Nathan Beaulieu

Nathan Anthony Richard Beaulieu (born December 5, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 17th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

Nathan Beaulieu
Beaulieu with the Montreal Canadiens in 2015
Born (1992-12-05) December 5, 1992
Strathroy, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
Winnipeg Jets
Montreal Canadiens
Buffalo Sabres
NHL Draft 17th overall, 2011
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2012present

In junior, Beaulieu helped the Saint John Sea Dogs win the 2011 Memorial Cup, and was named to the tournament's all-star team.

Playing career

Beaulieu was drafted by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the fourth round, 68th overall, of the 2008 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Midget Draft.[1] When he began his junior career with the Sea Dogs in 2008, his father Jacques was the team's head coach. His father was fired by the team and replaced with Gerard Gallant in 2009, an incident which caused Beaulieu to consider leaving the team. He decided to remain with Saint John after speaking with Gallant.[2]

During the 2010–11 QMJHL season, Beaulieu established himself as a top prospect for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, and was nominated for the Mike Bossy Trophy, awarded to the QMJHL's top professional prospect;[3] he lost the award to Sean Couturier.[4] Beaulieu was ranked fifth among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau in its final rankings, an improvement from his mid-season ranking of ninth.[5] Saint John won the QMJHL championship and moved on to the 2011 Memorial Cup. Beaulieu scored the winning goal in the team's first game of the tournament against hosts Mississauga St. Michael's Majors.[2] The Sea Dogs met the Majors again in the championship game of the tournament and won 3–1 to capture the Memorial Cup. After the tournament, Beaulieu was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team.[6] The Sea Dogs win was the second Memorial Cup win for the Beaulieu family, as his father Jacques was an assistant coach with the London Knights when they won in 2005.[7]

Beaulieu made his professional debut in the 2012–13 season with the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. He later played his first NHL game with the Canadiens on March 30, 2013.

In his fifth season with the Canadiens in 2017–18, Beaulieu posted career highs in his second full NHL year, appearing in 74 games with 4 goals and 24 points.

As an impending restricted free agent from the Canadiens, on June 17, 2017, Beaulieu was traded by Montreal to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the Sabres' third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[8] On July 31, 2017, he was signed to a two-year $4.8 million contract with the Sabres.[9]

During his second season with the Sabres in 2018–19, Beaulieu's role was reduced and was regularly a healthy scratch. Through the mid-point of the season, Beaulieu requested to be traded due to his limited play while in a contract year.[10] He remained with the team featuring in 30 games for 7 points before he was ultimately dealt by the Sabres at the trade deadline to the Winnipeg Jets for a six-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft on February 25, 2019.[11]

With Beaulieu approaching arbitration rights as a restricted free agent the Jets declined to tender a qualifying offer, releasing him as a free agent on June 25, 2019.[12] On July 1, 2019, Beaulieu opted to re-sign with the Jets on a cheaper one-year, $1 million contract.[13] Later that season, on February 16th, 2020, Beaulieu scored his first goal as a Winnipeg Jet- the game-winner- in a 3-2 home ice victory against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Personal life

On April 27, 2013, Beaulieu—along with his father Jacques—were involved in an altercation in their hometown of Strathroy, Ontario. The incident in question took place following a charity golf tournament at a private residence and stemmed from property damages by the Beaulieus. As a result, two people were assaulted and suffered minor injuries.[14][15] In August 2013, Beaulieu and his father pleaded guilty to assault. Each was assessed penalties of conditional discharges with nine months' probation, a joint recommendation from the Crown and the defence.[14][16]

International play


Beaulieu in January 2012
Medal record
Representing Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
2012 Canada

Beaulieu participated at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Canada and won the bronze medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09Saint John Sea DogsQMJHL4928101440002
2009–10Saint John Sea DogsQMJHL6612334540214121622
2010–11Saint John Sea DogsQMJHL6512334552194131726
2011–12Saint John Sea DogsQMJHL53114152100174111532
2012–13Hamilton BulldogsAHL677243163
2012–13Montreal CanadiensNHL60220
2013–14Hamilton BulldogsAHL577202733
2013–14Montreal CanadiensNHL17022870222
2014–15Montreal CanadiensNHL641894550110
2014–15Hamilton BulldogsAHL82249
2015–16Montreal CanadiensNHL642171955
2016–17Montreal CanadiensNHL74424284450110
2017–18Buffalo SabresNHL5918936
2018–19Buffalo SabresNHL3034732
2018–19Winnipeg JetsNHL180557
2019–20Winnipeg JetsNHL381782940117
NHL totals 370 12 77 89 256 21 0 5 5 9

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2009 Canada Atlantic WHC17 9th 5 0 2 2 4
2012 Canada WJC 6 0 1 1 16
Junior totals 11 0 3 3 20

Awards and honours

Award Year
QMJHL
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2011
Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2011 [6]
President's Cup (Saint John Sea Dogs) 2011, 2012
Memorial Cup Championship 2011 [7]
Second All-Star Team 2012

References

  1. "Nathan Beaulieu". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  2. Klinkenberg, Marty (2011-05-23). "Beaulieu in pursuit of rare father/son accomplishment". Telegraph Journal. Canada East. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  3. Morreale, Mike G. (2011-03-22). "QMJHL Announces finalists for Golden Puck Awards". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  4. Beacon, Bill (2011-04-07). "Islanders, Rocket goalie among QMJHL award winners". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  5. "Beaulieu, Nathan". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  6. "History – All-Star Teams". Mastercard Memorial Cup. Canadian Hockey League. 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  7. "Strathroy's Nathan Beaulieu part of Memorial Cup team". Strathroy Age Dispatch. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  8. "Montreal Canadiens send Nathan Beaulieu to Buffalo as teams sort out rosters ahead of expansion draft". nationalpost.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  9. "Sabres, Beaulieu agree to two-year contract". Buffalo Sabres. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  10. "Sabres defenseman Nathan Bealieu requests trade". WKBW. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  11. "Jets acquire Nathan Beaulieu from the Buffalo Sabres". Winnipeg Jets. 2019-02-25. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  12. "Jets won't qualify Beaulieu, Morrow". The Sports Network. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  13. "Jets sign Nathan Beaulieu to one-year contract". Winnipeg Jets. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  14. "Montreal Canadiens prospect, dad plead guilty to assault charges". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  15. "Habs prospect Nathan Beaulieu pleads guilty to assault charges". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  16. "Canadiens prospect Nathan Beaulieu pleads guilty to assault". The Canadian Press. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Jarred Tinordi
Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick
2011
Succeeded by
Alex Galchenyuk
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