The Montreal Canadiens shared earlier today that forward Owen Beck has been recalled from AHL Laval.

No corresponding transaction was made, although the move is a result of Florian Xhehaj’s day-to-day status while Oliver Kapanen is on injured reserve. Montreal now sits at 12 healthy forwards, and if Xhehaj is unable to go tomorrow against Buffalo, Beck could draw into the lineup. For what it is worth, head coach Martin St. Louis utilized 11F/7D in Saturday’s shootout win over Detroit.

Beck, 22, was chosen by Montreal with the first pick of the second round of the 2022 draft, where star Lane Hutson’s name went on to be called 29 picks later. At the time he showcased strong production for an OHL rookie with 51 points in his first 68 games, his best skill seeming to be at the face-off circle. Still with more development needed at the junior level, Beck found his way into the NHL far ahead of schedule on an emergency basis. Jumping from the Peterborough Petes to the Habs for a January game against Ottawa, Beck got through his debut and returned, helping the club capture an OHL title.

Permanently entering the professional rank for the 2024-25 season, the Ontario native turned in an impressive debut campaign for Laval. He recorded 44 points in 64 games, tied for fourth on the team. Last season he was unable to replicate the numbers, down to 33 points in 58 games when many would like to see a step forward. As a two-way center, however, Beck takes on penalty killing duty and a shutdown role, while much of the offense runs through 31-year-old AHL standout Laurent Dauphin.

Based on that aspect of his game, Beck has a bottom-six ceiling at the NHL level. A full-time center job won’t be easy to come by with the Canadiens as fourth line anchor Jake Evans is locked up for the next three years. Regardless of what the future has in store though, Beck is always a safe call-up option to slot in on the fourth line. He has 28 games under his belt, averaging 9:33 of usage, and scoring his first career goal against the Penguins last December. What stands out the most is Beck’s very impressive 58.7% face-off win rate from his 15 games of action in 2025-26. As long as he keeps that up, Beck will be a full-time NHLer in his future.

The Canadiens have a back-to-back starting tomorrow night as they host the Sabres, then traveling to the states to take on the Capitals on Wednesday. Since Xhehaj (Florian) exited practice today as he fights though injury, there’s a good shot Beck will see action.