Jake Bean: 2016-17 season capsule

Defenseman Jake Bean was the Hurricanes top selection at #13 overall in the 2016 NHL draft. After spending part of the fall in the Hurricanes training camp, he was returned to the Calgary Hitmen to play the 2016-17 season in the Western Hockey League. His season has been a bit disjointed. After playing a handful of games with Calgary he missed significant time with injury. Then he returned for a short stint with Calgary before representing Team Canada at the world juniors. Since returning to Calgary in the WHL, Bean has really hit his stride as an offensive defenseman with 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 12 games in January. In total in WHL play, Bean has 6 goals and 21 assists in 20 games played after missing time with a hand injury. In 7 games in the world juniors tourney, Bean had 0 goals and 2 assists and was a plus 2.

Jake Bean’s play in the world juniors (in addition to fellow Canes’ prospects Julien Gauthier and Nicolas Roy) was discussed in a guest post by Dominic Tiano shortly after the tourney concluded.

 

Mid-season thoughts on Jake Bean from Paul Figler at DUBNetwork

Paul Figler is the Co-Founder of DUBNetwork (Twitter=@dub_network) which is an independently-run, all-encompassing news source for everything Western Hockey League. Paul (Twitter=@RDFigs19) also runs WHLStats.

 

Canes and Coffee: Recognizing that his season has been disjointed and abbreviated due missing significant time with a broken finger, how would you describe Jake Bean’s play in limited WHL action in 3 separate stretches of 3 games before injury, 5 games after returning and before the WJC tourney and then 6 games (through January 15) after the WJC?

Paul Figler: Jake has been the glue that holds the Hitmen together. You can tell when he is not in the lineup as the team struggles offensively. Since his return from the WJC, Jake has consistently put up points and continues to improve his game. He no longer shows any effects from his injuries.

Canes and Coffee: How did Jake Bean play in the WJC tourney against elite competition in his age group?

Paul Figler: I found that Jake was evenly matched against elite competition. He steadily improved throughout tournament and really stepped up his personal game in the final 2 games following an injury to another defenseman.

Canes and Coffee: Comparing Jake Bean from the 2015-16 season to the current season, is there anything that jumps out at you as significantly improved?

Paul Figler: I would be hard pressed to find one area where he really has improved because he has not been consistently in the line-up. He has certainly come around to his regular offensive prowess and ability to move the puck out of the D-zone.

Canes and Cofee: What areas do you see for necessary improvement as Jake Bean continues to develop his game and ready it for the NHL down the road?

Paul Figler: While he was not drafted for his size and physicality, that is an area he needs to work on in my opinion. While in his own end, he tends to shy away from hits or physical play and loses puck battles because he is unwilling to “get his hands dirty”.

Canes and Coffee: Is there anything else about Jake Bean that Carolina Hurricanes fans might be interested to know?

Paul Figler: Watch for the Hitmen to make a push for one of the wild card playoff births. Jake is capable of bringing his game to another level and with the intensity of the playoffs, he might even elevate it that much further.

 

Canes and Coffee would like to extend a BIG thank you to Paul Figler and DUBNetwork for continuing to provide great ‘in the rink’ updates on Hurricanes prospects playing in the WHL.

 

For more on Jake Bean and also MIDTERMS on David Cotton and Matt Filipe…

Also check out Canes and Coffee’s ‘Back to School’ feature on Jake Bean with interviews from his Calgary Hitmen coach Mark French and Brennen York from the DUBNetwork back on September 19. Canes and Coffee’s Jake Bean ‘Reading List’ from June 25 has a great collection of 6 articles on Bean from prior to the 2016 NHL draft.

If you missed them and want to catch up, you can find the first 2 entries in the ‘Back to School series here:

David Cotton (Boston College-NCAA)

Matt Filipe (Northeastern University-NCAA)

 

Go Canes!