CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Zac Beauregard won’t let size hold him back.
The diminutive forward, who says he is 155 pounds and either five-foot-five or five-foot-six, earned his spot on the Charlottetown Islanders in the September after being a 10th-round pick in the 2017 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft.
He used his draft position as motivation.
“I was going to show everyone,” he said, noting his belief in himself entering camp. “When I came here, I knew what I had to do to play on this team. . . If I was working, there’s no chance I couldn't make this team.”
The Islanders saw intangibles in Beauregard they see as vital to the kind of team they want to be.
“He’s one of the smallest guys on our team, but he maybe epitomizes how we want to play more than anybody,” head coach Jim Hulton said.
“He plays with an edge, intensity and focus that we don't see on a daily basis.”
Beauregard is a resilient and relentless guy who plays an in-your-face, hard-to-play against style.
“He’s very strong for his size and he’s got a heart of lion,” Hulton said. “He plays as aggressive as anybody in our league.”
Beauregard started the year as a sparkplug on an energy line.
He scored in the first game of the season and added his second in Game 3. He had a goal in each of October and November but then went 33 games without a goal before tallying Feb. 18.
When injuries struck, Beauregard was elevated in the lineup and has produced. He has four goals in the previous three games, including one of his three game-winning goals on the season.
His goals have come from winning net-front battles against bigger guys and not being afraid to go to the tough areas of the rink.
“Anybody that plays that intense, and is willing to go to the dirty areas, is going to get their rewards,” Hulton said.
Beauregard was pleased to be able to contribute during a pair of key road victories in Sydney, N.S.
“I didn’t produce a lot this year, so it just feels great to have a couple of goals and points this weekend,” Beauregard said. “My hard work (is) paying off now.”
Hulton said Beauregard earned his shot by working hard on a daily basis in practice.
“All of a sudden he got a chance to move up into a top-six (role), and he’s flourished,” he said.
Other teams can get preoccupied by Beauregard’s play.
“They underestimate him at first blush because of his size, and then he’s so persistent and comes at you he’s like that nagging little brother that you keep swatting away,” Hulton said.
Beauregard said he grew up with twin brothers, Alex and Dave, who are three years older than him. If he wanted something, he had to work for it, whether it was playing street hockey or mini sticks in the basement.
“It’s probably because of them that I know how to play hockey now,” he said. “They always taught me.”
Need to know
Personal – Beauregard is 155-pound Repentigny, Que., native
History – He played for the College Esther-Blondin Phenix in 2016-17. He was selected by the Islanders in the 10th round (180th overall) of the 2017 draft. He went back to midget and captained his team last season.
Beauregard: “I don't think there’s a lot of people who have been drafted in the 10th round and played in this league.”
Head coach Jim Hulton: “He’s a bit of a throwback. He’s a heart-and-soul kid that leaves everything out on the ice.”
2018-19 statistics
GP G A Pts. PIM
63 9 12 21 46
Game Day Notes
• The Charlottetown Islanders (38-20-4-3) host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (8-52-4-1) today at 7 p.m. Charlottetown is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, two points up on Moncton, three up on Cape Breton and four ahead of Chicoutimi. The top four teams in each conference earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
• The Islanders finish the regular season with a home game Friday against the Moncton Wildcats and a road game Saturday against the Halifax Mooseheads.
• The Islanders have played a lot of close games recently. The stretch included three shootout victories and an overtime win. Eight of their past nine games have been decided by two or fewer goals.
“The margin of error is very slim and the more games you can play in that scenario and get comfortable with, the better prepared you are come playoff time,” head coach Jim Hulton said.
• Forwards Will Sirman and Thomas Casey are making progress from their upper-body injuries. Neither will play tonight, but Hulton is hoping to get them in this weekend.
• Matthew Welsh will get the start for the Islanders tonight and is expected to be in the crease for the rest of the regular season.
•Mermaid defenceman Cole Larkin is in his rookie season with the Titan. He has an assist and six penalty minutes in 32 games. Halifax native Mark Grametbauer is playing the final games of his junior career with the Titan this week. He was the Isles starting goalie during the second half of the 2016-17 season.
• Islanders forwards Daniel Hardie and Zac Beauregard were named to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s team of the week. Hardie had six assists in three games while Beauregard had four goals and an assist in three games. Chicoutimi’s Samuel Houde was the other forward while defencemen Christopher Merisier-Ortiz (Baie-Comeau) and Gabriel Sylvestre (Moncton) and goalie Jonathan Lemieux (Val-d’Or) rounded out the squad.