Throttling a pump like that won't damage it. You're just adding extra head pressure that it has to pump against, no different than if you e.g. had the pump in the basement and were pumping upstairs, or had a lot of plumbing it had to pump through. Pretty sure I have read that it will draw less power too.
FWIW I think Eheim pumps are awesome - I have several running and they are super quiet, some are 15+ years old.