Owen Beck 'very comfortable' in NHL debut, Canadiens coach says

Martin St. Louis’s parents weren’t interviewed during his first game in the NHL.

“They weren’t interviewing my parents because I was in Japan in 1998,” St. Louis said Monday about his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames on Oct. 9, 1998, against the San Jose Sharks.

The Flames and Sharks played their first two games that season at Tokyo’s Yoyogi Arena, following the Nagano Olympics, which were held earlier that year. St. Louis was held pointless in both games in Tokyo with the Flames winning the second game 5-3.

“It’s that feel of like: You did it,” St. Louis recalled about his NHL debut. “And as much as you’re happy about that feeling that you did it, it’s just the beginning. The rest is much harder. Reaching your dream is hard, but living that dream is much harder because it’s an everyday thing.”

St. Louis would go on to have a Hall of Fame playing career and win the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Forward Owen Beck made his NHL debut with the Canadiens in Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Senators in Ottawa and his parents were interviewed in the stands during the Hockey Night in Canada telecast.

“We were supposed to have dinner tonight and he gave me a call yesterday afternoon and said: ‘Sorry dad, I’m going to have to bail on our plans for dinner. I’ve got to play my first NHL game,'” Beck’s father, Dave, told Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas. “From there, I just kind of lost it and so here we are now.”

Added Beck’s mother, Tanya: “It’s just been a dream come true for Owen and our whole family.”

Beck was called up from the junior Peterborough Petes on an emergency basis because the Canadiens have nine players on the injured list, including seven forwards. He was returned to Peterborough after Saturday’s game and had an assist for the Petes on Sunday as they lost 7-4 to the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs.

When asked if there’s any chance Beck could be back with the Canadiens for Tuesday’s game at the Bell Centre against the Senators (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM), St. Louis said: “Honestly, I don’t know. That’s a (GM Kent Hughes) question. I don’t know all the rules.”

Players called up from junior on an emergency basis can’t play more than five games and can’t miss more than one game with their junior team.

“I don’t know how much (playing his first NHL game) is going to help him going back to play junior, but here’s a kid who’s had a great year,” St. Louis said about Beck. “He’s able to reach his goal, live up his dream that he played in the NHL. He’s a pretty mature kid. I think he’s going to take that experience …. It’s a confidence booster, for sure. You guys watched the game. He looked very comfortable out there.

“It’s funny because you want to prove to everybody what you are,” St. Louis added. “First step of that is proving yourself and I think he did that last game.”

The Canadiens practised Monday in Brossard without forwards Kirby Dach, Christian Dvorak and Evgenii Dadonov, who took treatment days.

“You got to play the hand that you’re dealt,” St. Louis said after practice. “You have guys that are managing some stuff that they need a maintenance day to be ready for tomorrow. I feel we’ve taken the approach let’s get through this break.”

Tuesday’s game is the last for the Canadiens before the all-star break. They won’t play again until Saturday, Feb. 11, when the New York Islanders will visit for a 12:30 p.m. start on Super Bowl weekend. The Edmonton Oilers will be at the Bell Centre at 12:30 p.m. the next day with the Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m.

“The numbers were light today,” St. Louis said. “It’s funny … it felt like a youth hockey practice because we only had 15 people on the ice.

“I’m used to that,” he added with a chuckle, “so we were ready.”

Before being hired by the Canadiens last February, St. Louis’s only coaching experience was at the youth level with his three sons in Connecticut.

“There’s just a lot of uncertainty because guys are close to being out (of the lineup), guys are close to being in,” St. Louis said. “It’s not smooth sailing, collectively, how you can prepare. You talk about special teams, well is he going to play tomorrow? It’s really hard to prepare that way. For the players, it’s heavy for them, too. But it’s the league and teams go through that, and you have to be able to make adjustments and still stay organized to keep the train going.”

St. Louis did confirm that Jake Allen will start in goal against the Senators.

scowan@postmedia.com

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