Beecher, Hall Make Cut For USA Hockey At WJ Summer Showcase

USA Hockey trimmed it’s 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase roster down to 31 players Tuesday and Boston Bruins prospects John Beecher and Curtis Hall have made the cut. With potentially four more games left at the tournament, both will now have a chance to increase their chances of making the World Junior Tournament in December and January. Either way, with 20 of the 31 players who were selected in the first round of last month’s 2019 NHL Draft (eight each from the U.S. and Canada) and two each from Finland and Sweden, that’s quite the accomplishment for the two Bruins hopefuls.

USA was split into two squads to begin the tournament that kicked off last Saturday in Plymouth, Michigan and the roster is now down one team with 31 players. The Americans were set to take on Canada at 4 PM ET on Tuesday.

After many criticized the Bruins for taking Beecher in the first round (30th overall) last month, Beecher leads the tournament in scoring so far with three goals and four points in two games. The 6-3, 210-pound, 18-year-old center has been turning heads so far with his blazing speed and ability to finish on breakaways as analyzed by our own Jim Beringer here.

I asked U.S. coach Scott Sandelin for his thoughts on John Beecher (BOS) so far: "He can skate … holy man!"

— Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) July 27, 2019

Beecher will head to Ann Arbor, Michigan this fall to play his freshman season for the University of Michigan Wolverines. Beecher had six goals and 14 assists in 27 games for the US National Development USHL team and nine goals and fourteen assists for the USNDP Exhibition squad.

Here’s a look at Beecher’s two-goal performance in a 7-1 USA win over Finland Sunday.

Here are John Beecher’s goals today. He scored his first goal by gaining net-front real estate to tip it in, then he skated in and sniped one for his second goal— extremely impressive this weekend. This is the same player dubbed by some as a “reach” on draft night. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/PaTCUM8M2l

— Bruins Network (@BruinsNetwork) July 28, 2019

Hall, 19, was taken by the Bruins in the fourth round (199th overall) in the 2018 Entry Draft. The 6’3, 197-pound forward out of Chagrin Falls, Ohio is heading into his sophomore season at Yale University. Hall had five goals and six assists in 24 games for the Bulldogs last season.