Owen Beck thought he might have scored his first NHL goal in the Canadiens’ 4-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
With the Canadiens leading 1-0 late in the first period, defenceman Alexandre Carrier took a shot from the point that was deflected by Patrik Laine and then it looked like Beck hit the puck in with a blind backhand while skating in front of the net.
“It was just a bit of an awkward moment there,” Beck said after the game.
“I thought I might try and fake it and see if I could get away with it,” he added with a chuckle.
But Beck didn’t touch the puck and Laine was credited with his 14th goal in 30 games this season.
“I knew Patty got a piece of that,” Beck said. “Didn’t see how it bounced in afterwards. I was kind of just looking around for who was celebrating. Patty didn’t have too much of a reaction, so I was kind of lost. Newy (Alex Newhook) thought it was me, so he came running over. I was like, ‘No, no, it’s not me. Go get Patty.’ I knew it didn’t catch my stick or anything.
“Awesome to be on the ice for that one,” Beck added. “Good to have a positive impact on the game. Just looking forward to that first one.”
Beck has now played seven games with the Canadiens this season and he also played one game in 2022-23. He’s still looking for his first NHL goal and point, but that will come soon enough for the 21-year-old centre who was selected in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. In 47 games this season as an AHL rookie with the Laval Rocket, Beck has 13-19-32 totals.
With Kirby Dach sidelined with a lower-body injury, Beck had the opportunity to play centre on the second line against the Hurricanes with Laine and Newhook as his linemates.
“I think he can play with a lot of speed and he plays hard,” Laine said about Beck. “Forechecks really well. He can shoot the puck, make plays. I feel like we had a good game overall for our line.”
Head coach Martin St. Louis agreed, saying Beck played an “excellent” game.
“Patty has plenty of offence, Newy has plenty of offence and Beck has figured out how to bring something to the game in the NHL,” St. Louis said. “He’s got great assets. I just thought as a group and that line also we were very committed to the bigger cause. Not necessarily what they like to do on the ice, but what we need them to do every shift. Because you don’t know what kind of shift you’re going to have. You don’t know is it going to be an offensive shift, is it going to be a defensive shift? I don’t know what it’s going to be, but you have to be willing to do the job, not just what you like to do.”
A big reason why the Canadiens drafted Beck is his intelligence, both on and off the ice, and the fact he is a 200-foot player. He was named the CHL’s Scholastic Player of the Year the season before the Canadiens drafted him after posting a 93 per cent grade average at Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont. His grades included 96 per cent in advanced functions, 93 per cent in university chemistry, 94 per cent in kinesiology, 91 per cent in calculus and 93 per cent in university biology. Rob Ramage, the Canadiens’ director of player development, said Beck’s fitness testing is always “off the charts,” which is something the chiselled 6-foot, 199-pound centre takes great pride in.
Getting a chance to play on a line with Laine was a thrill for Beck, who was 14 when Laine scored a career-high 44 goals with the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-18.
“I remember when he was drafted to Winnipeg (second overall in 2016),” Beck said. “Unbelievable talent. So much fun to watch, so much skill. I saw him for the early part of his career and to be on the ice with him now is pretty surreal. Seeing guys that are on the team, guys that you’re playing against, it’s so cool to have seen those guys on TV growing up and always dreaming about it. I catch myself pinching myself a little bit, you’re kind of living your dream right now. Just trying to make the most of it for as long as I can.”
When asked what the biggest goal of his career has been so far, Beck said it would be one of the two he scored in the first period of the Memorial Cup final last year when his Saginaw Spirit team beat the London Knights 4-3. Beck was named the tournament MVP.
His first NHL goal — when it eventually comes — will move to the top of that list.
“With the time it’s taking to get it I think it’s going to be that much sweeter and that much more memorable,” he said.