Bruins Chalkboard

Bruins Chalkboard: How John Beecher’s Speed Is So Effective

Published

5 years ago

July 29, 2019

The Boston Bruins selected John Beecher 30th overall in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft. While some may have thought the US National Development Program prospect was a reach with the 30th pick overall, Beecher could prove to be one of the steals of this past NHL Draft.

After impressing Bruins Director of Player Development Jamie Langenbrunner with his blazing speed at last month’s Bruins developmental camp, Beecher’s wheels have been the talk at the 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase. Beecher used his effortless skating ability to break away from a Swedish defenseman and score a nifty goal to give the Team USA Blue Team a 4-2 victory Sunday.

We've seen this a few times!@JohnWbeecher put USA Blue up by two with this slick breakaway tally against Sweden at the #WJSS 🚨 pic.twitter.com/B69TJrVnP2

— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) July 27, 2019

As you can see from the video, Beecher learned a lot from a couple of days at Bruins development camp. As Langenbrunner said last month, Beecher “has a lot of poise for being only 18 years old and is really calm and does not get rattled out there.”

With the puck in the Team USA Blue defensive zone, Beecher was down low supporting the puck. That is something the Bruins are big on, puck support. Beecher helps win a puck battle and starts the breakout. With four Swedish players near him, Beecher makes a pass to Jon Gruden. Beecher then uses his speed to split the defenseman as Gruden hits him with a head man pass into the Swedish zone for the goal.

Like Langenbrunner said during Bruins developmental camp, Beecher’s skating is “pretty effortless,” which is impressive for a young player. Beecher was not done as he scored two more goals on Sunday to give the Team USA Blue a 7-1 victory over Finland.

Here is Beecher's second of the game, third of the tourney. Beecher does a great job of jumping in to the play, goes backdoor and finishes. #WJSS #NHLBruins #GoBlue #NTDP pic.twitter.com/wOWcSWH01Z

— Stars n’ Stripes Hockey (@StarsStripesHKY) July 28, 2019

Beecher leads Team USA with three goals and four points. With Beecher off to Michigan in the fall to develop his game, even more, the future looks bright for the Bruins at the center position.