The Chicago Wolves signed goaltender Beck Warm to an AHL contract this week, adding to the overall organizational depth for the position.
Warm, 21, spent four seasons in the WHL, the majority of that with the Tri-City Americans. In January, he was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings as they looked to improve their goaltending in advance of a playoff run which, like everything else about last season, was cancelled due to the pandemic.
The goaltender took a winding route to the WHL; he initially went undrafted before signing with Tri-City. He made his WHL debut when he was just 15 years old, playing in a very lopsided 8-1 loss for Tri-City. Warm spent his first full season in the WHL as the team’s third goaltender, playing in just 10 games.
He played progressively more games each season, developing into an elite goaltender at the junior level, which helped facilitate his trade to Edmonton in his final season. He ends his junior career with an overall record of 71-56-13, a goals against average of 3.15, and a 0.908 save percentage.
Congratulations to Beck Warm of the @EdmOilKings on a fantastic WHL career! Wishing you all the best in the future!#WHLAlumni | #WHLScholarship pic.twitter.com/VvPDlUyYe5
— The WHL (@TheWHL) September 7, 2020
Warm is used to playing behind teams that give up a ton of shots; in 2018-19, he led the WHL in saves (1925) and shots faced (2102) and was poised to repeat that stat this past season before he was traded to the Oil Kings, who did a better job of limiting the shots he faced. He’s also used to a heavy workload. In 2018-19, Warm played in 61 of Tri-City’s 68 games.
With a franchise record for saves in a single season, Beck Warm of @TCAmericans is at the top of his game.
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 23, 2019
PREVIEW https://t.co/3xYB9oYPqy#EVTvsTC | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/YkxjixGSha
Undrafted at the NHL level, Warm has previously taken part in development camp with the Washington Capitals.
With Alex Nedeljkovic, Antoine Bibeau, and Jeremy Helvig already under contract with the Hurricanes, it’s probable that Warm will end up beginning his career in the ECHL. Helvig also spent the majority of last season with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
Warm is the fourth player signed to an AHL deal for the Wolves. He joins defensemen Cavan Fitzgerald and Brandon Hickey and right wing Colin Markison in the organization. Fitzgerald and Markison both played last season for the Charlotte Checkers, so will already be familiar with their teammates and coaching staff. Hickey joins the team after spending the past two seasons with the Rochester Americans.