By Jeff Gard/Today’s Northumberland
Port Hope’s Owen Beck had a shot at being a first-round pick Thursday night at the NHL Entry Draft in Montreal.
Beck waited as the first 32 selections were made and he was not chosen. He didn’t have to wait long on Friday morning, though, when the draft resumed for rounds two through seven.
With the first pick of the second round, the draft host Montreal Canadiens selected Beck of the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga Steelheads with the 33rd overall pick.
In a video released by the Canadiens on Twitter (@CanadiensMTL), Beck said “Hey Montreal fans, super excited to be a part of your organization. The love and support has been fantastic. You have a great fan base and, you know, I can’t wait to get started.”
As previously reported by Today’s Northumberland, Beck was a strong two-way forward for the Steelheads during his rookie campaign and was one of the league’s top centres when it came to faceoffs. He registered 21 goals and 30 assists in 68 games.
Beck also won the OHL’s Bobby Smith Trophy as the 2021-22 Scholastic Player of the Year and last week he was named the Canadian Hockey League’s Scholastic Player of the Year as well as he achieved an academic average of more than 94 per cent while balancing courses such as math and data management, advanced functions, world religions, kinesiology, chemistry and English.
Beck began playing in the former Port Hope Minor Hockey system before playing for the Northumberland Nighthhawks. He eventually moved on to the Quinte Red Devils AAA organization and as a U16 player was selected by the Mississauga Steelheads in the second round of the 2020 OHL draft.
