Kristopher Beech (born February 5, 1981) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Beech was born in

Salmon Arm Salmon Arm is a city in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 17,706 (2016). Salmon Arm was incorporated as a municipal district on May 15, 1905. The ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, but grew up in

Sicamous, British Columbia Sicamous is a district municipality in British Columbia located adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway at the Highway 97A junction, where Mara Lake empties into Shuswap Lake via a short narrows. Sicamous is a resort town about halfway between Calg ...

Playing career

Beech was drafted 7th overall in the

1999 NHL Entry Draft The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in tale ...

by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. At the time he was playing for the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "The Hitman" ...

of the WHL. Beech was traded to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in July 2001 with

Michal Sivek Michal Sivek (born January 21, 1981) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player who last played for Sparta Praha. He was one of three players acquired from the Washington Capitals for Jaromír Jágr. Retirement On October 1, 2001, Sivek wa ...

Ross Lupaschuk Ross Lupaschuk (born January 19, 1981) is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. Juniors Lupaschuk played his junior-level hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for five seasons with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Prince Albert Raiders and Red Deer ...

, and future considerations for

Jaromir Jagr Jaromír, Jaromir, Jaroměr is a Slavic male given name. Origin and meaning Jaromír is a West Slavic given name composed of two stems ''jaro'' and ''mír''. The meaning is not definite: *Polish ''jary'' (archaic) = „spry, young, strong“; ''m ...

and Frantisek Kucera. Beech appeared in 79 games for the Penguins, recording 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. Disappointed with his development, the Penguins traded Beech on September 9, 2005 to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

for a conditional draft pick. Beech returned to the Capitals organization on March 9, 2006, having been traded, along with a first-round pick, for defenseman

Brendan Witt Brendan Witt (born February 20, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators, and New York Islanders in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Witt's NHL care ...

. He was sent down to the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

to join their AHL playoff campaign and helped them to a

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

victory against the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

. On January 10, 2008, Beech was claimed off waivers from Columbus by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. However, on January 23, 2008, after just four games with the Canucks in which he recorded one goal and one assist, Beech was subsequently placed on waivers and claimed by the

. Before playing a single game with Washington, Beech was once again placed on waivers, which led to him being re-acquired by the

, Beech's fourth team in the month of January. On October 10, 2008, Beech signed a one-year contract with the Swedish

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

team

HV71 HV71 (), often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League s ...

. He joined his new team three days later. On April 28, 2009, Beech was re-signed to a two-year contract extension with HV71. Prior to the 2009–10 season on September 4, 2009, Beech signed a six-week loan contract with HC Genève-Servette. In his eight games with Genève-Servette, he scored two goals. On October 14, 2009, Beech was returned to HV71. On May 25, 2011, the Finnish club

Lukko Rauma Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, best known for its men’s professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently plays in the Fin ...

announced that Beech signed a one-year contract with the team. Upon completion of the season with Lukko, Beech was again on the move within Europe signing a one-year contract with Czech team

HC Pardubice HC Dynamo Pardubice is a professional ice hockey club that plays in the Czech Extraliga. Its home venue is Enteria arena located in Pardubice. The club was originally named LTC Pardubice, acquiring its current name at the start of the 2015� ...

on June 25, 2012. During the 2012–13 season, on December 4, 2012, Beech transferred to join

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

of the Elitserien for the remainder of the season. In the 2013–14 season, Beech moved to Germany to play in the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

with the

Straubing Tigers The Straubing Tigers are a professional men's ice hockey team, based in Straubing, Germany, that competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Straubing plays its home games at the Eisstadion am Pulverturm, which has a capacity of 5,800 spectators. ...

. He scored 24 points in 36 games, before opting to transfer to the Austrian EBEL league with the

Vienna Capitals Vienna Capitals are an Austrian professional ice hockey club that participate in the Erste Bank Hockey League. Founded in 2001, the Capitals play their home games in Vienna, Austria, at Albert Schultz Eishalle. In the 2004–05 season, the Capit ...

for their playoff run. On July 3, 2014, Beech decided to remain in the EBEL, signing a one-year contract with

HC TWK Innsbruck HC Tiroler Wasserkraft Innsbruck is an Austrian professional ice hockey team in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL). They play their home games at OlympiaWorld Innsbruck complex in Innsbruck. History The club was founded in 1994 as HC Innsbruck ...

. On July 2, 2015, Beech signed a one-year contract with Northern Irish club, the Belfast Giants of the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

Personal

During the offseason, Beech is a guest instructor at the Sicamous Hockey School, located in Sicamous, British Columbia. Since 2017, Beech has worked with various hockey teams and organizations, including the

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in th ...

and

Delta, British Columbia Delta is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, as part of Greater Vancouver. Located on the Fraser Lowland south of Fraser River's south arm, it is bordered by the city of Richmond on the Lulu Island to the north, N ...

's Delta Hockey Academy, as a mindfulness training coach.

Career statistics

Awards

* 1998-99: Played in CHL Top Prospects Game * 1998-99:

Ed Chynoweth Cup The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honou ...

winner,

(WHL) * 2003-04: Team MVP,

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

(AHL) * 2004-05: Team MVP,

(AHL) * 2005-06:

winner,

(AHL) * 2008-09: Playoff silver medal,

(SEL) * 2009-10: Swedish Champion, HV71 (SEL)

References

External links

* * Kris Beech founded Aimability in 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beech, Kris 1981 births AIK IF players Belfast Giants players Calgary Hitmen players Canadian ice hockey centres Columbus Blue Jackets players Genève-Servette HC players HC Dynamo Pardubice players Hershey Bears players HV71 players Ice hockey people from British Columbia HC TWK Innsbruck players Living people Lukko players Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators players National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Salmon Arm Pittsburgh Penguins players Straubing Tigers players Syracuse Crunch players Vancouver Canucks players Vienna Capitals players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden