Since his return from injury at the end of last year, Carolina Hurricanes prospect Jake Bean play has been lights out
Oh man, I remember it all too well when the Carolina Hurricanes picked Jake Bean with their number one overall pick in last years draft. Cries of “We need offense,” or “Why would he pick another good defenseman we have too many!” As if top pairing defenseman are a dime a dozen in the league. I didn’t feel that way then, and I still don’t feel that way today even with the maturation of Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin into a formidable top pair. This season with the Calgary Hitmen, Jake Bean has given even more proof why Francis made the correct choice.
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Outstanding WHL season
In terms of games played, this season hasn’t gone as planned for Jake Bean. Early in the WHL season, Bean suffered a broken finger and missed the first part of the season until he returned in early December. The rest of the season has gone pretty much as planned, though, starting with Bean’s invite to play for team Canada at the World Juniors. Bean, along with two other Carolina
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prospects Julien Gauthier and Nicolas Roy, led team Canada to the silver medal falling to the United States in a shootout. While Bean didn’t have the best tournament, it was still a step in the right direction.
It wouldn’t be until Bean returned to his WHL team the Calgary Hitmen, that he really began to shine. Starting at the beginning of the year, Bean has put up 24 points in 22 games for a 1.09 point per game rate. The WHL also named Bean the player of the week on January 29th after he put up three goals 8 points in three games. For the whole season, Bean is scoring at a 1.06 point per game rate which is an increase over his .94 record-setting pace last season.
Even missing as many games as he did to start the season, Bean sits fourth on his entire team in scoring. You heard that right. Bean with his 33 points is fourth on the team (first for defensemen) where most of the players have played more than double his games played. That’s a phenomenal statistic that really puts Bean’s talent in perspective.
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A Bright Future
Yes while the Carolina Hurricanes defensive depth is unrivaled in the league, and their offense sorely lacking, Bean is still a very important part of this team’s future. Bean’s deadly wrist shot requires defenses to respect him and opens up the ice for the rest of his team. Is he good enough to make the team next season? That remains to be seen but so far his development shows Bean could turn into something special for the Carolina Hurricanes.