(Arlington, Virginia) “My heart stopped for a moment. Is it really me? »
It’s been years since Owen Beck left his collection of hockey cards. Old satchels are still lying around at her parents’ house, but no one has looked at them for years.
As part of an event organized by the card manufacturer Upper Deck, the Ontarian has nevertheless developed a few decks, just in case. And speaking of chance, he came across his own map. The one on which we see him in the uniform of the Canadian, during the only game he played in the NHL, last January.
“It was a pretty ordinary card. But it was super cool. A beautiful moment. »
Beck will appear on other cards in the coming weeks as he was among 35 young NHL players who took part in an Upper Deck photo op on Tuesday in Arlington, Washington. The 19-year-old center player went there with Filip Mesar and Sean Farrell, members of the Canadiens organization like him.
However, if Beck’s 2023-2024 card could well end up in the hands of collectors, the main concerned, he could not play in the NHL for the season.
He finds himself in a very uncomfortable position in the organization chart of the Habs, he who is the only attacker under contract who cannot be transferred to the Laval Rocket, in the American League. Since he’s not yet 20 years old, if he doesn’t get a job in the next training camp, he will instead be sent to the Peterborough Petes of the OJL.
Slovak Filip Mesar is also 19, but has a waiver offered to European players drafted in the first round.
“Yeah, I still believe it,” Beck insisted during a scrum. There is nothing impossible, although I know it is very difficult to reach the NHL at 19. Very few players do. »
Circumstances are not in his favour. On paper, the CH offense would be sold out early in camp, with 13 forwards on one-way NHL contracts and another, Jesse Ylönen, going on waivers if he’s demoted.
If Christian Dvorak were to miss the start of the season, in the event of a late recovery following the operation he underwent on his knee, a rare position could open up. In which case the candidates would be numerous… but they could all be sent to Laval without a hitch… except for Beck.
That said, the second-round choice of the Canadian in 2022 (33rd overall) has made a happy habit, that of ending up where you least expect it. At training camp last season, he showed up with no specific expectations set in him. He was, however, one of the last players cut, and he left Montreal with his first NHL contract in his pocket.
In January, at the heart of the carnage that afflicted the team, the Canadian called on him during a short trip to Ottawa. And he was then returning from the World Junior Championship, to which he had been invited in extremis there too.
In short, very smart is the one who will predict that Owen Beck has no chance of playing with the big club in October.
He says he is fully aware that, this time, the expectations for him will be real. If last year’s camp was an “experience” for him, now he would have “a goal to accomplish.”
To achieve this, he draws from the bag of classics: “playing [his] way”, meaning winning face-offs and looking after his game in both directions of the rink. This without, however, “looking too far ahead”.
Anyway, at this time last year, he did not expect to sign his first professional contract, be traded to the OHL, participate in the World Juniors and play his first game with the Canadiens. Oh yes, he also participated in the Memorial Cup tournament in the spring.
“It’s crazy to realize that all of this happened in one hockey season,” he said. I would have expected it to be more spread out [in time]. But it was awesome. »
The next few weeks could be too, although the odds don’t seem in his favor. That, however, never bothered him.
