Man of the Week: Taylor Beck
KHL.ru’s weekly column continues with Taylor Beck. The Canadian veteran forward just established a league’s record: in Sibir’s 10:1 win over HC Sochi, Beck accumulated seven points, with two goals and five assists, surpassing several players who had a six-point night earlier on.
When Sibir blasted HC Sochi 10:1 earlier this week, a record for the Novosibirsk franchise, all eyes were on forward Taylor Beck. The Canadian veteran lit up the scoreboard with two goals and five assists — a seven-point performance that, by all accounts, is the first such performance in KHL history and certainly a new high-water mark for Sibir. Beck surpassed several players who were tied at six points in a single game, including Dynamo Moscow’s Nikita Gusev, who accomplished the feature twice, the only player to do so. Not only Beck’s big performance helped Sibir towards its playoff goal, but he also improved his stat line, reaching 28 points in 23 games.
Early years
Taylor Beck was born on May 13, 1991 in St. Catharines, Ontario, sharing his birthplace with another former KHL forward, Mike Iggulden, who lined up for Dinamo Riga, Vityaz, and Medvescak. Earlier in his career, he was a standout in the Ontario Hockey League with the Guelph Storm, drafted by them in the 2007 OHL Priority Selection. Over four seasons in the OHL he climbed steadily: 21 points as a rookie in 2007-2008, then 58 points in 2008-2009, before exploding for 93 points (39 G, 54 A) in 2009-2010 and capping his junior career with 95 points (42 G, 53 A) in 2010-2011. In that 2009-2010 campaign he was named to the OHL All-Star Game, took home the Jim Mahon Trophy as the league’s top scoring right winger, and etched himself into Guelph’s history charts among the top scorers ever for the franchise. Other KHL forwards who got that award include Branko Radivojevic and Kevin Labanc.
Ranking up
Beck’s pro career began the very season he finished junior hockey. After a brief AHL stint with the Milwaukee Admirals, he became part of the Nashville Predators organization following the 2009 NHL Draft (3rd round, 70th overall). In 2012-2013 he made his NHL debut with Nashville, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists in 16 games while continuing to develop in the AHL. His most productive NHL season in terms of opportunity came in 2014-2015 with the Predators, where he appeared in 62 games, posting 16 points (8 G, 8 A) — his lone full NHL season. Across stints with Nashville, the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, and New York Rangers, Beck reached 92 NHL games with 11 goals and 12 assists.
He fared very well in the AHL too. In 2016-2017, split between the Bakersfield Condors and the Hartford Wolf Pack, Beck posted 66 points in 56 AHL games — good enough to land him on the AHL First All-Star Team. That season, he finished second in the league in scoring and tied for third in assists, trailing former Torpedo’s forward Kenny Agostino.
Move to the KHL
After his All-star season in the AHL, Beck opted to head overseas and signed with Avtomobilist. His time on the Urals was brief but meaningful, and soon he was on the move to Kunlun Red Star, where he continued to produce at a reliable clip with 13 points in 21 games in 2017-2018 and 22 points in 39 games in 2018-2019. A midseason trade took him further to Avangard, where he lifted his game even further, leading the KHL in the postseason with 16 assists in 16 games and helping Avangard make a deep playoff push as the Hawks lost the Gagarin Cup finals to CSKA (0-4).
Beck’s KHL career blossomed from there. After a second full season with Avangard (36 points in 56 games), he moved to Metallurg for the 2020-2021 season, where he set personal KHL highs with 43 (16+27) points in 56 games — and added ten points in twelve playoff appearances. The next stop was Dinamo Minsk in 2021-22, where he continued his consistent play with 38 points (30 assists) in 42 games, before landing in Novosibirsk with Sibir in 2022.
Sibir’s legend
With Sibir, Beck really carved out a leadership role. In 2022-2023 he posted 55 points in 67 games, then followed that up with 46 points in 60 games in 2023-2024. His 2024-2025 season was among his best yet: 56 (16+40) points in 57 games. The Ontario native has two of the top three single-season performances for Sibir in KHL history, with Trevor Murphy taking the crown with his 64-point campaign in 2024-2025 – two points more than Beck.
What will be far harder to take away from him, however, is his record for most points in a single game. Beck’s seven-point night against HC Sochi is one to remember, and most likely a record the league will preserve for a long time.
