As the games went on Kurt Beck found himself as a notable name from the blueline thanks to his simple nature, highlighted with instances of strong athletic ability and puck movement. He was able to stay square to puck carriers in defensive scenarios, both when defending the rush, along with closer to the goalmouth in the defensive zone, keeping play to the outside, and when the moment was right jumped at the chance to land a stick check and engage in a battle for the puck without sacrificing positioning. He was consistent when moving the puck out of his own end and up the ice, exiting the zone with control with speed, he could step around pressure with relative ease, scan the ice for a play, and execute a pass with his head up all in short order. He went for a few skates over the offensive blueline with control and was quick to hit a teammate with a pass, his speed and overall evasiveness helped back up defenders, giving him some extra ice to work with high in the zone upon entry. He really helped compliment some of the speedy forwards on his team by joining the rush, or leading it, giving them extra options to work with, and a reliable set of hands to help further move the puck around the ice with accuracy and strong timing.

An evasive, and quick defender, Kurt Beck did a nice job at creating time and space under pressure in tight quarters. Behind his own net he was able to string together sequences of quick puck handles, in sync with his footwork, he escaped pressure with relative ease, opened some ice for himself, and was able to connect on outlet passes up ice to execute a seamless breakout. Under physical duress he was able to make some plays enduring contact from checkers, whether it be coming out of a board battle, or working his way through traffic carrying the puck. He owned a nice shot from the line that he got off quick. His explosiveness allowed him to jump into space and inch slightly closer to the slot to get a better angle at the net on his shot attempts. I’ve seen events where Beck was more engaged offensively, but there were certainly still moments where he let his footspeed do the work, creating some space high in the zone, and looking to string together offensive sequences with quick passes, dipping in-and-out of open ice as he worked around the offensive zone.

There were a few notable plays from Beck on both sides of the rink in this one. He had a couple of strong defensive plays in his own end where he angled opponents towards the boards and closed them off with authority, using his strength to separate his opponents from the puck both in transition and during battles below his own goal line. He also had an impressive solo rush in the third period that nearly resulted in a goal after he took it end-to-end, walked around a defender with a quick move through his stick giving him a clear shot at the net that would ultimately be denied.

The most impressive defender of the game, Kurt Beck’s quickness, puck skills, and overall flash allowed him to create some amazing scoring opportunities for his team. His delays and deception high in the zone, freezing checkers with fake shots, and then distributing the puck to teammates backdoor for Grade-A chances. There were moments in the game where he even surprised me with his creativity and deception, seeing lanes and cross-ice options that weren’t obvious to the watching eye. He went for a few skates with the puck showing off some nice speed, shifting his weight, using quick crossovers zigging-and-zagging, and getting around bodies both in transition and from a standstill. He had some solid scoring opportunities of his own when he wasn’t sending off the puck to open teammates, he could quickly attack atop the faceoff dots before lanes got taken away and displayed a heavy wrister that gave the goaltender some trouble. Defensively he was similar to his teammate Colin O’Leary in his ability to deny zone entries, keep pace, and utilize accurate and disciplined stick checks to strip opponents of the puck and quickly get it moving up ice.