted off his left hand.

“stepping right in it,” he said Friday morning. “no holding back. All that stuff. so it’s exciting for me, seeing all the juices flowing and all that stuff and the commitment, how this team is sticking together through it all. can’t wait to just add to that.”

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Peeke, who was traded to Boston march 8 by columbus, grew up in Parkland, Fla., a sunsplashed 15-minute drive from the rink in sunrise currently known as Amerant Bank Arena. he estimates that he attended “north of 200, maybe 300” Panthers games growing up. The first? when he was about six months old.

“I used to change his diaper between periods,” said his father, cliff Peeke, who moved to the edge of the Everglades in 1983 from the Detroit area, bought miami hurricanes football and Dolphins season tickets, and tailgated in a holiday Inn parking lot near the Orange Bowl.

A former Red wings diehard, cliff Peeke all but sprinted to the front of the line for season tickets when the Panthers were born in 1993. In the late-aughts, he wrote a fan column for the team website called “Peeke’s Points.”

so it was no surprise when cliff and mary Ruth’s boys, Trevor and Andrew, gravitated toward sticks and pucks. Andrew has vague memories of the Panthers hosting the 2001 draft — he was 3, watching his father fill a notebook with thoughts on the picks. As a kid, Andrew was “very dialed in” to the scores, stats, and stories of hockey.

“he would have breakfast with the sports page,” cliff Peeke said. “Other kids would watch cartoons. he would study the box scores.”

soon after donning skates at age 5, Peeke had expert training. he played at the Panthers’ practice rink in coral springs with the sons of ex-nhLers cory stillman, Ville Peltonen, and Jeff chychrun, who helped run the team. Former Panthers forward serge Payer coached him with the U8 and U10 Junior Panthers, and later became his agent.

“he’s a great guy,” said Jakob chychrun, the senators defenseman who still hangs out with Peeke in the offseason. “I think most hockey people are. his parents are phenomenal people.”

Columbus via Notre Dame

Florida is arguably the nation’s richest baseball state, and that sport nearly swayed Peeke. As a pre-teen, Peeke, a righthanded pitcher and hitter, would change out of his hockey gear after practice, commute an hour-plus to miami to pitch the front end of a doubleheader, and catch the back half.

“I was a pretty good ballplayer,” he recalled. “It was a tough decision.”

But he was a defenseman first. he was a large kid — at 26, now 6 feet, 3 inches, and 205 pounds — and an agile skater. he had no problem blocking shots or boxing out. he took pride in crisp first passes.

“Andrew played the game the right way from the beginning,” Payer said. “he never made lowpercentage plays. The more consistent you are in doing that, you’ll be successful.”

he left his home state at 14 to play for the south Kent (conn.) selects Academy, then did a post-grad season at UshL Green Bay. he made the league’s allrookie team and was named scholar-athlete of the year. That summer of 2016, columbus drafted him in the second round (34th overall).

harvard was interested, but notre Dame offered a full ride. Peeke rose up the lineup and earned a spot on a 2018 Team UsA world Junior squad with future Bruins teammates Jeremy swayman and Trent Frederic. Peeke was named Fighting Irish captain as a junior.

“he didn’t shy away from being honest with me,” said notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson, who coincidentally gave Bruins coach Jim montgomery his first coaching job in 2005. “not every kid has that confidence to do that.”

Peeke was pressing for points in the first half of his junior year, Jackson recalled, as he tried to earn an nhL contract. A christmastime conversation with Jackson helped refocus Peeke on playing tough defense. The bite he added to his game in the second half convinced columbus to sign him.

he joined the Blue Jackets as a 21-year-old in 2019-20, playing 22 nhL games and 29 in the AhL. The pandemic, as it did many young players, hampered his development. he was part of the team’s taxi squad, practicing far more often than he played (11 nhL games, seven AhL games).

his breakout came in 202122. he played in all 82 games, saw top-pair duty next to Allstar Zach werenski, and recorded six assists in 10 games for Team UsA at the world championships. Blue Jackets then-Gm Jarmo Kekalainen signed him to a contract (three years at $2.75 million per) that confirmed he was part of their future.

But werenski’s season-ending injury in november 2022 left Peeke to “eat [expletive],” in the words of a rival front-office executive. he played heavy minutes on an awful team, getting outscored, 91-44, at five-on-five. Only one defenseman in the league (Erik Karlsson, 96) was on the ice for more goalsagainst. Peeke finished an nhLworst minus-41.

On April Fools Day 2023, Peeke was on the ice for all seven goals in a 7-0 home loss to the Panthers.

“There’s nothing you can do,” werenski said. “There’s guys who mope about it and complain, and point fingers, and tell the goalies to make saves. For him, it’s just, ‘I’m going to move forward.’ I respect that.”

Excited about Boston

Playing for his third coach in four seasons (not including mike Babcock, who was hired and fired before the season), Peeke wanted out in late October. columbus couldn’t find a taker at his $2.75 million annual cap hit. he played in 23 of the team’s first 63 games, never suiting up for more than five in a row.

he came to Boston in a march 8 swap for Jakub Zboril, two mid-20s defensemen looking for fresh starts.

Bruins Gm Don sweeney said Peeke’s seamless transition pleased the coaching staff. The defenseman knew what he was, what he wasn’t, and how he fit.

“Kudos to our scouting staff for realizing that it’s not just a one-year blip where he’s in and out of the lineup in a previous environment coming in, and earning an opportunity to continue to grow within our own lineup,” sweeney said. “more minutes, more responsibility, and hopefully that continues to translate.”

Peeke has one year left on his contract. with matt Grzelcyk, Kevin shattenkirk, and Derek Forbort soon to reach free agency, Peeke could be a regular come next fall.

Before Peeke’s injury, he and fellow newcomer Parker wotherspoon formed a rugged third pair. They did a primo job against Florida’s snarling duo of matthew Tkachuk and sam Bennett in an April 6 win.

“A nice little confidence boost,” Peeke said. “A big assignment, so you get up for that type of thing.”

no doubt Peeke was eager to get another look at the Panthers. At the very least, he could give his father something to write about.