Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no certainty when or where Beck Warm’s professional hockey career will start, but he’s excited to get going however it looks.
The 21-year-old Whistlerite inked his first pro contract in late November, signing with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the 2020-21 season. The Wolves are the top affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
“Over the last few months since the summer, my agent [Ray Petkau] and I have been talking to four teams,” Warm said. “Carolina finally just said, ‘We’ll take a chance and we’ll sign you to an AHL deal this year.’
“It’s the first deal we were offered and me and my agent talked and just decided that with the state of the world, there’s no point in holding out for anything. Let’s just do it.”
Warm wrapped up his junior career last season by splitting time with the Tri-City Americans and Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. The Oil Kings sat third in the league when COVID-19 halted the season for good.
This year, Warm anticipates starting out at the Hurricanes’ NHL training camp when it gets underway for the 2020-21 season. From there, though, the picture gets murky. The Hurricanes have five goalies signed to NHL contracts, so those players will have organizational priority. Also complicating matters is that the ECHL, a tier below the AHL, will start its season first, and Warm expects that league to be his next stop. However, the Hurricanes do not currently have an ECHL affiliate and are still making arrangements for where to send players.
Carolina isn’t alone in figuring out its plans for its lower affiliates. Half of the ECHL’s 26 teams will start a 72-game schedule in December, while the remaining teams can opt in for a 62-game campaign starting on Jan. 15. The six teams in the league’s North Division have already announced that they will not play this winter, so roster spots are at a premium.
“The ECHL, right now, they’re planning on having a Jan. 15 start date, so if they go through with that, then I’ll be starting in the East Coast [league] and whenever the AHL starts, hopefully I get a shot to go up there,” Warm said. “There’s a lot of possibilities right now.”
Should Warm make the jump to the AHL, it’ll be the highest level of pro hockey a Whistlerite has achieved. Forward Garrett Milan has played 25 ECHL games with Atlanta, Greenville and Rapid City.
Whatever happens, Warm will be prepared. He’s been based out of Kelowna since June working out with a trainer operating under his agent’s umbrella.
“He has a gym on his property, so we haven’t had to deal with any regulations or shutdowns since it’s just been me and him all summer,” Warm said. “I’ve been here for the past six months, just training every single day.”
When he first went to the Interior, ice time was hard to come by, but Warm said since August, he’s been able to lace up his skates four to five times a week.
When the NHL was running its playoffs, there weren’t too many players in the region to pepper Warm with shots, but since the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in late September, he’s shared the rink with Cup champions in defencemen Brent Seabrook and Luke Schenn and forward Brayden Schenn.
“Kelowna seems to be a bit of a hub for pro hockey players,” he said. “There are always pro groups looking for a goalie, so it’s been nice.”
Warm is still working out when and how he will head stateside. As of Dec. 2, North Carolina did not have a quarantine requirement for those entering the state.
“We’re trying to figure out if I’m going to drive or fly. There’s a lot of things to try to figure out,” he said.
