Nathan Beaulieu

Nathan Anthony Richard Beaulieu (born December 4, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 17th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Beaulieu helped the Sea Dogs capture the 2011 Memorial Cup, and was named to the tournament's all-star team.

Beaulieu was drafted by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the fourth round (68th overall) of the 2008 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Midget Draft. When he started his career with the Sea Dogs in 2008, his father, Jacques was the team's head coach. His father was fired by the team and replaced with Gerard Gallant in 2009, an incident which caused Beaulieu to consider leaving the team. He decided to remain with Saint John after speaking with Gallant.

During the 2010–11 QMJHL season, Beaulieu established himself as a top prospect for the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft, and was nominated for the Mike Bossy Trophy, awarded to the league's top professional prospect. He lost the award to Sean Couturier. Beaulieu was ranked fifth among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau in their final rankings, an improvement from his mid-season ranking of ninth. Saint John captured the QMJHL league championship and moved on to the 2011 Memorial Cup. Beaulieu scored the winning goal in the team's first game of the tournament against the host Mississauga Majors. The Sea Dogs met the Majors again in the championship game of the tournament and won 3-1, to capture the Memorial Cup. After the tournament, Beaulieu was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team. The Sea Dogs win was the second Memorial Cup win for the Beaulieu family, as Jacques was an assistant coach with the London Knights when they won in 2005.

Beaulieu made his professional debut in the 2012–13 season, with the Canadiens AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. He later played his first NHL game with the Montreal Canadiens on March 30, 2013.

Beaulieu is a two-way, puck moving defenseman with very good skating abilities. Offensively, he can get very creative with his good vision and skating. He has a good first pass. He also defends well and blocks shots. He's consistently growing as a leader and doesn't mind fighting from time to time. Beaulieu is also very inconsistent offensively, as he can get invisible for a game and then be very flashy for another. He doesn't produce a good amount of points and is not a very good finisher. His shot is average but can pull off a decent one-timer from the point. He also is very risky as he can cause bad turnovers when trying to get too fancy.

Assault Charge

On April 27, 2013, Beaulieu, along with his father Jacques, were involved in an altercation in their hometown of Strathroy, Ontario. The incident in question took place following a charity golf tournament at a private residence and stemmed from property damages by the Beaulieus. As a result, two people were assaulted and suffered minor injuries.

In August 2013, Beaulieu and his father plead guilty to assault. Each was assessed penalties of conditional discharges with nine months' probation -- a joint recommendation from the Crown and the defence.

Beaulieu participated at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Canada and won the bronze medal.

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009	Canada Atlantic	WHC17	9th		5	0	2	2	4
2012	Canada	WJC	03 !		6	0	1	1	16
Junior totals					11	0	3	3	20