After an up-and-down season in the AHL, Bruins prospect Johnny Beecher hopes to take lessons learned and prove he belongs in Boston
BRIGHTON, Mass. – In the four years since the Boston Bruins selected Johnny Beecher with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the now-22-year-old center has taken big strides. With the 2023 Prospects Challenge coming up this week in Buffalo, followed by the beginning of training camp next week, the question will become: Were those strides big enough?
After three years at the University of Michigan followed by a year with AHL Providence, Beecher wants to finally make the jump to the NHL.
“I think last year, I kind of came into [training] camp kind of wide-eyed and staring around,” Beecher said. “This year, I definitely have a better idea of what I have to do now that I’m here, and what it’s gonna take.”
The end of 2021-22 was a whirlwind for Beecher. He helped Michigan reach the NCAA Frozen Four at TD Garden, and nine days later, he made his AHL debut with Providence.
He scored five points in nine appearances, and after competing at his first training camp in Boston a couple months later, he was sent back to Providence for his first full professional season.
His offensive production from the end of 2022 didn’t carry over, however. It took seven games for Beecher to record his first point of the season, and he suffered multiple scoring droughts throughout the season before finishing with nine goals and 23 points in 61 games. Despite this, Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel was not concerned, citing the importance of patience when it comes to developing players as young as Beecher.
“John Beecher’s growth for us, it’s been great,” Mougenel said. “He’s not the only player to come down to Providence and– I wouldn’t necessarily say ‘struggle,’ but maybe have a little bit of an identity issue early on. And by the second half, he was our go-to guy down there for a lot of situations.”
At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Beecher has the size to make it to the NHL, but Mougenel mentioned his skating ability is what sets Beecher apart from others his size. His combination of size and speed allowed him to excel on the penalty kill, and by getting reps on the wing in addition to center, his game along the boards improved as well, according to Mougenel.
Despite the positional versatility, the Providence coach didn’t mince words when discussing where Beecher projects long term.
“He’s a natural center,” Mougenel said. “He sees the ice really well in the middle of the ice. He’s a presence in the middle. His skating is what separates him. I don’t know if I’ve been around a bigger player that covers as much ice as John.”
Beecher said he enjoyed getting playing time on the wing, but agreed that he felt more comfortable playing center, his natural position.
While Mougenel wasn’t concerned by the lagging offensive production in Beecher’s first full season, that didn’t stop Beecher from addressing it in the offseason.
After spending the first three weeks of summer at the USA Hockey facilities in Plymouth, Mich., Beecher returned to train in Boston for the rest of the offseason, working on his shooting, puck work and getting more comfortable operating in the offensive zone.
Whether that work will pay off with an NHL roster spot remains to be seen, but for now, Beecher is focused on the 2023 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, using the remaining weeks of the offseason to prepare for training camp.
“At the end of the day, I try not to really put too much thought into [the roster battle,]” Beecher said. “I think I just kind of gotta focus on myself and the things that I gotta do in the next month, month-and-a-half to give myself the best chance.”