Stephan Seeger Jr. knew what he was getting into when he signed Calvin Beard in August.
The general manager/head coach of the BCHL’s Powell River Kings brought in the 6-foot-2 right-shot defenseman after he posted 92 points in 82 career games at St. Mark’s. After a little time for adjustment, Seeger expected Beard, a Southboro, Mass., native, to add some offensive punch to his blue line.
What he did not know was what else Beard would bring.
In the season opener against Victoria on Sept. 20, the Kings trailed 3-1 through 14 minutes. With his team pinned in its defensive zone for an extended shift, Seeger watched from behind the bench as Beard delivered a massive hit in the corner, causing the Victoria skater to “fold up like a cheap tent,” as Seeger put it, before laying out into the slot to block a point shot with his foot.
That was the moment Seeger knew he had a real “gamer” on his hands. The River Kings fell short of a comeback, losing 6-5, but Beard had two assists.
Through 32 games, Beard has 15 points (three goals), the fifth-most on the team and the most among BCHL rookie defensemen. It was enough to earn him a spot in the BCHL All-Star tournament.
So far, Seeger is pleasantly surprised with his new addition, even with high expectations.
“He’s going to be one of the top-scoring ‘D’ in the league, so it’s going to be an exciting thing here to see how he ends up shaping out toward the end,” Seeger said. “If he keeps doing what he’s doing, the sky’s the limit for him.”
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Long before Beard was taking the BCHL by storm, he entered St. Mark’s as a pure shutdown defenseman. He scored nine points in 39 games with the Neponset Valley River Rats 14-U in 2019-20. For Beard, it was the only play style he had ever known.
“At that age, I guess the idea was that defensemen played only defense,” Beard said. “That was sort of the idea instilled with me with my time with the River Rats and those split-season teams, so I wasn’t really able to do much offensively or be really creative.”
That changed at St. Mark’s. He attended games growing up and spent summers in middle school training at Dena Taylor Skating, where St. Mark’s coach Carl Corazzini helped out.
Beard saw a line of future NHL and NCAA players roll through before him, including defensemen Henry Thrun (San Jose Sharks) and Ian Moore (Anaheim Ducks), as well as forward Sean Farrell (Montreal Canadiens). Beard was a long ways off from joining that list, but Corazzini saw the potential.
“I saw someone that was really athletic, raw,” Corazzini said, recalling his earliest training sessions with Beard. “I knew that he was going to be the type of player that we typically do well with at St. Mark’s in the sense that he wasn’t a finished product and someone that had a long way to go in his game, but because of his athleticism was going to make some leaps and bounds in his game.”
The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out what would have been Beard’s freshman season with the Lions, so he added more offense to his game. Corazzini encouraged Beard to get in the gym more, take care of his body and play the puck with confidence.
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It culminated in scoring four goals and 15 points in 28 games during his sophomore season in 2021-22. A major part of Beard’s offensive development came from being partnered with Michael Fisher, who led St. Mark’s defensemen with 13 goals and 50 points and was picked in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Suddenly saddled with a younger defensive partner looking to grow, it hit Fisher that he was now in the same position Moore was with him two years earlier.
“I wouldn't be the player I am today if I didn't have role models to look up to, right?” Fisher said. “All that you can do yourself is try to be one of those for someone else.”
It was never really something the two talked about. Fisher led by example, and with Beard absorbing everything in the game, the transition came naturally. In some ways, the torch passed toward the end of Beard’s sophomore season in a game against St. George’s.
It was one of the final divisional games for both teams in a packed St. George’s Ice Arena. The two sides were at the top of the ISL Eberhart, and the winning team would all but clinch the division title.
With the score tied, 2-2, in the final two minutes of regulation, the Lions had an offensive-zone faceoff. Beard was on the bench, but Corazzini subbed him in at the last second. The Lions won the draw and sent the puck back to Beard, who unleashed a one-timer to score the winning goal. St. Mark’s won their next two games by a combined score of 11-2, claiming the Eberhart crown, one point ahead of St. George’s.
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“That was probably my favorite memory at St. Mark’s,” Beard said, “just being able to come up big in that moment for all the seniors.”
From there, Beard grew into a force.
He notched his first hat trick as a junior, where he more than doubled his previous season’s point total to 33. He took it to another level as a senior last year with 44 points in 28 games. With 17 goals, Beard scored more than Fisher (13) and Moore (12) each did as seniors.
While the Lions fell short of a NEPSAC championship with a 5-2 loss to Pomfret in the Small School quarterfinals on Feb. 28, Beard lived up to the names that commanded the St. Mark’s blue line before him.
“There (was) kind of a recognition,” Corazzini said. “Probably in his own head — whether he wants to admit it or not — like it was his kind of turn for him to take that mantle of what those players have been able to do in the past, and the recognition that it was kind of his team.”
Despite Beard’s evolution from a stay-at-home defenseman to an offensive play driver, he received little attention from Division 1 programs. With his hot start at Powell River, he’s hoping more take notice.
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Since Beard left St. Mark’s, he talks to Corazzini almost daily. The Lions don’t start until late November, so Corazzini has watched all of Beard’s games in Powell River, staying up late to take notes and give advice from afar.
Beard still wants to play Division 1 hockey. After experiencing a 180-degree turn in his game from the start of high school to now, Beard is focused on combining each part of those styles to become a reliable two-way defenseman. His block in Powell River’s season opener is just the beginning.
“The biggest knock on my game from college guys, and even (Corazzini), was I needed to compete more in the D-zone,” Beard said. “In college, no one's going to play me if I'm a liability, no matter how good I am offensively.
“So I’m getting back to that ‘blocking shot’ mentality, that sort of shutdown defenseman mentality, while still contributing and putting up points.”
