Canadiens: 24 Thoughts on Owen Beck and Canada's Trouncing of Latvia
By Ryan Praught
Second Period Thoughts
Canada starts the second period on a roll with two quick ones, with Owen Allard scoring his second of the tournament and Carson Rehkopf (SEA) adding his first. Canada has gotten some really good scoring out of their depth so far, and that’s a great sign. If the top-six can get it going, Canada will be a tough team to beat. Tougher than they already are.
Canada’s defence continues to hold, and Mathis Rousseau, in net again today, hasn’t been particularly busy. Nothing dangerous, with virtually everything from the perimeter. Just the way you want it.
I don’t know how long you can keep Celebrini on the fourth line. He’s clearly one of Canada’s best forwards. In fact, I’d say he’s the clear-cut best forward right now. He is getting powerplay time, but he should be playing top-line minutes. We’ll see if that continues for much longer.
Some cracks in the armour are starting to show as Latvia finishes the period with nine shots to Canada’s 11. I think I counted four of them on one shift where Canada’s top line was hemmed in their own zone, and Rousseau had to make a few big stops. I just haven’t been overly impressed by the big guns so far.
I have been impressed by Owen Beck, as he makes an excellent play to take a puck away and transition up the ice. He didn’t play a lot in the second, as there were so many Canadian powerplays, but I’ve found his game to be very good.
Beck isn’t going to blow you away with his offensive ability, but he’s a reliable 200-foot centre who can kill penalties and occasionally chip in offensively. He hasn’t registered any points himself yet, but his line has been very involved in the offence. For the role he’s being asked to fill, he’s serving it quite well.
It’s 5-0 after two periods, and Canada can start to look ahead to Germany on the 29th. Latvia has played hard, and there is some real talent on the roster, but they just can’t match up with Canada. Still, they’ve come a long way as a hockey nation, and I’ll be rooting for more improvements for them moving forward.