Peeke was originally selected by the Blue Jackets in the second round (#34 overall) at the 2016 NHL Draft. He was coming off of a standout season with Green Bay (USHL), where he’d scored 4 goals and 30 points in 56 games. But, he wasn’t viewed much as an offensive defenseman at the time, and he hasn’t developed as such.
He spent three years at the University of Notre Dame, logging 119 games, scoring 12 goals and 40 assists during that span before eventually turning pro for the 2019-20 season. Since then, Peeke has quietly established himself as a sturdy, durable stay-at-home defender, now a veteran of 195 NHL games over four seasons.