EVERETT — It’s impossible to take your eyes off Kyle Beach.
Whether you consider him a hero or a villain, he forces you to take notice.
It doesn’t matter if you’re an opponent or an official, a fan or an NHL general manager. During Everett Silvertips games your focus inevitably falls on the talented and controversal winger.
Perhaps it’s Beach’s impressive array of skills that catch your attention. The way he uses his size and power to unload devastating hits, along with a pinpoint-accurate shot that makes him a deadly goal scorer. Look away and you’re in danger of missing something special, like when he picked the puck off the ice with the blade of his stick and stuffed it in the net from behind the goal.
Or maybe it’s the things Beach does to anger the opposition that you see. The trash talking, the constant involvement in scrums after the whistle, the penchant for embellishing infractions in an attempt to draw penalties. Whenever he’s on the ice, it seems a 50-50 bet whether someone from the other team is going to deck him.
But no matter what angle you’re coming from, it’s almost certain the 17-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., will be at the center of your attention.
“I’m sure people are watching to see what he’s doing,” Everett coach John Becanic said. “Every time Kyle steps on the ice, I think our organization, the opposition, the officials, everyone’s looking to see what happens. For us we hope he does something good, and for the opposition you’re looking to see if he has his head in the game and does something stupid.”
With this being his NHL draft season, Beach is under the microscope more than ever. He’s probably under more scrutiny than any other player eligible for the 2008 NHL draft. A pack of NHL scouts attend every game at Comcast Arena, many of them trying to decide whether Beach is worth the risk. On talent alone, Beach is a contender to be picked first overall, but his antics are a potential cause for alarm. The International Scouting Service currently has Beach ranked 11th among 2008 NHL draft eligibles.
But Beach’s play so far this season is likely rendering some of those doubts immaterial.
He’s off to a blistering start. His 20 points rank third in the league, and in some ways those numbers don’t do him justice. For every goal he’s scored he’s dished out two or three big hits that led directly to scoring chances that weren’t cashed in, an element that wasn’t really a part of his game last season when he was the league’s Rooke of the Year.
“He’s been our best player the first 12 games, not just stastically but what he provides every game both offensively and with his physical play,” Becanic said. “He’s making improvements on his game every day and is focused on fixing things. Little bit by little bit he’s working on not being distracted by the other team and the catcalls that come along with being Kyle Beach.”
Said Beach: “It’s been a pretty good start. I find I’m a lot more confident, a lot more poised with the puck — and I’m not beaking nearly as much and staying out of a lot of the extra activities.”
Ah yes, the extracurriculars.
Those aren’t gone. Beach continues to get on other team’s nerves, his league-leading 64 penalty minutes an indication of that. But even the antics seem to be subsiding some. Prior to Wednesday night’s game against Saskatoon, when he had a bit of a relapse, he’d accumulated just eight penalty minutes in his previous four games. That may still seem like a lot, but it’s a far cry from the 500-plus penalty minute pace he was on at the start of the season.
“Emotionally he doesn’t seem to lose as much control as he did last year,” Becanic said. “He and I have really tried to focus on controlling his energy and focusing on physical play and competing as opposed to chirping the other team’s bench and the officials. We’ve still got some work to do because he does have a target on his back. The league, the officials, the opposition, no one’s going to do him any favors and he realizes that, so he’s just got to play good, clean, honest hockey.”
Meanwhile the NHL scouts continue to keep a watchful eye on Beach. Both Becanic and general manager Doug Soetaert receive constant inquiries from NHL circles regarding Beach. Even Zach Hamill, Beach’s centerman, was bombarded about Beach. During his interviews at last year’s NHL draft combine, Hamill said half the teams asked about Beach, and this from a player who ended up being selected eighth overall himself.
“Most of the NHL teams want to know what he’s like off the ice,” Soetaert said. “They see him on the ice, they see the way he plays physical, and they just want to know about his personality and what he brings to the table.
“He kind of got a youth-hockey reputation in Kelowna,” Soetaert added. “But when we’ve had him here he’s been excellent. We haven’t had any problems with Kyle Beach off the ice.”
So what does Beach think of the scrutiny?
“It’s obviously going to be a challenging year and I have to deal with all the pressure,” he said. “But as long as I’m able to do that and keep playing how I am, I think all that pressure will take care of itself.”
And whichever direction Beach ends up following, you can be sure everyone will be watching.
Slap shots: Everett had two players selected to represent the WHL against a Russian all-star team at the Canada-Russia Challenge, the league announced Thursday. Goaltender Leland Irving will suit up in both games, which take place Nov. 28 in Cranbrook, B.C., and Nov. 29 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, although he’ll probably play in just one. Hamill was selected for the game in Cranbrook. Both Irving and Hamill have participated previously in the event, which is part of Hockey Canada’s process for selecting its team for the World Junior Hockey Championships. … Tips captain Jonathan Harty continues to be hampered by his hip pointer and is now considered doubtful for this weekend’s games. The defenseman hasn’t played since suffering the injury last Friday at Kelowna.
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