Hockey

Reminder: Owen Beck preferred to Florian Xhekaj in the end
Félix Forget
Reminder: Owen Beck preferred to Florian Xhekaj in the end
Credit: Screenshot | Twitter TSN

This morning, the Habs needed to recall a forward from the Rocket. The club had only one forward and one defenseman to spare… and with two forwards sidelined, they needed to recall one of them to play tonight.They didn't have to do it on defense… but with a road trip coming up, it'll have to happen soon.So, in the end, the lucky man was Owen Beck, who will play his first game of the season tonight.

That said, if Beck was the club's choice, it means that the first recall, in the end, won't have been the one touted during camp: Florian Xhekaj.

We know that he broke everything in training camp… but Beck (who also had a good camp, that said), was preferred to him.And when you look at all this coldly, there are logical elements that explain it all.Beck will be used to the right of Zachary Bolduc and Joe Veleno, who are both left-handed. Inserting Xhekaj, another left-hander, would have been less logical than Beck, a right-hander. It will also allow Martin St-Louis to use Veleno and Beck in the face-off circle, so that both guys are always on their strong side.

We also know that Beck already has NHL experience (he's played 13 career games), so in the light of the fact that this is more of a short-term recall (Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine are just day-to-day injuries), bringing in the player who already has experience and is a better fit for his line makes much more sense.

Florian will eventually get his chance, I'm convinced. But under the circumstances, Beck was probably the most logical choice. Let's see if that continues to be the case the next time the club needs to call up a player.spacer title='Prolongation'] It's also worth remembering that during the preparatory schedule, Beck and Veleno already played a game on the same line.

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