CHL notebook: Canadiens prospect Beck on road to becoming NHL-ready

Future NHL stars are developing in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Each week, NHL.com will highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.

Owen Beck couldn't help but laugh a bit when asked to reflect on the past two seasons.

The Montreal Canadiens center prospect is playing for his third OHL team and heading toward his second straight trip to the Memorial Cup, he has played for Canada at the World Junior Championship twice and he also made his NHL debut.

"It's been exciting," Beck said. "It's been another crazy year for me, but so far it's gone as planned for the most part."

The latest step in that plan was a trade on Jan. 8 that sent him from Peterborough to Saginaw, the host team for the 2024 Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup.

The 19-year-old had two goals and four assists in his first game, and has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in seven games since the trade. For the season he has 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) in 32 games with Peterborough and Saginaw.

"The team has been really welcoming and it's been easy to make friends with a lot of the guys on the team," said Beck, selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 33) of the 2022 NHL Draft. "We spend a lot of time together. The coaches are great, my billets are great. So it's been a pretty easy transition, which is nice."

With Saginaw guaranteed a berth in the CHL championship series, Beck is going to play more high-level games after reaching the Memorial Cup semifinals with Peterborough last season.

Add to that a gold medal with Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship and a significant role on the 2024 WJC team that finished fifth, and Montreal is happy with how Beck has gotten not just the opportunity to play high-pressure games, but done well in those spots.

"Big games, big pressure, big competition, lots of fans, lots of media attention," Canadiens director of player development Rob Ramage said. "Which is what he's going to get as he moves on to the next level. So this is just irreplaceable experience for him."

Another level of experience came a year ago, on Jan. 28, 2023, when Beck made his NHL debut after being an emergency call-up. He went 1-for-2 on face-offs and blocked one shot in 9:48 of ice time in Montreal's 5-0 loss at the Ottawa Senators.

"I wasn't expecting to play or stay there long, just help fill in a gap while I was there," Beck said. "I got to live the life of an NHL player for 36 hours. I got to see what it was like, got to see what the NHL stage is like, how they play the game, how they prepare and all that stuff.

"It just goes to show you where you need to be consistently on a nightly basis and always be improving, because there's always guys coming up to take jobs. It was a little bit of a preview, which was nice."

Beck has a better understanding of what it will take to turn that preview into a full-time NHL role. Former Canadiens forward Paul Byron, who joined the Montreal development staff this season, has been working on and off the ice with Beck with the goal of making him more NHL-ready.

And after more high-level games through another run through the OHL playoffs and another trip to the Memorial Cup, the Canadiens feel he'll be even closer.

"World Junior last year, got called in for injury, Memorial Cup last season, World Junior recently and now the chance again to try and win a Memorial Cup," Ramage said. "To play on the biggest stage in junior hockey is certainly just fantastic for a young player's development."

OTHERS TO WATCH

Oliver Bonk, D, London: The Philadelphia Flyers prospect had his 10-game point streak end during a 3-2 shootout loss to Peterborough on Friday that also ended London’s 14-game winning streak. The 19-year-old, selected with the No. 22 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, had 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) during the run, including eight multipoint games and three two-goal games. The son of former NHL center Radek Bonk has 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists) in 36 games this season.

Justin Gill, C, Baie-Comeau: The New York Islanders prospect has 11 points (five goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak. Selected in the fifth round (No. 145) of the 2023 draft, Gill, who celebrates his 21st birthday Saturday, is second in the QMJHL in scoring with 67 points (26 goals, 41 assists) in 43 games this season.

Brayden Yager, C, Moose Jaw: Yager had an assist in a 6-5 shootout win against Medicine Hat on Friday to extend his point streak to seven games (13 points; four goals, nine assists) but ended a run of five straight multipoint games. Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 14 pick in the 2023 draft, Yager is third on Moose Jaw in scoring with 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists) in 34 games.