Оттава Сенаторс багийн ирээдүйтэй хаалгач Лукас Бекманы амжилтын нууц

OTTAWA — On Friday, Lucas Beckman felt at ease.

The 19-year-old Montreal native is one of four goaltending prospects attending this weekend’s Ottawa Senators rookie camp, and among a handful of returning invitees from last year’s event. In his mind, the differences between then and now are obvious.

“Last year, I was the little rookie,” Beckman said. “I didn’t know where to go. But now, it’s me helping the younger guys. … I think last year I was a little nervous; I was all over the place, we could say. And this year, I’m more comfortable. I hope it shows on the ice as well.”

The return to the crease marked the end of a quick summer for Beckman, who is coming off a whirlwind 2025-26 season in the QMJHL. In his first 23 games, which he spent with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Canadian junior-hockey league, Beckman recorded just four wins — on top of battling mononucleosis last fall.

After a Dec. 2025 trade to the Chicoutimi Saguéeneens, however, Beckman won 13 of his final 15 regular-season starts while posting a .940 save percentage and a 1.52 goals-against average. His GAA only slightly rose (1.98) during the QMJHL playoffs, as he posted a 16-4 record and captured a league championship before advancing to the CHL’s Memorial Cup.

Beckman, who signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract in April, is considered the Senators’ fastest-rising prospect and the best goaltender in their system. He represented Team Canada at the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase in July and hopes to help Canada win a gold medal at this year’s tournament if he makes the team. Before then, he’ll have a chance to impress Ottawa’s brass on Saturday and Sunday at the NHL Prospect Challenge tournament, in Gatineau, Quebec.

“I’m not saying I was the best goalie in the Q(MJHL) last year,” Beckman said in June. “But I was able to prove that I’m a dominant goalie in that league, and just to continue to prove that, and continue to show that I can give a chance to my team to win day in, day out.”

Beckman has spent the last year fine-tuning details of his on-ice play, such as his skating. He also dedicated portions of the summer to working on his strength training, with noticeable results: Listed at 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds for Ottawa’s 2025-26 rookie camp, Beckman reported this year at 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds.

However, what’s been most noticeable about Beckman since the Sens drafted him in last year’s fourth round, with the No. 97 pick, is his confident mentality in the net. And evidence suggests that trait came from an unusual source: his Ultimate Frisbee-playing parents.

Lorne Beckman and Naomi Jackson are legends of the flying disc sport in Canada, winning championships together while maintaining high mental and physical standards. The duo passed those habits on to Lucas, whether it’s nutrition, recovery or focus. His parents even connected him with a mental preparation coach, a former teammate of theirs, at 12.

“Since he was 3 years old, he had this attitude: You don’t give up,” Naomi said. “But we made it clear, if you want to be a goalie, your role is to kind of be that tough wall in the back. And if a shot goes in, you get up, and you don’t show that you know you’re upset by it, right? You’ve got to help support your team to get that confidence to go and get the next goal.

“For me, that was something from team sports, from soccer and Ultimate Frisbee; I felt very aware of that. I feel that we brought (that) to Lucas.”

Championship lineage

Lorne first picked up Ultimate Frisbee at 22 while visiting Ottawa in 1986, almost 20 years after the sport’s official rules were first written. He played more after moving in 1993 to Montreal, where he worked at McGill University’s Orthopedic Research Laboratory. He met Naomi when he picked her to play on a team for an indoor development league.

“We had a draft night based on a list, but we didn’t know anyone,” Lorne said.

“He chose me for my name,” Naomi added. “He liked my name.”

Naomi didn’t intend to switch sports, having played soccer in high school and college. However, she enjoyed Ultimate and eventually grew to like Lorne as a teammate, friend and eventual partner.

They teamed up and won tournaments together around the world. A natural playmaker, Naomi had speed and great hands and made excellent throws. Lorne was the main handler of the disc, the sport’s equivalent of a point guard, running his team’s offense. He had endurance and always found himself open to make catches.

The duo eventually won a mixed Canadian Ultimate Championship together in 2006 as members of Team Camelot, with Lorne being named the tournament’s most valuable player. Four years later, Naomi won another national championship — this time on her women’s team, Storm, with Lorne serving as coach.

In 2011, Lorne was inducted into the Ultimate Canada Hall of Fame as a builder for his decades of contributions to the sport, which included rewriting rules, helping with player registrations and gender-neutralizing the sport’s language in the rulebook.

“I was very proud to change the languageso that it did not read as if it was only played by men,” Lorne said.

Lorne’s approach to Ultimate games also served him well: mentally resetting the score to 0-0 after every point. And he’s spotted it in Lucas, too.

“He had a goalie coach tell him one time: You’re going to get goals scored on you,” Lorne said. “If no goals were ever scored, no one would come watch. That would be no fun. So, it’s going to happen, so no worries.”

Unlike with his Frisbee-throwing parents, hockey was Lucas’ top choice (soccer ranks second). From as young as 3, while his parents videotaped him, Lucas would skate as “hard as he could” until he inevitably wiped out.

“He would say, ‘If you fall down, you get up!’ ” Lorne said.

But there were darker days for the young Beckman, even when he played above expectations.

Naomi remembers seeing her then-12-year-old son come home after a gold-medal-winning performance and tournament MVP honors. It wasn’t enough.

“He was just really upset,” Jackson said. “He said, ‘I just didn’t play well.’ ”

And that’s what prompted Beckman’s parents to call on Guylaine Girard. An Ultimate Frisbee teammate of Naomi’s and an old friend, Girard has since pivoted to creative writing and personal development, but she spent over 30 years coaching athletes in Ultimate and gymnastics.

“It’s always better for kids to get advice from other people, other than their parents, because they might actually absorb some of it and start to use it,” Naomi said. “So, we thought it was time.”

For over two years, Girard and Beckman met for sessions on myriad topics: things he can and can’t control, pre-game routines depending on how much time he had before games and ways to strengthen his mental fortitude during games. Girard grew impressed at Beckman’s mental preparation and emotional intelligence as a preteen.

“He had a lot of composure, a lot of confidence,” Girard said. “And little self-doubt. I think Lucas knew, intuitively, what his role, his impact or influence on his team was. And he wanted to set a good example for his team and help them win games.

“So, he wanted to be capable. He knew if he could handle it, he could make a difference for his team. So there were a lot of things he wanted to work on for a 12-year-old. That’s pretty young to be having thoughts like that. But Lucas was there.”

As an Ultimate Frisbee player, Naomi (No. 7) had speed, hands and made excellent throws. (Courtesy of Beckman family)

‘Hell of a goalie prospect’

Lucas took the guidance to heart as he progressed through the minor-league hockey ranks, before being picked by Baie-Comeau in the second round of the 2023 QMJHL Draft. Beckman posted winning records in his first two seasons with the Drakkar, including a 31-18-2 mark with a .914 save percentage in 2024-25.

Last season, Beckman still posted a save percentage above .900 in 23 games with the Drakkar despite holding a 4-14-3 record before his trade to Chicoutimi. Still, the move gave Beckman a chance to apply what he’d learned.

“After the first half of the season, it was focusing on what I could control,” Beckman said in June, when asked about the biggest things he’d learned from last season. “Do what I could to give my team a chance to win every night. And in the second half of the year, it was the same thing, giving my team a chance to win every night.

“But everyone was pushing in the right direction. So, when there were moments when I was seeing fewer shots, it was about focusing mentally.”

It culminated in QMJHL success, a berth to the Memorial Cup and appearances with Team Canada at this year’s Summer Showcase. Even if the Memorial Cup didn’t result in a tournament win and Beckman struggled in his lone Summer Showcase appearance, he’s still viewed as a prospect with a bright future in Ottawa’s system.

Beckman will have another attempt at QMJHL glory this upcoming season with the Cape Breton Eagles, who traded for the goaltender in June. The teenager and his parents spent last week in his newest junior hockey city at the Eagles’ training camp before Beckman headed to Ottawa for the NHL club’s rookie camp.

“He’s a hell of a goalie prospect,” Senators GM Steve Staios said in April. “Andhe’s having great success right now. But he also brings a great attitude to the game, great passion for the game.”

And while Lucas never became an Ultimate player, the sport offered a unique way to learn how to handle the pressure of goaltending. It hasn’t stopped him from throwing a disc on occasion with his parents at a local park, either.

“I’m really lucky to have that opportunity at such a young age, and that exposure,” Beckman said. “Because, of course, you learn more when you’re younger. So, I was able to get these tools that I could kind of engrain into my mind, and they’re just natural to me.”