Prospect Info: Owen Beck

[Adam Michaels]

i see alot of Plekanec personally, just super smart In term of positioning and making all the little details a natural center do. Better shot than Pleky though and a little bit bigger.

I think he was also the best face-off guy in the OHL.

I think Mysak was also one of the best on the dot.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Some people compare him to Bo Horvat. I really like that comparison. Beck have great two-way ability and show that he can be a good offensive player too. Great skating, hockey IQ, good hands too.

If Habs develop well this game... that's a potential steal, for sure.

Some mock draft//rankings put him on top 20-25. He is a first round talent.

 

[Playmaker09]

Pretty similar game, numbers, skating and size as Robert Thomas who I know many here were super high on in his draft year.

Thomas has since added 26 lbs since his dy combine (192 to 218!) so that should be Beck's target as well (210 range).

Any takes on this from those who watched both extensively?

 

[KevSkillz4]

Pretty similar game, numbers, skating and size as Robert Thomas who I know many here were super high on in his draft year.

Thomas has since added 26 lbs since his dy combine (192 to 218!) so that should be Beck's target as well (210 range).

Any takes on this from those who watched both extensively?

Pretty good comparison too. Beck can be a really solid player at NHL level, no doubt. This guy have great tools and play a similar game to Robert Thomas // Bo Horvat.

 

[HuGort]

Beck sounds like our next Philip Danault. Good defensively, solid offensively

 

[Team_Spirit]

The NHL network featured 2 players before the picks on day 2; Hutson and Beck's teammate Del Bel Belluz. They had Beck at 36. I wonder if we have any Steelheads fans on the board

 

[Mrb1p]

Pretty similar game, numbers, skating and size as Robert Thomas who I know many here were super high on in his draft year.

Thomas has since added 26 lbs since his dy combine (192 to 218!) so that should be Beck's target as well (210 range).

Any takes on this from those who watched both extensively?

I like Beck and I think his offensive game is underrated but Thomas has insane skating edges, acceleration and stickhandling. I think Beck isnt close to him in that department and especially when you consider Thomas's vision and tenacity.

With that said, Becks shot is superior and even if hes not a PPG center in the NHL, he can be very useful.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I like Beck and I think his offensive game is underrated but Thomas has insane skating edges, acceleration and stickhandling. I think Beck isnt close to him in that department and especially when you consider Thomas's vision and tenacity.

With that said, Becks shot is superior and even if hes not a PPG center in the NHL, he can be very useful.

Beck is a significantly better skater than Thomas at the same age. Thomas was similarly projected as a 200 foot center who could play in the middle 6. The thing that separates Thomas from others is his IQ and vision not his skating which is close to NHL average.

During his draft year there was some mild concern about his skating even though I didn't necessarily agree as it was more of a play style issue than a speed issue. Beck is widely considered as one of the fastest skaters in the draft. How you consider Thomas to be more tenacious is a mystery as well? He rarely plays the body with one of the lowest hits per minutes played along with being one of the least penalized players in the entire NHL over the last 4 seasons.....I have no idea where you come up with some of this stuff but you are way off the mark.

Thomas is a great player and it is unlikely that Beck turns out to be as good, however Thomas was never supposed to be this good and Beck has some similar traits so let's stop putting imaginary caps on his potential. Sure, he may just be a useful bottom 6 player but to deny that he has a chance to be much more by making up false comparisons is incredibly annoying to read.

 

[Mrb1p]

Beck is a significantly better skater than Thomas at the same age. Thomas was similarly projected as a 200 foot center who could play in then middle 6. The thing that separates Thomas from others is his IQ and vision not his skating which is close to NHL average.

During his draft year there was some mild concern about his skating even though I didn't necessarily agree as it was more of a play style issue than a speed issue. Beck is widely considered as one of the fastest skaters in the draft. How you consider Thomas to be more tenacious is a mystery as well as he rarely plays the body with one of the lowest hits per minutes played in the entire NHL over the last 4 seasons.....I have no idea where you come up with some of this stuff but you are way off the mark.

Thomas is a great player and it is unlikely that Beck turns out to be as good, however Thomas was never supposed to be this good and Beck has some similar traits so let's stop putting imaginary caps on his potential. Sure, he may just be a useful bottom 6 player but to deny that he has a chance to be much more by making up false comparisons is incredibly annoying to read.

You seem to struggle with either understanding skating edges or evaluating skating. Its the 2nd time in an hour you quote me to say a player that clearly had/has elite edges was never a good skater.

Robert Thomas is a good skater, he just does not possess high end top speed and which is only one part of skating and the least useful of all. On top of it all, he slows the play down a lot which takes away speed.

A player can possess insane edges (Prime Gallagher is a perfect example) and below average speed, Id consider this player a good skater because the majority of the game is played in that area. A player can also possess poor edges and good speed (Anderson and Kotkaniemi come to mind).

Tenacity =/= physicality.

As for Beck, he is a very good skater but he hasn't shown to me he can handle the puck and process at speed.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

You seem to struggle with either understanding skating edges or evaluating skating. Its the 2nd time in an hour you quote me to say a player that clearly had/has elite edges was never a good skater.

Robert Thomas is a good skater, he just does not possess high end top speed and which is only one part of skating and the least useful of all. On top of it all, he slows the play down a lot which takes away speed.

A player can possess insane edges (Prime Gallagher is a perfect example) and below average speed, Id consider this player a good skater because the majority of the game is played in that area. A player can also possess poor edges and good speed (Anderson and Kotkaniemi come to mind).

Tenacity =/= physicality.

As for Beck, he is a very good skater but he hasn't shown to me he can handle the puck and process at speed.

I struggle with nothing relative to yourself.

You explaining edgework and skating to me is comical. Calling Gallagher a good skater is just laughable as his edgework is NHL average, maybe a tick higher in his prime and his speed/acceleration are well below average. You want see see insane edgework, try watching Mitch Marner, Sidney Crosby, Johnny Gaudreau, Connor McDavid, Artemi Panarin, Brayden Point etc. Then you go an declare that KK has "good speed" lol......yes his edgework sucks but his straight ahead speed is not good even though it has improved closer to NHL average. Beck is easily a better skater than Thomas at the same age as his edgework is also very good and straight ahead speed is a significant advantage for Beck.


I love your arbitrary declaration of "Tenacity =/= physicality"....of course it does not but physicality is a factor in tenacity as it is demonstrating a will to separate players from the puck when other methods fail or are not effective. It is also difficult to be really tenacious without taking more penalties than Thomas takes.

I honestly almost feel like every post you make is objectively incorrect.....so I am going to have to let you go.

It's not you, it's me

 

[Mrb1p]

I struggle with nothing relative to yourself.

You explaining edgework and skating to me is comical. Calling Gallagher a good skater is just laughable as his edgework is NHL average, maybe a tick higher in his prime and his speed/acceleration are well below average. You want see see insane edgework, try watching Mitch Marner, Sidney Crosby, Johnny Gaudreau, Connor McDavid, Artemi Panarin, Brayden Point etc. Then you go an declare that KK has "good speed" lol......yes his edgework sucks but his straight ahead speed is not good even though it has improved closer to NHL average. Beck is easily a better skater than Thomas at the same age as his edgework is also very good and straight ahead speed is a significant advantage for Beck.


I love your arbitrary declaration of "Tenacity =/= physicality"....of course it does not but physicality is a factor in tenacity as it is demonstrating a will to separate players from the puck when other methods fail or are not effective. It is also difficult to be really tenacious without taking more penalties than Thomas takes.

I honestly almost feel like every post you make is objectively incorrect.....so I am going to have to let you go.

It's not you, it's me

I usually dont bother replying to you so its fine, I strayed for once and here I am met with an ego bigger than Bergevins bicep lmao

 

[Runner77]

HuGo A+ for pick him.
He's a lite version of Kasper (also underevaluated and below radar) + bonus 60% at face off.
MSL will happy to coach him

Where did Beck rank for faceoff % relative to other Cs in his draft class, does anyone know?

 

[Adam Michaels]

Where did Beck rank for faceoff % relative to other Cs in his draft class, does anyone know?

Unfortunately, we can't really see how he measures up against the rest of the draft class. For example. the OHL and WHL calculate how many face-offs a player wins and how many they've taken. The QMJHL doesn't.

You can go to Elite Prospects and compare all the draft eligible players, but they don't have their face-off stats. So you can't compare them for that stat.

What I do know is Beck was 61% on the dot this year and according to what they said on the broadcast when Habs selected him, that he was the OHL's best face-off guy.

 

[SlafySZN]

Unfortunately, we can't really see how he measures up against the rest of the draft class. For example. the OHL and WHL calculate how many face-offs a player wins and how many they've taken. The QMJHL doesn't.

You can go to Elite Prospects and compare all the draft eligible players, but they don't have their face-off stats. So you can't compare them for that stat.

What I do know is Beck was 61% on the dot this year and according to what they said on the broadcast when Habs selected him, that he was the OHL's best face-off guy.

61% in regular season and 52% in playoffs

 

[jrom]

For the OHL he was the clear leader in FO% (chart is sorted by FO attempts), Mysak looks good also.

I remember a discussion on this board about Faceoffs being a game inside the game + rough for rookies since you had to learn each other C quirks & habits in order to win the anticipation game.

Quite a feat for someone to do this as a rookie. Guess being CHL scholastic player of the year means you're kinda smart

 

[Wats]

Wonder how he compares to Danault stylistically/potential wise. Good faceoff, good defensive stick/hockey sense, good skating.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Wonder how he compares to Danault stylistically/potential wise. Good faceoff, good defensive stick/hockey sense, good skating.

Much better shooter, we will see if Beck can advance his defensive game anywhere near Danault.

But we'd likely be looking at a 3C with more offensive ability but not quite the defensive masterclass.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Much better shooter, we will see if Beck can advance his defensive game anywhere near Danault.

But we'd likely be looking at a 3C with more offensive ability but not quite the defensive masterclass.

Danault wasn't really ''Danault-like'' at the same age to begin with, he developed into the pure shutdown role almost out of necessity. IIRC he was more of a classic 2 way center in the Q. Beck certainly has the makings in any case, if he can adapt to the pro game the same way Danault did.

 

[Mrb1p]

Wonder how he compares to Danault stylistically/potential wise. Good faceoff, good defensive stick/hockey sense, good skating.

Becks shooting is what sets him apart from Danault. Not sure about his inside game though, its good but maybe not as good as Danault (His offensive bread and butter). He should create offense in a much more traditional top 6 way if he were to pan out offensively.

 

[Belial]

 

[HABitual Fan]

As I mentioned earlier, it is very difficult to exactly evaluate Beck since he is playing behind DBB who was drafted after him in the 2nd round. How would he do offensively with better line mates? Top PP time? etc... Only if he or DBB get traded in the OHL will we get the answers. Hopefully there was a good reason that the Habs scouts and/or analytics convinced them that he was the better choice between the two players. If he only becomes a 3rd line center as Danault should have been played, a team still needs cost controlled ones, instead of paying the price to acquire one via trade or UFA. Pretty good value for an early 2nd rounder.

 

[WeThreeKings]

 

[HomaridII]

I really like Beck, solid solid prospect. Very smart. I can see him as a very good 3rd liner and potential 2nd liner is his offense develops this year.

 

[DAChampion]

ETA: I didn't even realize that they track FO percentage in the Q. I normally consider it an overrated stat, but 61% seems exceptionally high.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Molson's drafted a competitor.