Kristopher Beech (born February 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Beech was born in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, but grew up in Sicamous, British Columbia.
| Kris Beech | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Beech with AIK in 2013 | |||
| Born | February 5, 1981 Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada[1][2] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 208 lb (94 kg; 14 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins Nashville Predators Columbus Blue Jackets Vancouver Canucks HV71 Genève-Servette HC Lukko HC Pardubice AIK Straubing Tigers Vienna Capitals HC TWK Innsbruck Belfast Giants | ||
| NHL draft | 7th overall, 1999 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 1996–2016 | ||
Playing career
editBeech was drafted 7th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals. At the time he was playing for the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. Beech was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in July 2001 with Michal Sivek, Ross Lupaschuk, and future considerations for Jaromir Jagr and Frantisek Kucera.
Beech appeared in 79 games for the Penguins, recording 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. Disappointed with his development, the Penguins traded Beech on September 9, 2005 to the Nashville Predators for a conditional draft pick. Beech returned to the Capitals organization on March 9, 2006, having been traded, along with a first-round pick, for defenseman Brendan Witt. He was sent down to the Hershey Bears to join their AHL playoff campaign and helped them to a Calder Cup victory against the Milwaukee Admirals.
On January 10, 2008, Beech was claimed off waivers from Columbus by the Vancouver Canucks.[3] However, on January 23, 2008, after just four games with the Canucks in which he recorded one goal and one assist, Beech was subsequently placed on waivers and claimed by the Washington Capitals.[4] Before playing a single game with Washington, Beech was once again placed on waivers, which led to him being re-acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Beech's fourth team in the month of January.[5]
On October 10, 2008, Beech signed a one-year contract with the Swedish Elitserien team HV71. He joined his new team three days later.[6]
On April 28, 2009, Beech was re-signed to a two-year contract extension with HV71.[7] Prior to the 2009–10 season on September 4, 2009, Beech signed a six-week loan contract with HC Genève-Servette.[8] In his eight games with Genève-Servette, he scored two goals. On October 14, 2009, Beech was returned to HV71.[9]
On May 25, 2011, the Finnish club Lukko Rauma announced that Beech signed a one-year contract with the team.[10] Upon completion of the season with Lukko, Beech was again on the move within Europe signing a one-year contract with Czech team HC Pardubice on June 25, 2012. During the 2012–13 season, on December 4, 2012, Beech transferred to join AIK of the Elitserien for the remainder of the season.
In the 2013–14 season, Beech moved to Germany to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga with the Straubing Tigers. He scored 24 points in 36 games, before opting to transfer to the Austrian EBEL league with the Vienna Capitals for their playoff run. On July 3, 2014, Beech decided to remain in the EBEL, signing a one-year contract with HC TWK Innsbruck.[11]
On July 2, 2015, Beech signed a one-year contract with Northern Irish club, the Belfast Giants of the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).[12]
Personal
editDuring the offseason, Beech is a guest instructor at the Sicamous Hockey School, located in Sicamous, British Columbia.[13] Since 2017, Beech has worked with various hockey teams and organizations, including the Vancouver Giants and Delta, British Columbia's Delta Hockey Academy, as a mindfulness training coach.[14]
Beech founded Aimability, a performance and health network, in 2017.[15]
Career statistics
edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | Sicamous Eagles | KIJHL | 49 | 34 | 36 | 70 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 58 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 1998–99 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 68 | 26 | 41 | 67 | 103 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 66 | 32 | 54 | 86 | 99 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 | ||
| 2000–01 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 40 | 22 | 44 | 66 | 103 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 26 | ||
| 2000–01 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 79 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 50 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 76 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 53 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 97 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 68 | 14 | 48 | 62 | 146 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 14 | ||
| 2005–06 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 22 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 10 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 30 | ||
| 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 64 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 16 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 16 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | HV71 | SEL | 45 | 17 | 17 | 34 | 116 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 22 | ||
| 2009–10 | Genève–Servette HC | NLA | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | HV71 | SEL | 44 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 56 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 2010–11 | HV71 | SEL | 48 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Lukko | SM-l | 59 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 79 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Pardubice | ELH | 21 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | AIK | SEL | 23 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Straubing Tigers | DEL | 36 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Vienna Capitals | EBEL | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 2014–15 | HC TWK Innsbruck | EBEL | 51 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Belfast Giants | EIHL | 64 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 84 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 198 | 25 | 42 | 67 | 113 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 245 | 84 | 145 | 229 | 395 | 59 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 47 | ||||
| SEL totals | 160 | 38 | 44 | 82 | 238 | 38 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 38 | ||||
Awards
edit- 1998-99: Played in CHL Top Prospects Game
- 1998-99: Ed Chynoweth Cup winner, Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
- 2003-04: Team MVP, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
- 2004-05: Team MVP, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
- 2005-06: Calder Cup winner, Hershey Bears (AHL)
- 2008-09: Playoff silver medal, HV71 (SEL)
- 2009-10: Swedish Champion, HV71 (SEL)
References
edit- ^ ESPN.com: Kris Beech Player Profile
- ^ TheHockeyNews.com: Kris Beech Player Profile
- ^ "Canucks claim Beech off waivers". TSN. January 10, 2008. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
- ^ "Beech claimed off waivers by Capitals". TSN. January 23, 2008. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
- ^ "Penguins acquire Beech on waivers". TSN. January 26, 2008. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
- ^ Wengel, Daniel (October 10, 2008). "Kris Beech klar för HV71". HV71.se (in Swedish). HV71. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^ "Kris Beech stannar i HV71". svt.se (in Swedish). SVT. April 28, 2008. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ "Genève-Servette engage le Canadien Kris Beech" (in Swiss German). 20min.ch. September 4, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ "HVTV - Beech" (in Swedish). Eliteprospects.com. October 14, 2009. Archived from the original on August 28, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
- ^ Robert Pettersson (May 25, 2011). "Beech fortsätter karriären i Finland" (in Finnish). hockeysverige.se. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ HC TWK Innsbruck (July 3, 2014). "Innsbruck secure Beech's services". Facebook. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- ^ "Former NHL'er Kris Beech joins the Giants". Belfast Giants. July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
- ^ "Sicamous Hockey School: Instructors". Sicamoushockeyschool.com. April 5, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Ewen, Steve (November 13, 2019). "For ex-WHL star Kris Beech, mind matters in quest for success with Giants, DHA". The Province. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ "About". Aimability. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database