After sending down Jarred Tinordi and Gabriel Dumont, the Canadiens called up Nathan Beaulieu from the Hamilton Bulldogs.
I called this move back when Greg Pateryn was sent down in favour of Tinordi, but Tinordi’s play got him twice the games I thought he would play originally. It’s experiment time for the Canadiens as they sit atop the Northeast Division with Raphael Diaz still concussed. Clearly they’re testing out all their young defensemen to see who’s the closest to NHL ready.
Beaulieu, 6’2″ and 194 pounds, has played more games for the Bulldogs this year than any other player at 62 (tied with Stortini of all people). He leads the team in scoring from defensemen and is tied with Michael Bournival for 2nd on the team in points with 25, 6 goals and 19 assists. Beaulieu also has a -9 rating and 56 penalty minutes, as he doesn’t shy away from the physical activity.
Beaulieu is a hot and cold offensive player, he’s won more Bulldog of the Week awards on EOTP than any other player, but his offense dries up for long stretches. Hopefully part of that is a symptom of Hamilton’s anemic offense, which is last in the AHL by 22 goals.
Beaulieu should get a chance on the powerplay, where his instincts should be a nice upgrade on either Josh Gorges or Francis Bouillon.
Back in January Beaulieu did an interview with EOTP.
Beaulieu has been the Habs’ 5th ranked player under 25 for two years. Here’s Bruce’s 2011 writeup, and Stephan’s 2012 writeup.
