Nathan Beaulieu returned to Hamilton this week after a 6 game stint in the NHL where he recorded 2 assists and ended up a +5. Some players would sulk after being returned from the NHL but Nathan proved his head is in the right place by getting right back to work in Hamilton.
In Beaulieu’s first game back he recorded 3 assists, 2 shots and a +3 rating against the Saint John’s IceCaps en route to a 4-1 win. The only goal Beaulieu didn’t have a hand in was Philippe Lefebvre’s empty net goal at the end of the game.
While the Bulldogs dropped their final two games of the season, Beaulieu continued his strong play, even if it didn’t show up on the score sheet. He’s incredibly adapt at reading the play and rushing the puck up the ice, in fact some games it seems he’s rushing the puck every time he has it. Sometimes he takes some unnecessary risks, at one point he cut across his own net with the puck with a Rochester forechecker in hot pursuit, a high risk low reward type play; though it didn’t backfire this time, these are the elements of his game he will have to refine.
With the frustrating season winding down Beaulieu put his soft hands to work on Luke Adam in his third fight of the season, though this is not an aspect of Beaulieu’s game we can expect to see very often, he beat Adam pretty handedly in the scrap.
Before Sunday’s game Beaulieu also cleaned up the Bulldogs awards, splitting the top defenceman award with Jarred Tinordi and taking home the top rookie, and team MVP awards. A true bright spot in a dark season for the Bulldogs, Beaulieu ended the season tied for the team lead in scoring with Gabriel Dumont (each finished with 31 pts).
