Friday, May 28, 2021. 7:34 AM
World Championship: Canada will face Kazakhstan Friday at 9 a.m. on RDS and RDS Direct.
MONTREAL – From downtown Chicago, it takes about 1 hour 30 minutes north to reach the suburb of Rockford. Geographically, the comings and goings between the two cities is relatively modest. It was, however, the source of major oscillations in the morale of Nicolas Beaudin.
The young defender candidly admits: he didn’t really expect to play in the National League this year. At 21, he only had one year in the American League under the tie. He saw quite a few veterans ahead of him at the Blackhawks blue line. Perhaps to avoid disappointment, he remained realistic.
But he had a good training camp, earned a spot on the reserve squad, was told he would be on the first trip. In Game 8 of the season in Nashville, he was given a locker in the locker room. He played that game and ten of the next eleven.
Obviously he took a liking to it. This is what made the sequel difficult to digest.
« [Adam] Boqvist was left out because of the COVID protocol, says Beaudin in an interview with RDS. When he returned, he resumed his spot right now. Everything I had done was as if nothing had happened. I understand that he had not lost his place because of his performances and that the team wants to go with the players who were there at the start. But I found it a little tough. »
During his first real NHL audition, Beaudin got his first career point (on a game that would earn him some teasing, but “it’s the result that counts!”) In the NHL, then scored his first goal. . He had just collected four points in three games and had been used for 19 minutes in the third when Boqvist returned to the lineup.
The Swede’s return to the game initially had an impact on his playing time, then outright cost him his place. At the end of February, it was handed over to minors.
The pill went badly, but Beaudin ended up finding beneficial effects. It was at Rockford, he was no longer seen as the green rookie he was the year before.
“It’s pretty special, just what a year can do,” he sees in hindsight. Last year I played all year in the American League. After playing ten games in the National League, I went back downstairs and it was like another world. I had the power play, I was playing 20-25 minutes per game, if not more. They were counting on me to make a difference. For that, it was fun. I had a lot of ice and I could use my offensive instincts. “
Congestion à Chicago
Beaudin has six points in his first three games in the American League. By the time to say it, he was back in the NHL, but in a reserve role. There followed a series of back-and-forths which somewhat undermined his morale. He never felt like he had regained his touch when the Blackhawks called on his services.
“I think the first ten games I played I did really well. I had to momentum. It was harder to find him afterwards because it was like a match in the lineup, a match away, a match in the lineup, a match away. I found it harder, especially when you play ten to twelve minutes per game. “
In the near future, the Hawks may have important decisions to make about the composition of their defensive brigade. Beaudin and Boqvist, two of the club’s first round picks in 2018, are two defensemen of similar size and profile. This year, Ian Mitchell, a second-round pick in 2017 who also fits in the mold of the small, mobile and offensively gifted quarterback, has been added to the internal competition they have been playing for two years.
Beaudin is left-handed while the other two are right-handed. Boqvist will become a free agent with compensation in the summer of 2022. His two teammates will be able to reach this stage a year later. The Quebecer, who says he is always happy in Chicago, coldly analyzes the situation.
“Mitchell and Boqvist are good people too, good players. Of course, it’s always good to have internal competition. It pushes you to be better. It pushes the veterans to be better also when the young people push. But in the long run, I think at some point Chicago is going to have to make a decision because I don’t think we can be all three in the lineup at the same time. It hasn’t happened much this year anyway. I imagine everyone will push their side and they will make their decision. “
While waiting for a training camp that promises to be decisive, Beaudin has accepted another kind of challenge. Immediately after his last game of the season, against the Dallas Stars, Beaudin received a call from Hockey Canada. He who had never worn the Maple Leaf in his life, was invited to participate in the World Championship in Latvia. After making sure he was not being recruited into a stooge role, he canceled the vacation he had planned with his girlfriend and accepted the invitation.
“I thought it was a good idea since I haven’t played that many games this season. It’s always good to have ice time and it’s also the first time that I was able to represent Canada. It’s going to be a great experience, ”he glimpsed after the first match of the tournament against the host team. A week later, with four games on the clock, his average usage time is just over eleven minutes per game. Not the sea to drink, but it is more experience in the bank.
“Of course it was not an easy season. It was up and down. But I think we were still lucky to be able to play hockey with everything that was going on. I think I’ve taken one big step this year, but I need to make sure I take another next year. “
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