When the Bruins were set to start the playoffs last spring, it was hard to predict what they would get out of then-rookie John Beecher.
He surprised a lot of people by earning a roster spot out of training camp, but for much of the season he rode the rookie roller coaster – up one night, down the next. He eventually was sent down to Providence in mid-January for roughly two months, but he earned his way back up on the varsity by March.
When the first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs began, he was about as ready for it as anyone on the team. He not only scored on his first shift in Game 1, but he used his speed to win pucks all over the ice and was a force in the offensive zone in that game.
“It’s was a pure adrenaline rush,” remembered Beecher, who took part in the Bruins’ back-to-school event at the Garden on Wednesday. “You’re walking down the tunnel and you hear the fans, you come out, then everyone’s singing along to the national anthem. My whole body was shaking on the bench, just with nerves and excitement, then to go out there and pot one, to see the fans and hear the building. It’s something I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to experience again, maybe winning the Cup would do it. But that’s at the top of my list.”
The question now is, how does Beecher bottle that energy and intensity he showed in that game and bring it every night?
It may not be possible over the course of an 82-game schedule, but Beecher does need to straighten out the peaks and valleys of his game, that much he knows. He hasn’t demonstrated that he has the hands to play higher in the lineup (he’s never broken double digits in goals on pros or college; he had 7-3-10 totals last season for the B’s), but he’s got the foot speed and size (6-3, 216) to be a legitimate menace on the forecheck as a fourth liner.
Beecher, the B’s 2019 first-round pick (30th overall), is searching for a level of intensity that is sustainable over the course of the long season. He has been focusing on conditioning this offseason – he returned to Boston at the start of August – and he’s also been working with sports psychologist Alicia Naser to help find consistency in his game and “manage the ups and downs of the season.”
“That (playoff debut) game was about as much adrenaline as you could physically have as an athlete going in. And scoring on my first shift, the first time I touched the puck and it went in the back of the net. I was riding a high there that whole night and I was able to play a really good game,” said Beecher. “I think going into this season, a big thing for me is consistency and being able to bring it every night. Maybe not to that level, but to a level that’s making my presence out there known. It’s tough. It’s a long season and there’s a lot of travel and missed nights of sleep. I think it’s going to be a big thing for me this year, just knowing how to navigate that in a little better way so that when you’re coming back from Minnesota and you have to play the next day, you know how to make your body feel as good as it possibly could. That’s probably my biggest focus going into this year, just the consistency and being able to bring it, maybe not 110 percent every night but bringing 90 to 100 as opposed to 75 to 100.”
Beecher broke in as a centerman but was moved to wing late in the year. With the addition of 6-4, 226-pound right-shot center Mark Kastelic via the Linus Ullmark trade, it appears that Beecher will be slotted at wing again. Throw in 6-3, 216-pound wing Max Jones, and the B’s have the makings of a very hard-to-play against fourth line.
Beecher isn’t picky about where he plays.
“I’m just going to show up and wherever they put me, they put me. I just want to give myself the best chance I can to be on the opening night roster again,” said Beecher. “I think at the end of the day, when camp starts nothing’s really guaranteed, especially being a young guy. Me, Mason (Lohrei) and (Matt Poitras), we’ve got to show up and prove that we still belong here. We know we can bring value. Whether it’s at wing or center, it’s not really up to me at the end of the day. It’s up to management and the coaching staff and we’ll see in a couple of weeks.”
Overall, he felt reasonably positive about his rookie season for the experience it gave him, both the good and the bad.
“I think in the grand scheme of things, it went well. I don’t know how many people coming into camp projected me to be in the opening night roster and make an impact for that team,” he said. “Obviously there were some bumps in the road. Being a 23-year.-old rookie in the NHL, that’s expected. I thought I handled everything that came to me with grace. Getting sent down to Providence obviously wasn’t the best thing in the world and nobody wants to go through that. When I went down there, I thought I handled it well and worked hard, worked my way back up into the Bruins lineup and was able to get the playoff experience, which is unbelievable. Every kid dreams of playing in the NHL, but playing in the NHL playoffs is just a whole other level.”
Now he just needs to build off of that.
