Photo courtesy of Twitter: @NHL
From watching game video with the Peterborough Petes on Friday morning to suiting up with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada; that was the story for Owen Beck.
The Port Hope native was with his teammates Friday, prepping for Sunday’s game against the Hamilton Bulldogs, when Petes GM Mike Oke and Head Coach Rob Wilson approached him with the news that he was being recalled to the Canadiens as an emergency call up for their game with Senators the next night in Ottawa.
Beck said he got a welcome reception from his new teammates and could feel their excitement for him to play his first game with the big club.
The 18-year-old, whose NHL debut featured 14 shifts with 9:48 of ice time, as well as the traditional pre-game solo rookie lap, said playing in that game was the best moment of his life.
The Canadiens sent the forward back to the Petes immediately after Saturday’s game and he was back in the Petes lineup for their game on Sunday afternoon.
Before leaving Ottawa, Beck, who was being driven by Oke, stopped at a local coffee shop and was recognized inside by a young fan wearing a Canadiens jersey who approached him and asked for an autograph. Beck signed excited boy’s jersey and spent about 15 minutes talking to him before continuing the drive back to Peterborough.
Beck, who earlier this month won a gold medal at the World Juniors after being a mid-tournament call-up for Canada, signed an entry-level contract with the Canadiens back in October.
Although it’s extremely rare for an OHL player to get called up to the NHL mid-season, it has happened before. The last time it happened to a Petes player was almost 25 years ago, back in the 1988-89 season when Corey Foster was called up to the New Jersey Devils for two games.
The Petes actually had a run in the later 80’s where a player was called up every year for four seasons in a row, beginning with Randy Burridge during the 1985-86 season when he was called up to the Boston Bruins for 52 games, recording 42 points while he was there. He also appeared in three playoff games for the Bruins, picking up four assists, before being sent back to Peterborough, injured, after Boston was eliminated from the playoffs.
The following year, during the Petes 1986-87 season, Glen Seabrooke was called up to the Philadelphia Flyers for ten games, picking up a goal and four assists during that stint.
The Flyers would call up another Pete during the 1987-88 season, with Mark Freer getting the nod for a single game before coming back to Peterborough where he would finish the season with 109 points.
(Written by: Scott Arnold)
