Raising a player who plays in the junior ranks is a rather rare practice, but due to the Montreal Canadiens’ unique situation on the infirmary side, he could afford to include young Owen Beck in his training.
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In order to directly recall a player from the Ontario Junior League (OHL) or the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, a number of conditions must be met. First of all, the organization has to reckon with fewer than two goalkeepers, six defenders and twelve attackers.
Then at least two players must have been called up urgently. The Canadian had that luxury as strikers Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Alex Belzile and Rem Pitlick all made the move to the big club under those conditions.
According to the specialized website CapFriendly, this operation can only be performed between November 1st and March 1st of a normal regular season. Beck can play a maximum of five games with the Habs and is only allowed to miss one game from his junior side, in this case the Peterborough Petes. They have games scheduled for Sunday, then February 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Additionally, the first year of Beck’s entry-level contract will not be marred by this recall.
This season in the OHL, the 18-year-old center has 44 points in 37 games.
The Canadiens meet the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and Tuesday.