Owen Beck heads long list of Canadiens draft picks in junior pipeline

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The Canadiens offered a glimpse of the future last week when they used an 911 call to call Junior Peterborough Petes center Owen Beck to a one-game NHL tryout to see how he’s doing since the Canadiens were drafted got him in the second round (33rd overall) last July.

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Beck, who turns 19 on Friday, didn’t look out of place in his less than 10-minute ice time and while the schedule could be sped up, he could have a spot in the Canadians’ lineup to kick off the 2024-25 season to start .

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This was confirmation from head coach Martin St. Louis after Beck’s debut:

“I don’t know how much (his first NHL game) will help him play junior again, but here’s a boy who’s had a great year. He can achieve his goal, achieve his dream that he played in the NHL. He’s quite a mature kid. I think he will have that experience…. It’s definitely a confidence booster. you saw the game He looked very comfortable out there.”

Beck’s the St. Louis type of player. He can count numbers – he has 19 goals and 45 points in 38 games this season – but it’s his intelligent two-way play that sets him apart. He gets high marks for his passing, zone entries, and puck retrieves.

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Those are qualities that make winning teams, which is why the Petes sent two veterans and four draft picks to the Mississauga Steelheads to take on Beck after he was part of Canada’s gold-medal world junior team.

Beck isn’t the only gold medalist in the Canadians’ pipeline. Sherbrooke Phoenix’s Joshua Roy has blossomed since being drafted in the fifth round (No. 150 overall) in 2021. The following season, the right winger led the QMJHL with 51 goals and 119 points.

He was part of the last two junior teams to win gold medals and most recently played along a line with Connor Bedard, the consensus #1 pick in this year’s draft.

“He’s a jack of all trades,” said Team Canada coach Dennis Williams. “He did everything for us. He was good at the pre-check. He was good on the trail. Good on the walls. Plays offensively with his good skills and finishes plays.”

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Again, it sounds like it’s a perfect match for St. Louis.

Center Riley Kidney (No. 63 overall in 2021), who was on the 2022 gold-medal team, didn’t make it this year, but the veteran offensive player makes it shine in the QMJHL with 21 goals and 68 points. He ranks second in points per game (1.7), just ahead of Roy (1.676).

Right winger Filip Mesar (No. 26 overall in 2022) has 12 goals and 27 points in 28 games with Kitchener Rangers and represented Slovakia at World Juniors.

Center Jared Davidson (No. 130 overall in 2022) leads a solid Seattle team in the WHL with 27 goals and 62 points in 40 games.

Ottawa 67 forward Vinzenz Rohrer (No. 75 overall in 2022) is out with a concussion after falling and landing on his head in a game last month. Before the injury, the Austrian had 35 points in 31 games and a striking plus-21 differential.

Center Cedrick Guindon (No. 127 overall in 2022) has 17 goals and 55 points in 45 games with the Owen Sound Attack.

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