With Brett Pesce and more recently Haydn Fleury out of the lineup due to injuries, the Hurricanes needed to reach to Charlotte to ice six defensemen. Veteran AHLer Trevor Carrick earned the first call up and played in Saturday’s game, but during the layoff between games, the team swapped in Jake Bean. Bean figures to make his NHL debut in Montreal on Tuesday.
The length of Bean’s audition figures to be short and also driven more by the return of Pesce or Fleury than how well he plays. So I think his real audition is likely not until the 2019-20 season. But any time a player steps into an NHL lineup, he has a chance to play so well that he just says. As such, the timing is still good for an article discussing the appropriate development path for Jake Bean.
His 2018-19 season thus far
Only 21 games into his professional career, Bean is off to a good start with the Charlotte Checkers. He has accumulated three goals and eight assists in those 21 games and is +6 which ranks second only to Roland McKeown on the Checkers. More significantly than the few basic numbers, Bean has been earning ice time and trust at the AHL level. Especially for an offensive defenseman, his start in the AHL is encouraging. He has transitioned well and quickly earned more ice time and responsibility.
But is he NHL-ready?
To be honest, the answer is probably not. Bean had a strong front half of training camp and also preseason, but he also had issues at times defensively toward the end of preseason which suggests he still has some work to do in preparing for the NHL. But oftentimes players do not so much work their way up to the NHL level but instead seize the opportunity when it presents itself. Bean is a player whose strengths as a skating and playmaking defenseman fit well in today’s NHL. In addition, for a team that needs more scoring, that skill set could be a boost right now. The questions are twofold. First, can he bring his offensive ability to the NHL level and produce offensively, or will there be an adjustment phase? Second, can he be at least adequate defensively?
The importance of playing to his strengths even if there are growing pains
A player like Jake Bean is not going to make it to the NHL by suddenly morphing into a high-end shutdown defenseman. Rather, Bean will be successful if he can carry over his current strengths offensively to the NHL level. I think that point is utterly critical in terms of how Bean develops at the NHL level.
Referencing Ryan Murphy
On that note, I think Ryan Murphy’s development path is interesting. Many hate it when Jake Bean is compared to failed first-rounder Ryan Murphy. I do not mean to say that the two players are exactly the same, nor do I mean to suggest that Bean will not make it in the NHL. But I think Murphy is a good reference point for the development of a young offensive defenseman. V1.0 of Ryan Murphy was a sight to behold even if somewhat misguided at times. Murphy had a natural ability and the wheels to pick a skating lane and fly through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone by himself. The issue early on was that he lacked the ability to use the same speed to set up passing lanes such that he could play the puck forward and join the rush from behind. And he too regularly skated himself into dead ends without help from the forwards that he passed on the way into the corner of the offensive zone. Rather than trying to adjust from his strength carrying the puck, he instead seemed to try to cut down on mistakes by significantly reducing his amount of free wheeling. But in trying to tidy up his game, Murphy gave up the one thing that he was great at. V2.0 of Ryan Murphy was Murphy playing with 18-year old Noah Hanifin and both players mostly just trying to get on and off the ice without a mistake. In playing this way, Murphy gave up the one thing that at least had the potential to make him a regular NHL player. I am not sure it would have mattered, but the right path for development for Murphy would have been to continue playing as a puck carrier and trying to make adjustments to better use his speed to generate offense off the rush even if it meant some errors and growing pains as he tried to evolve from just being able to skate past everyone at lower levels.
The path forward for Jake Bean
First, as I said above, he needs to play to his strengths. Certainly, he might need to be a bit more conservative at first at the NHL level, but if Jake Bean is not trying to leverage his strengths as a skating playmaker, he is not yet working on his transition to the NHL.
Second, Bean does need to show that he can be at least adequate defensively. The biggest challenge here for Bean is to resist the temptation to just keep backing up when challenged with speed and/or size. In preseason action and even against lesser prospect-level competition, he has a tendency to leave too much of a gap in making sure he is not beaten. In today’s NHL, giving on-rushing forwards time and space is a recipe for problems. So though it is not within his natural tendencies, he needs to play up into gaps and challenge the puck when appropriate.
Finally, it might not happen on Tuesday after very limited practice, but when Bean returns to Raleigh for a longer audition, it should include power play ice time. I said awhile back that I thought Bean was capable of playing on a second power play unit even as a 19 or 20-year old. The sooner the team can get him some power play ice time the better.
The challenge for Rod Brind’Amour
The challenge for Brind’Amour in playing a role in Bean’s development is striking the right balance between seeking improvement but also living with some mistakes. Brind’Amour should play a role in where Bean lands on the spectrum between ‘trying not to make mistakes’ and ‘playing his game as an attacking defenseman.’
What say you Canes fans?
1) What are the chances that Jake Bean just rises up and seizes the opportunity being given to him?
2) Based on his play in preseason and also his start in Charlotte (if you have seen it), what are the chances that Bean is NHL-ready?
3) Do you have any other thoughts or comments on Jake Bean?
Go Canes!
1) Slim. The Canes have talent in the D corp. Even if Bean plays extremely well, he isn’t going to displace de Haan or Slavin. That leaves the 3rd LD spot. Truthfully, TVR and Fleury have both been solid. In fact, when paired with Pesce, both have been good.
2) I have watched parts of all the Charlotte games. He is NHL-ready. Sure he will make mistakes, but there were rumblings by Sabres fans after the first 2-3 games about Dahlin. I am not saying Bean will be anywhere near that good. I am saying that even a player, especially a defenseman, who is generational will make mistakes adjusting. On a scale of Ryan Murphy to Dahlin, I would say Bean is 2/3 on the Dahlin end.
3) He should be on the 2nd PP tonight. Slavin had PP goals in consecutive games, but outside of that he hasn’t been irreplaceable. I would think Hamilton has to get some PP time, so why not try Bean for a game or two as the quarterback, which is the role that will likely define Bean in the NHL.
Agree … I’d like to see him on the PP so I have a visual to compare him against the version we saw in the last preseason game.
I think the more optimistic comparison – at least for his first two years at the NHL level – is Shane Gostisbehere: not imposing physically (to say the least), skilled skater, driver of offense, QB of the PP, and iffy defensively.
Other thoughts: Looking ahead, would a comparison of Jake Bean to Adam Fox be useful? Would Bean’s success block Fox’s path to the NHL through the Canes and discourage his signing here? Is Bean being showcased for a trade that clears a path for Fox? Am I counting unhatched chickens?
Bean is a lefty and Fox is a righty, so no, Bean should not block Fox’s path to the Canes. TVR, Faulk, and Hamilton are in the way though. If one of those players aren’t moved this year I believe there is zero chance Fox ever signs with the Canes.
That poses an interesting scenario. Two defensive pairings with smallish puck moving offensive leaning defensemen, one lefty, one righty. The NHL of the future?
I keep hearing everyone say he is small… He is 6’1″
Size/strength is increasingly an odd thing in today’s NHL. In most cases, it is much more a matter of attitude, style of play and physical engagement level. My favorite reference point is Wayne Simmonds who is 6-2 and 185 pounds.
The issue with Bean (who is still fairly early in his development) has been twofold. First, he just has not been great in one-on-one battles on the walls be it size/strength or just not his natural ability. But the bigger one is that to me he has yet to figure out when how to play up into a gap in the defensive zone. The result is that he is prone to just backing up and backing up. Playing that way, you do not get beat to the net but with good NHL players the time/space you give you skilled forwards is almost as deadly.
Regardless, I am excited to see how Bean looks today. His skating and heady play with the puck on his stick is 100% today’s NHL. First and foremost, he needs to translate that up another level to the NHL. Then he needs to be at least ‘good enough’ defensively.
I used the weight found on the Checkers site. (It was the highest of any weight found.) Other comparisons: Gostisbehere 5’11”, 180lbs.; Eric Karlsson 6’0″, 190lbs.
6’1′ tall. Listed at 186lbs. Will be interesting to see him on skates tonight standing next to other players we know. For comparisons, Ryan Murphy was listed at 5’11, 186 lbs., Adam Fox is 5’10”, 185lbs.
Bean has had many different weight listings. Several since last spring even. The issue with Bean is he is slight. Not considered very strong either. He will have to rely on his strengths, not his weaknesses.
Players who are slight can play a power game, like Simmonds, but they don’t last. At some point their bodies start breaking down. Ruutu was another such player. Physics plays a role.
Much of what CT said. A young defenseman, particularly one that has to make a lot of decisions about jumping in the offensive play, need to learn to play at the NHL level.
I also hope to see him on the PP. The right point of both PPs isn’t all that strong. If Bean is going to be useful in the NHL now, the PP is the spot.
If Bean does happen to look like he is ready it would free up the Canes to move another defenseman. Possibly TVR at the deadline?
Vellucci is a great assessor and developer of young talent and he uses the word “trend” a lot – he wants to see his players moving on a trajectory.
He has described Bean as “trending nicely” since the start of the season, and his game took a big step up several weeks ago with a breakout game against, I think, Lehigh Valley. I was in Bojangles for both games this past weekend. And, unlike other D-men, you notice Bean when he is on the ice. He is skating, looking for plays when he has the puck on this stick- more solid on D with gaps. I really think he could use a bit more time to continue and solidify his development in Charlotte before getting his first call-up but when circumstances demand, you jump. We will see a different version of Bean tonight than we did in the preseason – I am curious to see whether the jump in Bean’s play of late translates to NHL play. He is fun to watch, though, and hopefully RBA will let him play through his mistakes.
I love when you are watching a game and a guy just stands out.. You can usually tell that they will turn into something. I like that assessment because its so often true.
My concern is who does Bean pair with tonight. I would think it will be TVR against Montreal’s bottom two lines, but the Canes are on the road. I can’t see RBA splitting de Haan/Faulk. In all honesty, I wouldn’t want him with Hamilton as Dougie has actually caused Slavin to perform poorly on occasion. So TVR it is–but that is likely to mean RBA only gives him 10 minutes or so of even-strength TOI.
So maybe he does get 2nd PP to get him on the ice.
First NHL game…that’s OK by me. If he plays well he will earn more time. You really don’t want to throw him to the wolves. TVR is the Canes current most responsible RH defenseman, which is probably the right place to start Bean. On the other hand, he is also the slowest RH defenseman the Canes have. We’ll see…