Colton Beck has never been handed anything in his hockey career, but over and over has climbed his way up the ladder. Today, he has signed the first NHL contract of his career, inking a two-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild, which is worth an average of $675K at the NHL level. Beck has played the last four seasons with the Iowa Wild, including this year where he has six points in his first seven games.
Beck, 28, has been consistently overlooked throughout his career. First playing in the BCHL to preserve his college eligibility, and then ending up at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, he became the program’s captain in his senior year. Undrafted by any team in the NHL despite his solid numbers at every step, he again failed to earn an NHL deal after graduation. Instead, a short tryout with the St. John’s IceCaps at the end of the 2013-14 season earned him a minor league deal and a spot with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL the following season. He quickly showed off his offensive upside and ended up an alternate captain the following year, before a call-up to Iowa made him an AHLer.
Now several years into that AHL career and he’s performing at another high level, thus deserving a contract with Minnesota. The 5’11” 183-lbs forward will still have to fight for a chance to play in the NHL, but at least he has some people who can teach him what it takes. His uncle, Barry Beck, was captain of the New York Rangers for six seasons and played more than 615 games in the NHL.