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Nathan Beaulieu
Beaulieu 2016
Born (1992-12-05)December 5, 1992,
Strathroy, Ontario
Height
Weight
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft 17th overall, 2011
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2012–present

Nathan Anthony Richard Beaulieu (born December 5, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 17th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Beaulieu helped the Sea Dogs capture the 2011 Memorial Cup, and was named to the tournament's all-star team.

Playing career[]

Beaulieu was drafted by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the fourth round (68th overall) of the 2008 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Midget Draft.[1] When he started his career with the Sea Dogs in 2008, his father, Jacques was the team's head coach. His father was fired by the team and replaced with Gerard Gallant in 2009, an incident which caused Beaulieu to consider leaving the team. He decided to remain with Saint John after speaking with Gallant.[2]

During the 2010–11 QMJHL season, Beaulieu established himself as a top prospect for the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft, and was nominated for the Mike Bossy Trophy, awarded to the league's top professional prospect.[3] He lost the award to Sean Couturier.[4] Beaulieu was ranked fifth among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau in their final rankings, an improvement from his mid-season ranking of ninth.[5] Saint John captured the QMJHL league championship and moved on to the 2011 Memorial Cup. Beaulieu scored the winning goal in the team's first game of the tournament against the host Mississauga Majors.[2] The Sea Dogs met the Majors again in the championship game of the tournament and won 3-1, to capture the Memorial Cup. After the tournament, Beaulieu was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team.[6] The Sea Dogs win was the second Memorial Cup win for the Beaulieu family, as Jacques was an assistant coach with the London Knights when they won in 2005.[7]

Beaulieu made his professional debut in the 2012–13 season, with the Canadiens AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. He later played his first NHL game with the Montreal Canadiens on March 30, 2013.

Scouting report[]

Beaulieu is a two-way, puck moving defenseman with very good skating abilities. Offensively, he can get very creative with his good vision and skating. He has a good first pass. He also defends well and blocks shots. He's consistently growing as a leader and doesn't mind fighting from time to time. Beaulieu is also very inconsistent offensively, as he can get invisible for a game and then be very flashy for another. He doesn't produce a good amount of points and is not a very good finisher. His shot is average but can pull off a decent one-timer from the point. He also is very risky as he can cause bad turnovers when trying to get too fancy.

Personal life[]

Assault Charge[]

On April 27, 2013, Beaulieu, along with his father Jacques, were involved in an altercation in their hometown of Strathroy, Ontario. The incident in question took place following a charity golf tournament at a private residence and stemmed from property damages by the Beaulieus. As a result, two people were assaulted and suffered minor injuries.[8][9]

In August 2013, Beaulieu and his father pleaded guilty to assault. Each was assessed penalties of conditional discharges with nine months' probation -- a joint recommendation from the Crown and the defence.[10][11]

International play[]

Medal record
Beaulieu 2012
Beaulieu in January 2012
Competitor for Flag of Canada Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Bronze 2012 Canada

Beaulieu participated at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Canada and won the bronze medal.

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 49 2 8 10 14 4 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 66 12 33 45 40 21 4 12 16 22
2010–11 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 65 12 33 45 52 19 4 13 17 26
2011–12 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 53 11 41 52 100 17 4 11 15 32
2012–13 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 67 7 24 31 63
2012–13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 0 2 2 0
2013–14 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 57 7 20 27 33
2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 17 0 2 2 8 7 0 2 2 2
2014–15 Montreal Canadiens NHL 64 1 8 9 45 5 0 1 1 0
2014–15 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 8 2 2 4 9
2015–16 Montreal Canadiens NHL 64 2 17 19 55
2016–17 Montreal Canadiens NHL 74 4 24 28 44 5 0 1 1 0
NHL totals 225 7 53 60 152 17 0 4 4 2

International[]

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Canada Atlantic WHC17 9th 5 0 2 2 4
2012 Canada WJC 3 6 0 1 1 16
Junior totals 11 0 3 3 20

Awards and honours[]

Award Year Ref
CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2011 [12]
QMJHL President's Cup Championship 2011, 2012
Memorial Cup Championship 2011 [13]
IIHF World U20 Championship Bronze Medal 2012

References[]

  1. Nathan Beaulieu. Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Klinkenberg, Marty (2011-05-23). Beaulieu in pursuit of rare father/son accomplishment. Telegraph Journal. Canada East. Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
  3. Morreale, Mike G. (2011-03-22). QMJHL Announces finalists for Golden Puck Awards. National Hockey League. Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
  4. Beacon, Bill (2011-04-07). Islanders, Rocket goalie among QMJHL award winners. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
  5. Beaulieu, Nathan. National Hockey League. Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
  6. MasterCard Memorial Cup Individual Award Winners. Canadian Hockey League (2011-05-29). Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
  7. Strathroy's Nathan Beaulieu part of Memorial Cup team. Strathroy Age Dispatch (2011-06-01). Retrieved on 2011-06-03.
  8. Montreal Canadiens prospect, dad plead guilty to assault charges. Brantford Expositor. Retrieved on June 1, 2015.
  9. Habs prospect Nathan Beaulieu pleads guilty to assault charges. CBS Sports. Retrieved on November 13, 2016.
  10. Montreal Canadiens prospect, dad plead guilty to assault charges. Brantford Expositor. Retrieved on June 1, 2015.
  11. Canadiens prospect Nathan Beaulieu pleads guilty to assault. The Canadian Press. Retrieved on December 13, 2015.
  12. "Memorial Cup All-Star Teams". Memorial Cup (2012-03-04). Retrieved on 2012-03-04.
  13. Strathroy's Nathan Beaulieu part of Memorial Cup team. Strathroy Age Dispatch (2011-06-01). Retrieved on 2011-06-03.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Jarred Tinordi
Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick
2011
Succeeded by
Alex Galchenyuk
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